New bike - couple of questions

[castrol101]

Just bought a zxr and just have a couple of questions/queries :)

1 - the bike runs fine etc but when the choke is put on it dies, and the idle screw is turned right in (probably so it'l start cold) So what is the routing of the choke cable and how is it attatched to the carbs

2 - Are the clutch plates easy to change, i have never done a clutch before, and i think these friction plates may be wearing a little thin.

[zimm]

welcome to the err .. green side :)

L or H ?

pics ?

wouldnt worry too much about the choke, they normally dont need it unless its VERY cold.. tend to be a bit rich at the bottom end as stock.

choke cable attaches at the front side of the carbs and pulls an arm that operates the plungers on the carbs, tank and airbox off and its self explanatory

idle screw should only be holding the throttle cam open about 2mm .. whats it idling at ?

clutch is a piece of piss,

cover off

undo 4 bolts in centre of clutch
remove front plate
slide out friction and steel plates
put in new ones ..

soak them in oil for a few hours before fitting or it'll slip for a bit

if you think they need doing cos its a bit rattly and the noise goes away when you pull the clutch in .. its um .. just because its a kawasaki.. they all do it.

pics ?

[castrol101]

Cheers zimm. I've been checking out the zxr400 owners forum too, noticed your on there...worth joining you think??

Its an L2 i believe. Its nazzurro19's old bike.

It idles just below 2000 when warm I think. Due to test riding it horrid weather in a town i wasnt able to get it over 10,000 revs really so i haven't yet felt the full power :) But the clutch plates do need changing. lol

I need to drain the engine oil before changing the clutch plates I think i read in the manual? Is that necessary.

Also what tyres would you recommend, I know alot is down to personal choice, I think BT10s are on atm.

Cheers :D

[zimm]

yeh, im on zxrworld .. mainly cos this section is dead 90% of the time .. and i feel a little left out wandering round here without an NC30 to talk about .. lol ..

wondered for a bit if you'd bought my old L4 off rover220.. i miss that even if it wasnt quite as good as it looked

did nazzurro19 get the head gasket done ? i seem to recall he had a "bike pissing all over the floor after i've been nailing it" episode a few months ago .. and antifreeze in the sump does make the clutch a bit slippy.

they should idle happily at ~1200rpm ..

the inlet rubbers have a tendency to leak ,., which buggers up the idle quality and you're winding the idle screw in or out all the time to get a consistent idle.. either seal them with some silicon or splash out on new.

carbs go out of balance quickly compared to honda's too .. any nasty midrange vibes will probably be down to this.

they can be super smooth, but its rare, i've had 7 and 2 have been smooth and free revving.

no need to drain the oil to do the clutch, they lean over on the stand enough that it wont go everywhere. The manual is full of "must make money for the dealers" type lies .. like having to split the crankcases to change the camchain .. which is just bollox.

tyre choice is same as any of the 400's, 092's, 090's, alpha 10's .. any of the sticky H rated stuff works fine .. i've recently fallen in love with alpha 10's .. but the combination of harsh suspension, bumpy roads, strong topend power and me enjoying myself killed the rear in under 1000 miles .. 092 rear with 090 front works well .. and lasts a reasonable amount of time.

you can try a 120/70/17 tyre on the front if you want (stock is 120/60/17) but drop the front a few mm to compensate or it'll go all vague and reluctant to change direction over 70mph

oh, yeh ride height adjustor comes as standard so if your a lanky type play with that instead of dropping the front.

[castrol101]

I read that post too.
I don't know if the head gasket was done tbh. Where can i get one from? and i take it there easy to install?

Yea i have noticed a severe lack of topics in the zxr section lol

[zimm]

being a uk model.. any kawasaki dealer can get parts easily, if they ask wether its a uk bike or an import and sound like they might go all "oooh now parts might be different and we dont know what we're doing with imports" lie and tell them its a uk bike .. it wont make any difference unless you are buying the clocks, cdi, wiring loom or entire carbs.. ?!?!? (and if you are, you want uk spec anyway)

i get bits from cradley kawasaki, they have been known to get stuff sent out for the next morning even when i havent phoned them till 4pm. Dont buy a battery from them though.. they wanted £70 last time for an H1 battery.. i bought a gel one from germany for a smidge under £40 delivered instead.

head gasket's about £12, you should change the base gasket too.. but you can just chuck it in the bin and seal with silicon if you want. Gives a smidge more compression, as the gasket is .2mm. perfectly safe, done it several times.

while in there you may aswell fit a new camchain and check the valve clearances, (if you do, and you need some shims just ask, i've got buckets of em and may have the ones you need on an exchange basis)

they are simple engines to work on, depends how experienced/confident you are. the manuals are on zxrworld and are pretty comprehensive and easy to follow.

if the headgasket has gone it'll do one of the following,

1) be absolutely fine unless you cane it and keep the revs above 10,000, at which point it will blow coolant out and consequently get hot and overheat

2) continually mist up the oil sight glass (they all do a bit if used for short runs, but it should clear after a thrashing)

3) the oil may begin to look like mayonnaise/sludge

they all blow headgaskets, seems to be every 20k-30k miles .. a garage will charge upwards of £200 to do it.

[castrol101]

Alright i'll be on the lookout for that when i ride it, once its insured lol.

If i were to replace the clutch plates, and it turns out the head gasket has gone and coolant gets in there, is that them knakerd or should they stop slipping soon after if i replace the gasket??

Do cradley kawasaki have parts they don't list online, as I can't find the head gasket...

Lots of questions coming your way isnt there :D

Thanks for all the help lol

[zimm]

zxr clutches can start to slip if you change brands of oil .. so i wouldnt really like to say wether they'd be ok.. might be .. might not .. if it does, you may get away with cleaning the plates up in petrol and chucking them back in.

cradely stock most everything, they are the uk distribution hub.. just give them a ring.