www.zxrworld.co.uk

Ive noticed on Lewis' bike that its got a bright green rear shock, and going by my thread in the 'model identification' forum, this is an SP model, however it appears to have standard front forks with no compression adjuster at the bottom, however these dont look like my L model forks, but i know there is a minor different in the length. But this bike shows evidence of being dropped, the radiator mount is cracked and is being held together by a strap of metal and theres a huge ding in the down pipe, so suspect they may have been changed.

But what I really wanted to know, does anyone else have any other way of telling? He hasnt got the loogbook yet but being an import i suspect that might not be entirely accurate. It was advertised an a H1 too. I know the gearboxes are different with 1st gear being quite tall, but ive not ridden so dont know on this front. I suspect the cams are different, but were they adjustable or are they numbered?

Any ideas anyone?

i've seen loads of H's with the green spring that werent sp's, my H1 has a red one so i wouldnt rely on that.

the carbs differ having air jets that are removable.. but these may have been changed at some point

J1 forks didnt have the compression adjuster, so thats not a telltail.

cams will have adjustable sprockets if its a J1 (sp).. but again, may well have been whipped in the past, or it may not even be the original engine.

sp's generally have a 16th front sprocket ? but chances of it being original ? nill.

drew posted a chassis number/model ID thing a while back check that ? (on your old model id thread iirc?)

bigb thought it was an H2 for ages, so i'd ignore whatever he said about it.

the cdi unit should be different to a stock unit i think, like visibly.. a larger mitsubishi unit.. certainly is on the later models... which is a point now i think about it.. cos the cdi is off my parts bike (H1) and matched the one bigb thought was dead. So unless stock cdi's plug into sp looms.. (and i dont think they do, but stand to be corrected) its likely not an sp.

check the cams while its in bits.. they're the only bit that matters anyway.

well we just looked at that model id link that drew posted up, and its come up as a 1990 H2.

But it has a braced swinger and the rubber caps on the tops of the forks

swinger is a H1 then mate they only did them on the H1s

SPs have 16 tooth front sprocket as standard.................this is because of the internal differences.

Generally I find that all my race gearing is one tooth bigger on the front sprocket whenI'm using a SP gearbox

Given the age of the bike you are trying to identify and the likely hood of parts having been changed swaped you really need to get inside it to confirm

And even then just cos it has SP cams or gearbox doesn't make it a SP.................. I have a L motor with a SP gearbox in it

one other thing (gleaned from a post by rmkd yonks ago) sp gearboxes will go into 2nd at a standstill unlike normal ones.

H2 frame number .. hmm ..

ok, is the radiator titchy ? (H1) or does it closely resemble an L model ? (H2) also, the crossmember behind the headstock, does it have one or two threaded inserts for the heatshield to attach to ? H1's have 1, H2's have 2

its possible that the frame is an H2 but it has H1 front and rear ends (straight bolt on) but the answers to the questions above should clear that up.

check the cams for adjustable sprockets though, that's the bit

what about the frame number?

Frame number will pin down the year and model to the extent of working out if it is a H1 or H2 but NOT if it's a SP version

The frames are the same SP or not

This is an on going problem and I'm quite certain people are being ripped off................I saw a ZXR400 on e-bay a couple of years ago and it was advertised as a SP..................I questioned the guy and his sole reason for saying it was a SP was that it said "sports production" on the seat................it looked like it was written in crayon. He had no real evidence to say it was a SP and could't tell me what those differences are. I reported him to e-bay and the item was removed it reapeared again two days later......................

To be honest it's only a SP if you can see the part that you know is from an SP...............just cos a seller says it is SP doesn't make it one.

It's very much a case of buyer beware...................

Now I have a SP engine just sitting on the bench only 12Ks running fine when it was removed from the frame only £750 to you sir plus delivery................would you buy that engine ??................I think not.

while on the subject of H/L/SP differences,

cargo, do you know if the SP's have different (ie, stronger) valve springs ?

it has the titchy radiator, not the huge ones they have on the L model. So H1.

The cross member has 2 threaded inserts, with the radiator spout secured into one of them. No heat shield at all. So H2.

Just checked the gearbox and it goes into 2nd, not at standstill as such, but rocking the bike back and forth engages 2nd. Checked that with my L model and it refuses to go into 2nd at all! SP?

This gets more and more curious. As far as that website goes, its correct in that the frame is a H2, but looks like the bits attched to it are H1. I suspect in the past the H1 that it looks likely to be, had the frame written off and a donor frame put in its place. Gonna whip the rocker cover off and check the cams and see whats there!

my zx4 will hook second if rocked, so thats not definitive.. sometimes they just wear in a way that allows it.

the SP's dont have the bearings that are meant to stop you hooking 2nd, so it should select it like any other gear.

def H2 frame built up with H1 bits so far !

history could be anything, bitsa's get built for a lot of reasons, gubbs' H2 had allsorts on it (h1, h2, L, zx4) just because they were there !


good luck with the cams !

if its got them he's got one hell of a bargain

well ive got rocker cover off, and now i feel stupid. how the hell do you tell? Im looking for a slot on the end of the sprockets, are and i cant really see much. Any other way of telling?

i thought the frame numbers started with the letter the bike was hence it said SP at the start of the number or something similar, duno where i got that from thoe.

zimm wrote:while on the subject of H/L/SP differences,

cargo, do you know if the SP's have different (ie, stronger) valve springs ?

I coudn't say absolutly for certain that there is a difference in valve springs.................the SP doesn't rev that much higher so at a guess I'd say the valve springs are the same.

I would doubt that you could buy SP valve springs in the UK ? ?

Also I'm fairly sure that RMKD gets his ZXRs reving to 17K on standard valve springs..................and while that causes problems they are not valve related problems.................

As ZXR400s get older more and more of them will be an oddball mix of parts..............we all know that L1 to L9 just about everything fits from model to model and certainly lots of H bits wil fit the L.

Even on this site we get lot as of people asking does such and such a part fit this or that not that there is anything wrong with this but it makes it very hard to find a geniune 100% SP model..................I've only every come across 2 and one of those was in bits..............I bought them...........and sold

For me one of the really wonderful things about ZXR400 is the interchangeability of parts...................Right now I'm off out to swap an engine I'm taking out a L something SP/L bitsa motor and chucking in a tuned H with no SP bits................and I need it up and running for tomorrow

Lol...what did you do at that uni rob.....

If you have a look at the cam sprockets they will have a couple of retaining bolts on them that allow you to index the cam sprocket in relation to the cam.

cheers mate

regards TK400