www.zxrworld.co.uk

Hey all, Names Geoff, 21 yo music student from ireland, been into bikes for years.

Recently bought a zxr 400 as basically, i had the most hilariously unfortunate summer when it came to bikes and when i was back in college i decided i REALLY needed a bike that would actually start and get me to the end of my journey, not the middle, or a ditch xD.
So i got a loan, looked up the used bikes site and essentially bought the first sports bike in my price range that had a restricter cert.
As it turns out it was a great idea! i drove the bike home about 200 miles (after basically deciding i was buying it before i left lol) in a freezing monsoon where i am quite sure i got pneumonia as EVERYTHING i was wearing leaked! Couldnt sit down without the aid of several departement stores worth of cushions by the time i got home as you should believe everytthinggg you have read about the iron hard suspension and plank of a saddle, replacements can be chizzeled out of mountains!! dialled the suspension down and have ordered some squishy stuff for the saddle so walking and general spine movement should become natural again.
Bike is deadly! i hasnt been dry once when ive ridden it and the rear end snakes around like and eel but besides that i think its great! roomy as hell after the vfr too.
Good bits: 1) its 'manafactured by Kawasaki heavy industries' << that is just cool. 2) decent size. 3) its got new downpipes 4) it works at the moment!!
Bad bits: 1) My squishy stuff for the saddleplank hasnt arrived yet! 2) i genuinely think every gasket on the bike leaks, am a home mechanic so not a huge deal if it comes to work though. 3) i think the camchain is making a bit too much noise thanks.. 4) it wont stop raining. 5) whoever was at it last was a complete butcher 76 needs a respray which i shall be undertaking as soon as i have the enthusiasm to tackle another bike, kawasaki's should be green! 7) and the gearbox makes the most hideous crunching noise when i clutch it out as it tries to engage and everntually catches up,,,erm...
will probabaly ask a few technical question some time soon by the looks of it!
seems a lot of negatives but really like the beast! roll on a dry road!!
Anyway overlylong hello done

Ciao

howdy, sounds like me when i bought mine in july!

squared off tyres like to squirm, especially metzelers. I prefere pirrellis - my supercorsas (the best pirrelli, a road legal race tyre) were super stable, even in the pouring rain when well past the wear marker... ahem.

gearbox noise is normal. if it doesn't rattle in neutral with the clutch out, then worry.

mine has lotsa of oil leaks. there's lots of gaskets! for example, the cam cover has separate tubes leading down top the plug holes, which each has their own gasket at the top. the dickhead who use to service mine lost one, so i end up with a fine mist on the front of the block.

the seat is hard, but i'm 5'8" with a short 29" leg (well, 29" leg on jeans anyway), and i find the riding position fits like a glove. Though a glove that gives me a numb ass after a few hours. There are two tricks here... 1) get off your butt! if you not hanging off one side or t'other, then you're not riding it the way KHI intended 2) ride faster, makes the journeys shorter, whilst not effecting fuel consumption (i once did 110 miles, in 60 minutes, and used 11.6 litres - thats 43mpg! i only get 45 when commuting. think 10 miles per litre, and you'll be spot on). i do seem to have got used to it though, can't remember when my bum last ached from it.

what else?
paint, black is best. have a look at some of the picks. though modern kwak green is good too. the old white and green looks really dated.

heated grips work wonders to keep you warm, and keep your fingers dextrous. see my review of daytona grips in the electrical section.

oh, and i bought mine because my other bike was struggling to pass it's mot. I keep saying i'll sell it, but it's just too much fun. and damned reliable.
shouldn't have said that, i so know it'll die in the morning (110 mile trip!)




Any hoo, welcome to the forum, normally quite busy on here. any forum issues, masterofinsanity (baz) is the boss.
And if you fancies joing the owners club, it's only a fiver for life.

welcome to the forum!



Look forward to some pics!!

welcome.

gavinfdavies wrote:howdy, sounds like me when i bought mine in july!

Any hoo, welcome to the forum, normally quite busy on here. any forum issues, masterofinsanity (baz) is the boss.
And if you fancies joing the owners club, it's only a fiver for life.

haha my tires are brand new! pirelli diablo's. its only the rear i have a problem with, so maybe the shock is still a bit firm as im fairly light.
yup heated grips are on the list of things to get too, muffs are just not cool lol.
as for colour its already black! a horribly bad job on decent fiberglass fairings. i'l make up some designs over the christmas break and throw them up for some feedback sure! i actually think that white/blue one up there at the top of this page looks the bizz! although the wheels are already purple so i think it'l be some sorta green idea.
i rode one looooong stretch of motorway at a steady indicated 95mph all the way and it did over 60 mpg! helps that the power is stacked up like a 2stroke at 10k revs =D =D! genuinely impressed with the midrange performance after reading the gay bike journo mags say you should get off and walk if you're not above 10k revs. there's a fairly noticeable flat-spot just before all the power, down to the micron can perhaps.
as for the gearbox i think it doesnt help that the clutch is beginning to drag either!
i think i may keep this one, although i end up doing that with all the bikes lol so i may join up!
G

i've done a post on fitting heated grips, think it's in the electrical section. If you do fit them, try to stick to running the standard 35w/60w bulbs. Appears that the generator hasn't enough power to run 58w grips plus 55w/60w bulbs. That said, if you're flush, upgrade to a hid kit (one bulb is twice as bright as both old bulbs!) as they're 35w/35w, and are fantastic. Again, see my post on those.

Going up 1 tooth on the from sproket can give it extra legs on the cruise, and doesn't affect acceleration too much. 2 teeth is too much - you have to remove the cover, and pulling away requires way too much clutch slip, and you only get into top above 90, and even then acceleration is poor - it hits the wall of wind resistance just before reaching the powerband. Stick to 1 tooth, much better.

gavinfdavies wrote:i've done a post on fitting heated grips, think it's in the electrical section. If you do fit them, try to stick to running the standard 35w/60w bulbs. Appears that the generator hasn't enough power to run 58w grips plus 55w/60w bulbs. That said, if you're flush, upgrade to a hid kit (one bulb is twice as bright as both old bulbs!) as they're 35w/35w, and are fantastic. Again, see my post on those..

really? ok good to know! a light upgrade was definitly on the cards, i'l give the article a read in a few.
bleh id sooner gear it for more accelleration meself =D i generally do that with all the bikes i have

i tend to cruise about alot. at about 90-100 alot of the time. so i like to be able to do that without reving the nipples off my engine.