restricted 400 at 17

[martrs]

hi im doing my bike test soon and when i pass i want to get a zxr 400. im 17 so i would have to get it restricted though. what disadvantages does this have on the bike and the myself like will the bike be really slow and will it make me a worse rider having a bigger bike for my 1st. or would it make me a better rider getting a light 125 for a while 1st. any advise would be much apreciated. cheers mart

[kion]

If your worried about getin pulled buy the restrictor but dont bother fitting it, restrictors arent good for the engines. I am 17 as well looking for a zxr to buy atm, but i am not gonna bother getting a restrictor kit, as long as you dont get caugth speeding most police dont bother. If you do get it restricted the bike will be slow (not sure how slow) as the power will be cut in half. I didnt bother with a 125, straight from my 50 to my drz400 now to a zxr400. Not sure if you get a 125 that it will make youa better rider, the 125 may teach you how to corner at fast speeds, but i think so will the zxr with more power to pull out of the corner and onto the straight.

[martrs]

yea i guess so. could just get the certificate to say its been restricted then take em out then theyl never no. i jus dont want to get a 400 if it wil make me a worse rider lol cuz ppl seem to have mixed views on it. any1 on here wiv a 400 beable tel me wot they fink?

[masterofinsanity]

getting the bike restricted you will still reach speeds of 110mph, i don't call that slow and i'm sure pc plod wont either!

[Jamz]

I don't see how a 400 will make you a worse rider?

Ok, so mine was full power (+++ hehehe!), but the 125's I had before were at the very least unrestricted. Even at half power the ZXR would have the supreme handling and front end stability that's so far put every other bike to shame.

As I understand it, the restrictors on the ZXR work by limiting your top speed, rather than the overall performance? Doesn't it just restrict the top end performance?

I could be wrong in this.

If you're totally new to bikes, I'd recommend a year on a 125 sportsbike, because it taught me so much. But then if you're after a restricted 400 it will still be around the same as a full power 125 (apart from weight), and I have to admit it's much, much cooler!!!

[RedexRobB]

Jamz, i think the restrictors he is on about are the plates in the inlets that reduce the size so it brings it to 33bhp, it just so happens they top out at 110mph. The restrictors you are on about is the speed limiter on the import ZXR's. I feel another 'useful thread by RobB' coming on here!

Ive always been the school of thought that you should start on a smaller bike and work our way up, restricting it is a good idea if you have never ridden before, the power will feel really peaky after you been on a 125 for your test!

Personally, if i was in your position, id get a cheap 125 just to get you some road sense and how things work. You will more than likely bin it as most do at a young age, so the cheaper the bike the less your wallet will get raped if it does happen. My friend had a Mito 125 for his second bike brand new, paid over 3K for it, one year later hed binned it 3 times and rendered the bike worthless plus he was well out of pocket for good measure.

At the end of the day its upto you, you will find that the insurance on a 125 is a damn sight cheaper than a 400 and will go down alot once you have your first years no claims. So maybe two good reasons to start with a smaller bike already?

[Xphyral]

insurence on a 125 isnt goin be a lot different to the 400, especially if you buy a scooter or a new 125. You'll also be able to pick up a zxr400 for the same price as a good condition 125 and a damn sight cheaper than a new 125.

As for restricting it, the 400 engines are never the same after they've been 33bhp restricted. if your dead set on the 400 i dont see the harm in faking the restriction installation, i dont consider the 400 a particularly dangerous first bike as there's no power in the lower revs and revving the nuts off a bike is something you'll find difficult to do for quite a while.

Conversely for the same reasons i've never thought the zxr400 would be a good first bike, your first year or so after your test you have a lot of road craft to learn and with a bike like the 400 that needs to be revved for power more of your concentration is spent trying to get it to move smoothly.

I dont think 125's are safe anyway, not enough power to do anything on the road and overtakes become a dangerous maneouver. at least if you start with a 400 your on a better base to jump to something bigger whereas the jump from 125 - 400 is considerable the jump from 400 to 600 isnt quite so much yet a lot of people jump from 125 - 600's and never really learn to squeeze the power out of them properly.

[CarneyUK]

If you wanna see the differnce between a restricted and non restricted ZXR400, check out my website and the video's page. Look at video 3. BTW the video's were made on an L4 (12 years old) and the bike didn't get a good service till after the restrictors came out in which it had new shims etc and all the engine bit's done.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/carneyuk

I manage to get to about 70...80mph with the restrictors in but the bike was mega cold and I had only just gone out on it. It does make a difference to the power but more in the higher end of the rev range. You will still get off the lights quicker than the majority of cars on the road. Me personally I think you would look cooler on a restricted ZXR400 than a 125 with it's biscuit wheels. Also when you can get the restrictors out (legally or not) you won't need to sell the 125 to buy a full power ZXR400....you already have the bike. When mine came out it was like having a new bike but I already knew how it handled, what niglly bits were wrong with it and had already got my knee down...

Once they were out it was awesome!!!!! Check out the vid anyway and see for yourslef. BTW I held back at 100mph on the de-restricted run, but as you can see hit 70mph in second gear bloody quick.

[martrs]

yea it seems ok ive actually got an rs 125 now and will be rideing that until i pass my test so ive got a little while go yet. i just dont want to have it restricted really because id may aswel just de restrict my rs when i pass because wudnt that be quicker as it will have the same power but will be even lighter? the zxr looks and sounds awesome tho

[Gemini]

i had an rs125 restricted. as soon as i took restrictors out the engine seized - coinscidence?

went onto an rvf400 while i was on restricted license but never restricted bike.

i even got done for riding without due care and attention which included a bit of speeding and at no point did the magistrate ask to see a restriction certificate, good job as i never had one!

my advice dont restrict, choking up an engine full time cannot be good for it!

however i may have been lucky so i cant accept liabilty if u follow my advice and u do get caught

gem

[martrs]

i mite get it restricted so i have the certificate but then take them out so at least i have some proof. only thing is that it wud cost alot to get it done with the certificate

[Gemini]

have a look online. u can get fake payslips so im sure ppl are making phony certs too!

gem

[martrs]

yea al see what there is. does any1 know of any insurance companies that would be cheaper for sum1 my age as i can see me payin alot else

[Mat_2001mat]

Hi just to add my 2 cents. Im 20 and I passed my test around a month or so ago and have had my ZXR 400 "Restricted" for about 2 weeks.

Im not sure what its top speed is but I have got it up to 90 quite comfortably and it goes 0-60 stupidly fast. For a begginer there is more than enough power to play with. I'm not bored of it and I drive very aggresively when in my car.

So my advice is to get the ZXR over a smaller 125 as it will look - sound and handle better than any 2 stroke 125 straining its nutts off to keep up with traffic. Besides, like everyone else says... if you want to risk it you could de-restrict.

Hope this helps

[Bozzie]

spose you could always fit em get used to the weight of teh bike. Get confidence on the actual bike then when you think you can handle more power, take the restrictors out.