Ninja 1000/Z1000SX Owners' Thread (or wanna be's)

[GB]

Originally Posted by sweetlou

I experienced the lurching off idle. My dealer said it was "normal."

After tinkering around and trying to figure it out, I came down to two conclusions:

1) It is the clutch slipping ever so slightly

or

2) It is the cush drive bouncing back against the torque of the motor.

I'm leaning to #2. I have noticed, however, the lurching reduced over mileage. I'm now over 1200 and it is all but gone. If I take off real slow I can still feel it. I think the bike just needs to break in more.

Lou

Not sure if this is of any use, MCNews had this to say:

But what really separates this motor from so many like it
is how perfectly it’s tuned. Its response is virtually instantaneous,
regardless of rpm, so much so that we found it useful
to remove all the cable slack from both the push and pull
sides of the throttle linkage in order to have the ultimate measure
of control over twistgrip movements. This little trick
made matching rpm with gearshifts much easier, and was
also easy to do as both cables have knurled barrel and locknut
fittings under their rain-resistant rubber boots.

[RideDualSport.com]

Originally Posted by GB

Not sure if this is of any use, MCNews had this to say:
we found it useful to remove all the cable slack from both the push and pull
sides of the throttle linkage in order to have the ultimate measure
of control over twistgrip movements[/B].

Yes, my Ninja had tons play in the throttle, when delivered to me. I removed some of the play and the bike responded more smoothly to throttle inputs. But, it is true that the fuel injection is really well tuned, the motor revs with perfection, never stalls, hunts or falters. My two Buells are fuel injected, and my S3 with a race ecm is pretty good, the TT with stock ecm is crappy at low revs. I love the Buells and like the N1K just as much, which says a lot for the N1K in my book.

[sweetlou]

Thanks GB. The first thing I do with ANY bike is remove all throttle cable play. Why anyone would want a sloppy throttle is beyond me....???

Lou

[Mikelly]

I guess mine was setup properly because I've got no slack and no issues with the bike lurching/surging.

Mike

[sweetlou]

Originally Posted by Mikelly

I guess mine was setup properly because I've got no slack and no issues with the bike lurching/surging.

Mike

It's strange... only a few bikes have it and most seem to get better as mileage increases. A bunch of bikes also get a rattle from the clutch at idle. Let the bike idle, focus on the clutch (on the engine, not the handle) and slowly pull the clutch in and out. You may hear a slight rattle.

Mine disappeared with the installation of my full muzzy exhaust... I wonder why I can't hear it anymore!! My dealer said it was normal for Kawasaki. One more reason why bikes shouldn't have quiet exhausts!

Also the gauge cluster rattles. Easy fix. Remove the windscreen, remove the upper and lower dashboard plastic (4 bolts). Then slip the cluster out of the rubber mount. Make sure the screws holding the rubber mounts are tight. Reinstall. Make sure gauge cluster does NOT touch the upper and lower dashboard. The rubber mounted gauge cluster rattles ever so slightly (because it is rubber mounted...) and can vibrate against dashboard.

Above problem ALSO fixed with installation of full exhaust...

Lou

[RideDualSport.com]

Yes, my N1K got a bit of rattling from the clutch and the buzzing from the instrament cluster. I put a bit of foam between the cluster and plastic panel, the clutch rattle has stopped.

[peteandheidi]

Mine does this as well. Feels like the clutch steels are slightly warped or the pressure plate is not machined flat to me.
The demo i rode also did it as did the verses1000 demo i rode.
Don't know what I'm going to do about it on my bike yet. Pretty annoying in traffic. Hoping it will go away at this point. 1200kms so far.

Originally Posted by sweetlou

I experienced the lurching off idle. My dealer said it was "normal."

After tinkering around and trying to figure it out, I came down to two conclusions:

1) It is the clutch slipping ever so slightly

or

2) It is the cush drive bouncing back against the torque of the motor.

I'm leaning to #2. I have noticed, however, the lurching reduced over mileage. I'm now over 1200 and it is all but gone. If I take off real slow I can still feel it. I think the bike just needs to break in more.

Lou

[sweetlou]

Pete, keep riding. If it still does it by 2000KM I would be concerned. Mine started fading away around 1000 miles and is almost non-existent by 1300 miles.

Lou

[Ride_There]

Does the handle bar vibration get better as well? On my short test ride my right hand got a bit numb. The bike only had about 75 miles on it though.

I really enjoyed the rest of the ride and owning one has been in the back of my mind since.

[GB]

Originally Posted by Ride_There

Does the handle bar vibration get better as well? On my short test ride my right hand got a bit numb. The bike only had about 75 miles on it though.

I really enjoyed the rest of the ride and owning one has been in the back of my mind since.

I'd like hear from longer term owners too.

From what I've read here on other forums is that yes, it smoothes out as the engine is broken in.

The bike comes stock with 15/41 toothed sprockets. Going to 16 drops the RPM's at highway cruising speeds and you get less of buzz above 7000 rpm, also I've heard it's less wheelie prone with a 16 tooth sprocket.

[sweetlou]

I actually never experienced handle bar vibration. Most guys on my Ninja 1000 forum complain of peg and seat vibration above 6K, not handlebar vibration.

My seat/peg vibration is reducing with mileage. The biggest reduction was replacing the stock exhaust system with a full system. This easily cut my vibration in half.

Handlebar vibration, however, I dont have...

Lou

[Mikelly]

I just spent the last two days commuting to and from work on mine. This is the longest I've gotten to enjoy it so far, but before you check out of this post, my commute is 75 miles each way and is a mix of backroads and interstates, into the congestion of Northern Virginia/Washginton DC area.

First I have to say that the adjustable windscreen is amazingly efficient on cold mornings. I left home the first morning at 36 degrees and found that my liners in the Tourmaster suit, along with heated grips on high, and the windscreen all the way "up" made for a perfect commute. Comnig off the FJR1300, I expected more cold, due to less frontal coverage. As long as I had the screen in the highest position, I was perfectly comfy. I'm 5'9", so bear that in mind.

Another thing that became clear is this seat might get uncomfortable on longer rides. I was ok because I was moving around on it, but could imagine one of my 10 hour BRP days causing more frequent stops. Otherwise my neck, shoulders, back and knees were fine. No less comfy than on the FJR or the ZRX I used to own.

One thing I do NOT like is the gas gauge. I'm going 80-85 miles before the first block on the indicator disappears. Then from there the blocks disappear much quicker. I'm also only getting in the 30s for fuel mileage so far. I'll look to see that improve with more miles.

speaking of which, with these two days riding, I now have enough miles on the clock to do the first oil change. That said, I've not experienced any of the issues with vibration in bars, buzzing gauge cluster, or issues with the clutch rattling. The only thing I'm going to have them check when they do the service is the shifter lever sometimes feels rubber flex. I assume it's because of all the rubber mounting...

For me personally, this was a good purchase. Really enjoy this bike everytime I ride it, so far!

Mike

[sweetlou]

Mike,

I just got my seat back from Spencer (www.greatdaytoride.com) so I will post up results. I can't ride for another few weeks due to recovering from shoulder surgery, but as soon as I can plop my arse on the new seat I will let you know.

I agree, stock seat is good for about 100 miles TOPS.

Lou

[Gas Hog]

Ok boys and girls..I might have "new" news..or I am the last to know...probably the latter
So I was halfway through a one day marathon of back and forth over the Rockies to secure a Kawi 2012 650R ()...when I hit a insurance snafu.
Loooog story short..the dealership helped me get a hold of the main office at Dairyland. They added the new bike to my policy in a few min no problem...then she asked do you have "all" of our discounts?

Well I don't know..list them off. She finally gets down to the Cycle World magazine subscription discount...
I said..that wont make much difference I am good. She figures it up anyway. The way they do multiple bike discounts is to bunch them up in pairs..don't ask why..
So the 2011 Z1000 and the 2012 650R are on one group, and about $710.00..and the magazine discount saved me $111.00 on just those two
She is going to send me all of the new paper work as all of my bikes were due in a couple of weeks anyway. When I get them I will give up the total results but I was shocked. Looks like I will have a new magazine in the rack
Gary




edit..I think the 1000 is $710.50 and the 650 is .05..


.

[southwade]

Originally Posted by Gas Hog

Ok boys and girls..I might have "new" news..or I am the last to know...probably the latter
So I was halfway through a one day marathon of back and forth over the Rockies to secure a Kawi 2012 650R ()...when I hit a insurance snafu.
Loooog story short..the dealership helped me get a hold of the main office at Dairyland. They added the new bike to my policy in a few min no problem...then she asked do you have "all" of our discounts?

Well I don't know..list them off. She finally gets down to the Cycle World magazine subscription discount...
I said..that wont make much difference I am good. She figures it up anyway. The way they do multiple bike discounts is to bunch them up in pairs..don't ask why..
So the 2011 Z1000 and the 2012 650R are on one group, and about $710.00..and the magazine discount saved me $111.00 on just those two
She is going to send me all of the new paper work as all of my bikes were due in a couple of weeks anyway. When I get them I will give up the total results but I was shocked. Looks like I will have a new magazine in the rack
Gary




edit..I think the 1000 is $710.50 and the 650 is .05..


.

wait wait wait.... you get a insurance discount for subscribing to a silly magazine?!?!