ZXR400 - strange and sudden behaviour with revs and gears

[Duckyboos]

I picked up the ZXR400 from the garage this afternoon - she went in for a new chain + sprockets, and for an optimate cable to be fitted. They lubed the clutch cable and bled the back brake too, but that's all.

On the way home, I've noticed that the revs don't fall as they should/used to... whislt I'm coming to a stop, and stepping down into second gear, they 'stick' at around 2-3k or so... sometimes a blip of the throttle sorts it, but sometimes not - and so I have to sit and wait until they drop. I've done a bit of searching through old posts, and there's strong suggestion that it's the 'closing' throttle cable sticking, but I can't see how this has occurred from the few things they've done at the garage?

And one other thing... since I've picked it up, there seems to be a H-U-G-E gap between first and second gears, and instead of being able to 'flick' the lever up into second like before, I'm having to take my foot off the peg and almost push it up, which is going to be very hard to get used to.

Could these things be related? And how easy is it to adjust, say, the position of the gear lever? My boots are only a size 5, but it looks like I'll need a size 11 to get the right leverage on this thing!

As ever, any ideas / suggestions gratefully welcomed. I want to avoid taking it back to the garage unless I have to... at least until next pay day!

[DaveH]

Re the return throttle cable, could just be one of these things that was brewing and the timing is purely co-incidental.

As for the gear lever, It could be that the garage took off the gear lever to get better access to do the front sprocket and never took note of its orientation?

Its easy to sort; undo the bolt, ease the lever off the splines, put it back on after shifting it anti-clockwise by one spline and see how it feels then....other than that check for any bend in any of the levers.

Might be worth phoning and mentioning it to them?
____________________
https://www.timhastingsracing.co.uk/

ZX7R & ER6F

[Duckyboos]

Dave, thanks for the input. Things are worsening though and I'm thinking of getting it in for a proper opening-up and servicing.

About a month ago she was starting on the button, without choke, and didn't cut out at all. And now I need full choke to start and even then I have to open the throttle a little and she sounds really 'choked', and without the choke she wants to cut out all the time, at least until I've ridden her for a good few minutes.

Now. She used to be garaged, but now she sleeps under the stars. Could this be part of the problem? I also forgot to add that she ran out of fuel a few weeks ago (she does less to the gallon that I thought!) - any link?

And the gear thing... I'm not sure if it has something to do with the clutch lever. There's a dial on the bracket which lets me alter the distance between the lever and the bars. I've altered this because I have small hands and because the cable is quite stiff (even though it was lubed by the garage recently). Is the clutch not engaging properly? Is this why I have such a job getting it into (and getting it to stay in) second gear? (If I don't give it a proper whack with my boot, it jams around in neutral and I have to try again).

Oh, and I did have a little tinker what I think is the idle/mixture thingy, on someone’s advice. Since I gave it a slight turn anti-clockwise, the problem re the revs not dropping properly has lessened a little. But now she’s not running right at all. I’ve read some old posts about similar issues and there’s lots of mentions of ‘plugs’ and ‘leads’ – would the replacement of these and a decent service sort this out? What else might they be able to do during a service which might help?

Any ideas guys, would be really really appreciated, at least before I start throwing more money at the garage. I just want her to run nicely again.

[DaveH]

Hmmm, difficult to say really.

Would definitely get the plugs replaced, but also check for water in the plug wells.

Not sure if that will be an issue, just with you mentioning that its kept outside it could be that the bungs that seal the plug holes off are not keeping as good a seal as they could and they are filling with water.

Do not take the plugs out before checking that there is no water in there, or any other crap for that matter.

New leads may help as well. If you can lift the tank a bit, when its dark, you may see some arcing if you try and start it, which will indicate that the leads are breaking down.

Re the gear shift, try takign the lever off the bike and cleaning it up and lubricating it, it could just be a case of the lever pivot seizing a bit.
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https://www.timhastingsracing.co.uk/

ZX7R & ER6F

[ZRX61]

Take the end of the shifter linkage off the splines & re-align it so the heim joints etc are at 90deg. 8mm or 10mm wrench needed.
Test ride, report back.

[Duckyboos]

Thanks again chuck, all noted

There's all sorts of strange goings-on with it at the moment, but I can narrow it down to (and perhaps find a link between?) the clutch (might have stretched?) and the gears ... and also the starting issue. I haven't really needed any choke this week, so I've not used it, but it still doesn't want to start without an open throttle.

I've perhaps fiddled with the clutch assembly a bit too much. There's a dial which lets me alter the distance between the lever and the bar. Yesterday the whole thing came loose (that'll teach me) when I was gunning it home Bloke from work (owns a ZX636) fiddled with it a bit more this morning and it's working okay now and but I'm still struggling to whack it into second gear whilst on the go.

'Money' and 'pit' spring to mind! Meh... I guess I can put up with the quirks for now, but it's gotta be service time soon. I want it running nice in time for the Summer... I'm missing out on all the Northern crew meets!

[Duckyboos]

[ZRX61]

[gadfium]

[Duckyboos]