Kawasaki ZZR600 1991

[EDBANGER]

New to the forums so firstly I would like to say hello everyone, my name is Simon & i'm a bike-a-holic.

Next up i'm looking for advice on a ZZR600 i've recently aquired. It jumps out of second gear when revved hard, has anyone got any ideas what might be causing this & how I might be able to fix it? It's fine in every other gear, just second.

[Git]

Bikes jumping out of gear, at first thought I'm thinking damaged selector fork. For this it's an engine strip job.

Hello and welcome

[tatters]

ZZR400/600,s are know for having a problem with the 2nd gear when they are getting old. replacment enigne £150-250 or a bottom end strip down.
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[Scotsman37]

What sort of engine oil are you using, because if it doesn't meet the JASO MA standard set by Japanese motorcycle companies for wet clutches then you could have slipping of the clutch.

[EDBANGER]

Hmmmm how much would an engine strip down cost me? Sounds expensive.

[EDBANGER]

OK I shall give you the story of how I came about this bike and i'd like an opinion on what to do with it.

I recently bought a 1999 Thunderace with a fair bit of fairing damage and 48000 on the clock. I paid £1750 for it and it run fine. It was a little rattly which concerned me but most of all, I couldn't afford to keep it. I borrowed money to buy it from a friend which I couldn't afford to pay back. The insurance was more than I orginally thought and the petrol consumption was also out of my price range. All in all a bad financial move.

I sold it for £1500 and got the ZZR thrown in aswell so effectively, I paid £250 for the kwaka. It's got 42000 on the clock and I need to have a look at replacing the brake pads to get it through an MOT. It's in pretty damn good condition, only a little bit of surface rust on a few parts but that's really minimal. The fairing is in spanking condition for the year, forks & seals are good, immobilisor works and beside the jumping in 2nd gear the engine runs perfectly. Idles nicely at 1000rpm and rides well. Also got a Jap racing can on it. So basically, is it worth me doing the work? If I were to sell it, how much could I expect for it? I know that if I broke it and sold the parts i'd easily make my £250 back. What should I do???

[Guest]

If you're not bothered about out-and-out performance then I'd run it into the ground, or strip it and repair and probably learn a lot along the way. You could short-shift through 2nd into 3rd and just lose a little acceleration.

What usually happens is the dogs on 2nd gear wear smooth so they don't stick into the slots in the next gear properly, so it jumps out of 2nd under load. Mainly caused by clumsy shifting - crashing it through the box doing drag starts. It's not usually caused by bits breaking off so there's no worries about debris floating round the engine.

My bike is renowned for the same thing, but in 40,000 miles of careful use and regular oil changes (using 'car' 10/40) it shows no sign of appearing.

A second hand engine could be well on the way down the same road and you have the disadvatage of not hearing it before you buy.

If you don't have the time, space or inclination to strip and fix it then breaking it is a good idea, I'm sure you could make most of your money back, particularly on the plastics and electrical fittings.

Good luck with it anyway

[EDBANGER]

Would this gear problem be something I could have a go at despite very little mechanical knowledge?? Would whatever parts I may need be expensive or easy to come by?

[Guest]

It's a full engine strip to get at it but they're not rocket science. On most bikes you can up-end the engine and just remove the bottom case without disturbing the heads and barrels and the gearbox is laid out in front of you

You'd need to check this is the case on the ZZ. On Suzukis you need to take the clutch basket off as there's a bearing retainer plate behind it that's bolted across both case halves, also one behind the water pump.

You need to talk to somebody who's actually done a ZZ to be sure what's there.


New parts would be best, no idea of the price though sorry

[EDBANGER]

What engine oil would you recommend I use for this bike? I've decided to keep it and ride it to death.

[Scotsman37]

[EDBANGER]

Nice one, cheers for the info, most useful.

[Guest]

By all means spend £30 on oil every oil change, on a bike engine that was desinged before the 'motorcycle specific' con was dreamed up

I run mine on £8 a gallon 'car' oil changed every 3000 miles with a filter every other change. No problems with gears or clutch slippage since new.

It's the same oil I used to run in the company Vectra (integral gearbox but dry clutch) and the service intervals for that were 20,000 miles

[Scotsman37]

[Kickstart]

[Guest]

[gsxrpeak]

iv got a zzr400 and i know someone with a zzr1100 and both of our do the same, its a common problem, you just have to hammer it in to second when in hight revs! it works!
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