zxr400 restrcition worth it? please help?

[catfishman]

Sorry i know there is a simular thread on the subject in question, but my question is slightly different, i am 16, just about to do my CBT, i am going to ride a rs50 for 6 months, i am working 20 hours a week for 6 months staking shelves to scrape together anough to buy a zxr400.
I know this is a big jump, i am not a speed demon, while preparing for my test, i have private land which i will ride the bike on for a month to get used to it. I just want a bike that will last me through med school.
My question is this, i know i have to get it restricted to 33bhp, will the bike sound any different? will it put uneccessary strain on the engine?, is restriction even worth it, i have seen some people suggesting ignoring it, but i am scared i will kill myself, if i didnt restrict it, could the police tell, what are the concequences? the top speed i could get to on my journey to school could be 40-50 anyway due to the winding roads of devon, there are very steep hills.
I cant imagine ever wanting to go over 70 or so on this bike as the place i would leisurly ride is dartmoor and there is only really one long straight road where that speed safe.
Do you guys think restriction is worth it or not? thanks alot for reading.
PS TPTF insurance £800+ odd from bennetts, is there anything i could do to help lower that? i dont mind paying it, but will it go down, my dads 1100 kawasaki costs him £40 fully comp!!!!

[ColdInsomnia]

Oh, the dreaded restriction questions

To be honest as long as you take the time to get used to the bike off road you'll be fine. A 400cc bike isn't terribly big or fast, and I daresay that putting the restriction on will make much of a difference to the speed at all.

However, there is also the legal side of things.

There is no way of an officer being able to really prosecute you for not having your restriction in place. There is no legal document in existence that can prove or disprove the restriction of your bike, and to be quite frank, if you've got a little know-how about taking a bike apart and putting it back together the washer-type restrictions (the most common) are relatively easy to put in and out.


Anyway, no, the restriction, should you chose to have it, will not put any strain on your engine or make it sound any different.

The only difference it will make is that it will limit the amount of air entering your engine, hence when in higher gears your bike will not go over a certain rev.

For example, when I had my restriction in on my Divvy 600, it would reach about 85mph in top gear, with the revs going about 6k (redline being 12 I think).

So if anything, a restriction is good for your engine by stopping you red-lining the poor thing all the time



As for your insurance your best bet is to find two quotes that are similar in price and PHONE THEM UP. All insurance companies say that you get it cheaper online - it's utter bollocks - phone them and play them off against each other. It'll take an hour of your time, but it can save you a decent bit of money.

You won't get them down much lower than it is at the moment due to your age, but I managed to knock them down from 620 to 550 at the age of 18 on my divvy, so it was well worth the 30 minutes worth of phone calls
____________________
Yamaha YB100 | Yamaha TZR125 | Yamaha XJ600S | Suzuki GSF600
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
John Lennon

[catfishman]

cheers thanks alot thats really handy, will acceration also be restricted?, the only reason is, the extra bhp of a deresricted bike would be handy on the big hills in my area

[ColdInsomnia]

People told me that I wouldn't notice a difference when I was to take the restrictors out of my Divvy, but I have to tell you, I noticed a HUGE difference in acceleration as well as top speed.

For example, I was used to carrying passengers on my Divvy for quite some time with the restriction in, and I could open the throttle and know that the bike would shuttle forward relatively safely no matter how much I opened it.

Upon taking the restriction out, I took my mate for a ride on the back. Opened the throttle, as usual, and did near enough the biggest wheelie possible without flipping it (though I did have a severe case of brown-pants syndrome for a few seconds). I don't know the bhp of a ZZR 400, so whether the difference for you would be similar I can't say.

Yeah, it was scary taking the restriction out and for a few days I was thinking to myself "Damn, this is a bit much for me, I should think about putting them back in."

But after a few days had passed I was completely used to it again and ride it like the restriction was never in in the first place
____________________
Yamaha YB100 | Yamaha TZR125 | Yamaha XJ600S | Suzuki GSF600
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
John Lennon

[catfishman]

cheers seriously this is so handy, my m8's getting his mums fazer 600 so we are gonna be riding everyday on dartmoor together only going back into work to buy petrol. the bhp of the zxr is around 60, is that dangorous for a beginner?

[ColdInsomnia]

Nah, my divvy is around the same power as your ZZR And the Divvy is known to be in the "good" starter zone for power, so the ZZR 400 should be too

Though, I expect your ZZR will be a faster than my Divvy, as it's probably lighter.
____________________
Yamaha YB100 | Yamaha TZR125 | Yamaha XJ600S | Suzuki GSF600
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
John Lennon

[The Tot]

I would say SOD the restrictions. You're effetively castrating your bike and not letting it rev. It's like sending little kiddies to legoland only to tell them not to go on the rides.

Playtime starts at 9000Rpm on the ZXR's and lube me up and call me jimmy, but having washers down your carb does its utmost best to screw that fun about.
____________________
The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism