Hi everyone!

I have a little bit of experience with a CBR 600 (Eww, Honda) and rode one for about 6 months, and i hated it, then I tried a CBR 1000...and hated it. I recently bought a ninja 250 and felt it was too small for me and just didn't feel right. I rode my buddy's '90 ZX10 and I fell in love with it, so i found my own

I'm not sure what to actually get done to it, and it's been through a lot. It just broke 52,xxx and I have no history of it's maintenance. Should I just take it to Kawasaki and have them do the run-of-the mill maintenance? I know I want them to check the Valve Adjustments and do a tune-up, at the very least.

I'm just looking for advice on what the beauties of this bike are and what I can look forward to for miles to come!

Thanks!
-Steven

 

Welcome to KF and congrats on the ride.

The tune up for these rides are really not that bad to do yourself if you have the manual and a couple of tools. The first time comprehension of removing the cams and re-installing if the shims need swapped out for the valves is the worst feeling and time consuming. Your manual will walk you through that process good enough. If you like your local shop, by all means, let them do your inspections and tune up.

The beauties of that ride are that it is OLD, stable and quick. Abit of a brick though and not the best corner carver. Set the ride up for you and enjoy the history of this ride. It is pretty cool. Enjoy

 

I was going to take care of it myself, and i'm trying to psych myself up to do it. I'm in the "I don't wanna screw it up" stage.

I actually have noticed that it doesn't like corners as much as other bike's i've ridden, but I love how stable it is. It's been a learning process on how much to counter-steer/fight the natural actions of the bike as far as it still wanting to stay upright. It is a boat, but i love the feel of it.

Thanks for your response!

 

I hear ya. When I did my first ever overhead cam tune up, it took me forever! lol I must have Quadruple checked everything!

 

When I First Bought It



I restored the decals!

 

wow, that thing looks loud with that exhaust.

Some soft bags and a place to go, that would be a great sport tourer

 

yeah, the exhaust is allllll rusted, it's a Vance and Hines 4-1. I haven't been able to find a nice exhaust for it yet though, it sounds real mean and i do love it.

 

Welcome Craw!! Go man!! That looks great! .....and contrary to the "lighter is better crowd" you will find the few extra pounds to REALLY make this bike a freeway hauler. (Yeah; maybe it's not a 300# GP bike, so what? Are you Scott Russell?) As for the tune-up, like Drag said^, take the time to try it yourself.
Gotta love old Kaw's. Just a bit "edge-ier" than....er,....Honda's. (A-hem....Deej.)
Welcome, Craw! Let us know how the tune-up goes. Gear up; stay safe.

 

Hey Steven, welcome to the forums. Nice bike! But don't hate on the Hondas LOL My recent purchase.



I wouldn't trade my Honda for 100 Kawasaki bike....Wait ..what? Who said that? LOL

 

I love the weight, and i love how smooth the ride is on the freeway. It's definitely more tuned towards those who want to go fast, but comfortable enough to go longer distances. The power in this thing is effortless (and that's beyond an understatement) so i'm taking it easy and taking my time to become one with this beast.

(And I don't hate honda's whatsoever...they're just not my cup of tea )

And i've decided that i'm going to take the manual and do the Tune-up myself...wish me luck haha I do believe in knowing your vehicle inside and out, and it's a perfect opportunity to do just that. I'll let everyone know how it goes