Hi,

I just got a '94 ninja 500. This is my first bike. I am mechanically inclined, but I've never worked on a bike before. A co-worker found out I got the bike and gave me his old service/repair/maintenance book for 1985-1992 zx500 & 600 ninja.(the book is from '93) Will the information is this book apply to my bike?

Thanks.
-Joe

 

Hey Joe.
It will certainly give you some good general insight to working on bikes, but sometimes those little differences can introduce big, frustrating problems. I recommend getting a copy of the Factory Service Manual and Supplement for your specific bike. The complete set is only about 50-$60 and is probably the best investment/upgrade you can make to your bike. It will easily pay for itself in service bills, broken parts, stripped threads and curse-words used in the garage.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Peace!
-Chris

 

Thanks for the quick response, Chris.
I checked out the kawasaki website, the service manual is $65 and the two supplements are $35 each. Is there someplace else I could go for the manuals or do I have to shell out the $135+ to get them from kawasaki?

Thanks.
-Joe

 

Unless there was a large change during those years, I would think get the supplements since you already have the main manual.

 

http://search.ebay.com/ex500-manual_W0QQfromZR40

 

so I snagged the Haynes manual for my year on half.com. Based on the book I already have I think this book should be quite sufficient. It it very detailed and should get me through anything i would ever want/need to do to the bike. Thanks for your help guys!

-Joe

 

good luck, I hate the haynes manuals from past experience.

 

A lad who 'ates Haynes!?!
What kind of a fitter are ye, who cannae tell the difference between his spanner an' 'is anteclockwise FFS?!?!

(haha--Haynes manuals will teach you more about the difference between American-English and British-English than they will about how your bike should be tuned)

 

hahaha prolly why I like my Hanes undy's!
I just noticed wrong info on the Haynes manuals at times.

 

can you elaborate on that for me please? i have both a haynes and a clymer, and my experience has been that the hayens is more detailed than the clymer.