ZXR 400 - Maintanance Advice Required

[Alex Gurr]

Hi Chaps,

I have a mate with a ZXR400 that has just failed it's MOT in a rather spectacular way. Basically it needs:
- New exhaust
- New Calliper Seals
- New Fork Seals
- New Head Bearing

He is being quoted £1,000 to fix the lot, which is more than the bike is realistically worth. Now the exhaust is pretty straightforward to replace, but can anyone pass on any advice regarding replacement of calliper seals and fork seals?

I am reasonably handy and have offered to help him, but have never done either of these jobs before. Can anyone point me in the direction of some decent advice before we start taking the thing apart?

Cheers,

Alex

[a boardman]

try this website for manuals does not have the zxr 400 but try downloading the 600 manual for a hint on what is required.

http://www.carlsalter.com/motorcycle-manuals.asp

[dibblecorse]

post your question on www.400greybike.co.uk should be loads of info on there ... and that lot is never a grand ..

[AndyDRZ]

Brakes are really easy to do.

Take them off the fork legs,
Remove pads
Pump lever
Put pressure on the pistons so that they all come along way out (Some will be stuck and hard to move so you need to stop the free ones from popping out too soon)
Crack the calliper in two
Pull out the pistons
Clean the pistons
Replace the seals (if needs be, with my tokico's I've just clean the gunk out from where the seals sit.. depends on the reason given for needing to replace the seals - are the pistons stuck or are the seals leaking?
Put it all back together and jobs a goodun...

It really is an easy job..

[hornetrider]

AndyDRZ said:

Brakes are really easy to do.

Take them off the fork legs,
Remove pads
Pump lever
Put pressure on the pistons so that they all come along way out (Some will be stuck and hard to move so you need to stop the free ones from popping out too soon)
Crack the calliper in two
Pull out the pistons
Clean the pistons
Replace the seals (if needs be, with my tokico's I've just clean the gunk out from where the seals sit.. depends on the reason given for needing to replace the seals - are the pistons stuck or are the seals leaking?
Put it all back together and jobs a goodun...

It really is an easy job..

Lube the pistons though before you put them back in

[AndyDRZ]

hornetrider said:

Lube the pistons though before you put them back in

A gentlemen never goes in dry...

[Fire99]

AndyDRZ said:

hornetrider said:

Lube the pistons though before you put them back in

A gentlemen never goes in dry...

you filthbag..

Doesnt sound too awful. Exhaust can probably be repaired or a 2nd hand replacement found.. Brakes are no biggy.. easy to get to.
Fork seals are quite a common one and head bearings much the same..

Can seem a bit daunting if you're not used to doing this kinda stuff but £1000 sounds mega big money..

[Steve_T]

Cheapest place I found for red rubber grease (for pistons and seals) was here : http://www.performance-oils.co.uk/acatalog/Millers...

[duckspeed8]

for loads of info , manuals , how too's , and parts listings with factory pictures so you can see whats what give this web site a try , i found this very helpfull when doing head race bearings and removing the forks for new seals on the zxr400 i had .

www.zxrworld.co.uk


a little tip i was told and worked well when replacing the head race bearings was to put the outer race part of the new bearings ( the bit without the rollers in it) in the freezer for a couple of hours before you need to insert them into the frame head , they shrink due to the cold and go in very easy with only a little tap with a suitable sized socket or punch.

Edited by duckspeed8 on Wednesday 9th April 22:08

[Alex Gurr]

Thanks for this guys.

He has got as far as taking the fairings off and that is it :-( I think the whole thing daunts him and he is now talking about scrapping the bike, which seems a real shame. I guess I ought to go round and help him do it as I would hate to loose by biking buddy.

[RizzoTheRat]

It's worth having a go at, the jobs might sound daunting to a mechanical novice but they're not actually that complicated and it's a good feeling when you get it all back together and it works. Until a few years ago I'd never done anything more complex than an an oil and filter change, then I changed the piston rings myself. Learned a load, enjoyed it, and saved several hundred quid of labour. Definatly get him to join a bike specific forum for some advice, I'd probably wouldn't have tried the job myself without a bit of advice (and goading) from other TDM owners.

edit: Forgot to say http://shop.wemoto.com/ are quite good for standard parts like the bearings and seals.

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 1st May 11:42