Just bought a '99 ZX7R P4...
Discussion
Yup, I bought it last night! Its pretty tatty cosmetically and has a few problems:
a)Speedo drive. Speedo doesnt work and the cable inner isnt rotating - so speedo drive is my guess.
b)Battery is a bit crappy.
c)Brakes although theyve just had a major overhaul (all new bits) they desperately need bleeding. The lever comes almost to the bar and as a result the brakes are a bit 'all or nothing'. The brake lever is bent too.
d)Chain needs oilling and the rear wheel is out of alignment. It's only just had a new rear tyre so my guess is that the garage fitted it wrong.
e)The hugger was red. Now removed; going to spray it satin black with a few coats of lacquer. Should look good.
f)Neutral light is temperamental.
On the plus side it's got lots of history, full MOT and Tax, 2 new tyres, recent chain and sprockets and is HPI clear.
Basically its a bit of a fixer-upper but it goes well (very well - scared the hell out of me!) and I basically gave the guy my '96 Bandit (parallel import, 39k km, several scratches!) and £300!
I reckon even if it does go bang, id get most of my money back in bits on ebay.
Dave
a)Speedo drive. Speedo doesnt work and the cable inner isnt rotating - so speedo drive is my guess.
b)Battery is a bit crappy.
c)Brakes although theyve just had a major overhaul (all new bits) they desperately need bleeding. The lever comes almost to the bar and as a result the brakes are a bit 'all or nothing'. The brake lever is bent too.
d)Chain needs oilling and the rear wheel is out of alignment. It's only just had a new rear tyre so my guess is that the garage fitted it wrong.
e)The hugger was red. Now removed; going to spray it satin black with a few coats of lacquer. Should look good.
f)Neutral light is temperamental.
On the plus side it's got lots of history, full MOT and Tax, 2 new tyres, recent chain and sprockets and is HPI clear.
Basically its a bit of a fixer-upper but it goes well (very well - scared the hell out of me!) and I basically gave the guy my '96 Bandit (parallel import, 39k km, several scratches!) and £300!
I reckon even if it does go bang, id get most of my money back in bits on ebay.
Dave
g careful 
it'll just end up shiny. Happy to help wuth any little bits if you fancy a run out 
mel said:
Good lad, If ever you need any bits or help give me a shout, I've got works manuals, and a parts list on cd, plus a whole garage of bits where I used to race a 7RR including engines and frames. Just ask.
I may well be asking for some of that Mel!! A copy of that parts list would be much appreciated?
Alex> Yes, I know. Scary thought, isn't it?
Steve> Far more worried about my own hamfisted cockups at this stage!
Bike may be off the road already! Didn't check the coolant last night (I owned a Bandit. Coolant? What's that?) and when I noticed the little bottle today, I also noticed that it was empty. I have no idea how long this has been the case. I filled it up, and there are no bubbles appearing in it, but it doesn't stay in there very long - it drips straight out the bottom again. Apparently cracked coolant bottles are a v common complaint on this model. Time to crack out the silicon sealant! Thing is, I already knew the thermostat on the rad was buggered (electrical connections are snapped) and I am assuming that the temp gauge on the clocks takes its reading from here - so I have no idea if it's been overheating or not.
Once all that's sorted, its sorting the chain, wheel alignment and brakes (spongy as hell - lever comes almost to the bar).
Oh, and I insured it today. Ouch. £670 TPFT (£710 with breakdown!). Still cheaper than most - many companies laughed heartily, many just tried to shaft me (£2500 TPFT, no thanks!).
Mel - I may become the best friend you never knew you had over the coming months
Mon Ami Mate said:
Welcome to the world of Kawasaki induction roar! About time we set up another little ride out methinks...
Oh, and you can't really hear any induction - stubby little Viper race can sees to the noise end of things. The 'spitting flames' end of things too for that matter.
Nice choice of bike Dave 
,im missing the kwack induction roar , yamahas are just too bloody quiet ,
took it out today for a quick blast before the mot tomorrow , slightly underpressure tyres made for some interesting handling sorted it at a garage then got 100+60 out of it and it was still pulling
, one thing the thunderace does do is go very bloody quick with minimal fuss
,im missing the kwack induction roar , yamahas are just too bloody quiet , took it out today for a quick blast before the mot tomorrow , slightly underpressure tyres made for some interesting handling sorted it at a garage then got 100+60 out of it and it was still pulling
, one thing the thunderace does do is go very bloody quick with minimal fussMad Dave said:
You don't do very well on punctures do you mate?!
Crashbars? Had a few 'moments'?
Most of my moments have been whilst commuting in London. A Mate who has an Africa Twin just had a big crash, and they saved him from loosing his legs as he was side swiped on a roundabout in the city.
I aint taking chances.
Punctures .. No, Still, having managed to do aprox 6,000 miles since the last one, im not doing too bad.
You tubleless boys have it easy.
Don't worry too much about about expansion bottle as they are purely an expansion bottle, as long as you can see coolant from the top of the rad you should be OK. The position and construction of these is terrible and we used to simply use an old brake fluid bottle cable tied up out the way and check the level from the top of the rad, fix the temp gauge soon though as it also controls the fans.
I'll dig out the CD and happily burn you a copy if you PM me your details.
I'll dig out the CD and happily burn you a copy if you PM me your details.
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