Needs a life
Full throttle!
Posts: One MEEEEEELLION
posted June 02, 2003 05:38 AM
Primer for new owners I've noticed a few new owners coming on the board, now that the year's riding season is well under way. Just thought I might see if we can get a few responses and put together a good list of things that the new owner might want to consider getting along with the bike. The idea is to suggest stuff that costs less than a Benjamin, and is easily obtainable from either the internet or a dealer.
First couple things which I think are important are:
1. Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R Motorcycle Service Manual
If you are going to have all your service done by the dealer, sure, you don't need one. But for someone who gets their hands dirty and loves it, the book is vital for doing it right the first time.
2. Rear stand (Lockhart Phillips, PitBull, etc.)
Sportbikes lack center stands. Life gets easier when you can work on the bike with it standing up straight and have the ability to spin the back tire around (lube the chain, cleaning, etc.) without going through weird contortions. Spools optional, of course.
posted June 02, 2003 08:30 AM
6. Leave the spoon full of late brake at the track. Or well, when a school bus REALLY deserves it. Oh, yeah. See number 4.
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
posted June 02, 2003 09:15 AM
Edited By: worm~hole on 2 Jun 2003 10:17
7. The patience of Job when you try to remove the three diabolical fasteners located on the inner fairing pieces of the 00-01 models for the very first time...(telephone call to the dealer), "...uh no, not the gray ram-air covers (*sigh!*...and count to self....'one...two...three....four')...DA' F*CKing INNER FAIRING PIECES DAMNIT!!!!
...there now...see what I mean??? ____________ “We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
Needs a life
Full throttle!
Posts: One MEEEEEELLION
posted June 02, 2003 09:19 AM
You know, I just leave the center one out. The two side ones I leave about 1/8th inch showing so I can just reach in and grab them and loosen up and remove. Shitty, shitty, shitty design.
posted June 02, 2003 10:35 AM
8. a good traffic court lawyer
9. double bubble or other higher screen. not sure if this is required for the 02/03 models, but definitely a plus for the 00/01, esp if ur taller.
posted June 02, 2003 10:40 AM
Edited By: jonwright on 2 Jun 2003 11:41
quote:9. double bubble or other higher screen. not sure if this is required for the 02/03 models, but definitely a plus for the 00/01, esp if ur taller.
I have a B model and I don't think so. I'm comfortable at 120 cruise speed with stock wind screen.
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
posted June 02, 2003 10:46 AM
10. Buy as many tires as you can on sale...especially the rears...less for those living in the snow and rain belts.
11. Forge a great business relationship with yor tire changer.
12. Keep Ron Ayers Motorsports number handy.
13. Wear your gear.
____________ “We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
posted June 02, 2003 11:59 AM
quote:Eat lots of Spam Musabi
...dat's da numba one prime objective and stuff li'dat ____________ “We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
quote:You know, I just leave the center one out. The two side ones I leave about 1/8th inch showing so I can just reach in and grab them and loosen up and remove. Shitty, shitty, shitty design.
Needs a life
Full throttle!
Posts: One MEEEEEELLION
posted June 02, 2003 05:04 PM
Nah, last thing I need is *another* 12 on top of the two I got! Course, with the 1 piece lower Atech bodywork on one of them, it's only a prob working on a 12 *half* the time.
posted October 21, 2003 05:47 AM
Edited By: n da zone on 21 Oct 2003 06:51
Uh-Oh!
quote:7. The patience of Job when you try to remove the three diabolical fasteners located on the inner fairing pieces of the 00-01 models for the very first time...(telephone call to the dealer), "...uh no, not the gray ram-air covers (*sigh!*...and count to self....'one...two...three....four')...DA' F*CKing INNER FAIRING PIECES DAMNIT!!!!
...there now...see what I mean???
Diabolical fasteners?!
Well, I am getting ready to rebuild/replace all the plastics and hard fasteners on my '01 because of a traffic accident. Frame is OK, but the upper fairing bracket is tweaked.
So, what's the deal here? :o
Where are these things, and how do you get them off and on? I have the fairings off several times a month, but never completely disassembled completely. I was assuming a rather easy time of this.
I hate these little surprises. Glad I saw this ahead of time. Any suggestions appreciated.
posted October 21, 2003 07:49 AM
Newbies_
Please do a search of this site regarding your basic (Like- "What pipe should I buy?") question before asking it. You'll notice that these questions sometimes go unansewered because those of us who have been coming to these meetings for 3 years just don't want to go through the agony again. Oh yeah, and one more thing- GET THE FACTORY MANUAL.
Doug
posted October 21, 2003 08:07 AM
Edited By: n da zone on 21 Oct 2003 09:12
...... try to remove the three diabolical fasteners located on the inner fairing pieces of the 00-01 models for the very first time.....
Good advice, but I was really just wondering what these 'diabolical fasteners' were that worm~hole mentioned. I guess I will find out when I get down to business tearing it apart.
Was just wondering if there was some kinda problem or trick getting the thing disassembled, like a left-handed thread or a special $9,000 Snap-On tool needed.
I have a manual, but 'diabolical little fasteners' isn't in the index!
Actually, Doug was right-on about the exhaust comment. I was doing a little research on 'which pipe should I buy' when I came across this thread, as my exhaust was trashed when getting rear-ended.
This site is a really great wealth of knowledge, and I really do appreciate all the posts from years gone by concerning everything from seats, tires, octane, oil, monster snorkels, etc, .... and of course the really important stuff like Harry's sexual preferences.
posted October 21, 2003 09:13 AM
the fasterners in question are the small black plastic ones on the inner fairing pieces. that means the 2 mirrored pieces on teh leading edge of the side fairings, but on the INSIDE, by the rad. there is one on each side about 2/3 of the way up (i think) and one right in the middle near the bottom (below the rad) keeping the 2 pieces together. i never put the side ones back as i had to more or less destroy them to get them out the first time. i just leave the middle one in (never had to remove it).
posted October 21, 2003 12:21 PM
Oh. OK. Yeah, I destroyed those LONG ago!
I now use TedG's suggestion, and got a bag of GM push-in/pull-out fasteners, and use them all around the bike.
Any parts store carries them. Not necessarily metric, the operative word here is 'push/pull' not screw-in-the-little-plastic-screw-and-strip-out-all-the-threads-and-then-can't-get-it-out thingy.
posted October 22, 2003 01:40 AM
if u need a pair, there are plenty of married men on the board who could give u theirs. most of em arent allowed to use em anymore
posted October 22, 2003 04:07 AM
If you have a choice between a A or a B model generation... go for the B model.
Priority #1 should be immediate replacement of the stock air filters! That giant intake on the front sucks ALOT of road debris!
Honestly... if you dont like to tinker or need excessive hp... the 12 is a damn good bike bone stock!!
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posted June 02, 2003 05:38 AM
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posted October 21, 2003 05:47 AM
