98 zx7r : KawiForums.com Kawasaki Forums: Kawasaki motorcycle forums

boostless · 11-29-2012, 01:09 AM

So I picked up a ZX7R w/16k miles this week after selling my harley. It's in pretty rough shape. It's go no fairings on it, bike currently won't start but I only messed with it for about 5 mins. I suspect I just need to get gas going back through the carbs. PO said it needed a clutch also I'll see about it when I get it going again. Only paid $500 for it so hopefully it turns out to be a good deal and not a money pit.

What clutches are recommended? I see that clutches seem to be a common thing but not really any reviews on anything.

2fat2fly · 11-29-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boostless

So I picked up a ZX7R w/16k miles this week after selling my harley. It's in pretty rough shape. It's go no fairings on it, bike currently won't start but I only messed with it for about 5 mins. I suspect I just need to get gas going back through the carbs. PO said it needed a clutch also I'll see about it when I get it going again. Only paid $500 for it so hopefully it turns out to be a good deal and not a money pit.

What clutches are recommended? I see that clutches seem to be a common thing but not really any reviews on anything.

Use factory Kawasaki clutch parts. They are the best available for the ZX7. I would recommend cleaning the heck out of the carbs and when you think you have them clean then clean them again. I'd also clean out the entire fuel system (gas tank, gas lines and change the fuel filter). Put new plugs in it and then fire her up.

**jbreit** · 11-29-2012, 02:16 PM

+1

boostless · 11-30-2012, 12:58 AM

So I got her fired up tonight, pretty quick actually, 2nd crank she fired then 3rd she fired and stayed running. I was playing with the clutch and it seems to have the right amount of pressure and grabs when I slowly let out in first. She is very hard to get out of 1st, haven't tried shifting into any other gear though. When I picked the bike up the shifter was disconnected from the trans so I don't know how it actually goes on the bike if anyone has a pic of how it should go or some insight on that just to make sure I put it on right. It seems like it's too close no matter which way I put it also.

Where is a good place to get a fork rebuild kit? When I loaded it up yesterday it seems to be leaking but, I can't seem to find a good or complete kit.

2fat2fly · 11-30-2012, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boostless

So I got her fired up tonight, pretty quick actually, 2nd crank she fired then 3rd she fired and stayed running. I was playing with the clutch and it seems to have the right amount of pressure and grabs when I slowly let out in first. She is very hard to get out of 1st, haven't tried shifting into any other gear though. When I picked the bike up the shifter was disconnected from the trans so I don't know how it actually goes on the bike if anyone has a pic of how it should go or some insight on that just to make sure I put it on right. It seems like it's too close no matter which way I put it also.

Where is a good place to get a fork rebuild kit? When I loaded it up yesterday it seems to be leaking but, I can't seem to find a good or complete kit.

Congrats on getting her fired up. Unfortunately there is no complete fork rebuild kit. You'll need to order the parts seperately. I would recommend ronayers.com or bikebandit.com or your local dealer.

Good luck with it and post some pics of it.

boostless · 12-01-2012, 05:06 PM

So I started tinkering with it again today. The bike will only shift in and out of neutral and first, no matter how hard I yank on it it won't stay in second. It will only turn the neutral light off and immediately goes back on. I'm assuming that I can squeeze the clutch handle and watch it go back and forth through the oil fill hole? I don't really have the space right now to tear it apart since I live in an apartment complex so I wanna make sure what it is before I rip in to it.

I started it up and let it idle for a min, the idle goes up and down so I decided to rev it up and it dies. I took the tank off to look into the carb and check the plugs. I looked down it to the carbs and they look pretty clean, I didn't want to tear it to it too much with out a manual since I've never really messed with carbs so I only took one cap off the top and everything looked fine inside it. I decided to pull the plug wires to get to the plug and ever last one pulled out of the part that goes down into the engine. the plugs looked decent little too much carbon build up on it but I don't think it's been hot enough to burn it off. It's got NGK CR9E's in it.

It looks like the clean air mods have been done to it but I haven't really been able to find any good info on it with photos so I can see what the parts actually are on it. It looks like someone has tampered with the radiator fan wiring along with a lot of the wiring going up to the tail light in the tail so that's just some more stuff to sort through.

boostless · 12-01-2012, 06:24 PM

well I decided to check the clutch through the oil fill hole and it is able to move just by squeezing the clutch and sweeping the plates with my finger so the clutch is disengaging as I can see.

2fat2fly · 12-01-2012, 07:04 PM

As for your plug wire problem, here's the fix: clip about 1/4" off the ends of the plug wires and then screw them back into the plug caps. Inside the plug cap is what looks like a sheetmetal screw. You literally screw the cap back onto the wire. You clip the end to get rid of the area that's been previously stretched by the screw. They will go on tight. Be sure not to over-tighten and strip them out.

2fat2fly · 12-01-2012, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boostless

well I decided to check the clutch through the oil fill hole and it is able to move just by squeezing the clutch and sweeping the plates with my finger so the clutch is disengaging as I can see.

Have you tried riding the bike to see if it will shift?

boostless · 12-01-2012, 07:58 PM

I'm gonna move this over to ZX forums, which I think you are on 2fat2fly, since it seems to be a lot more active.

I want to replace the plug wires since the are rather stiff all the way back to the coils, most of my experience is in cars and they all are supposed to be flexible.

I haven't ridden it yet, I kinda wanna go through it a little bit more before I start riding it. I'm gonna through some new wires on it then I'll take it out for a ride.