new to forums and Kawasaki

[joe38]

after riding and road racing for35 years I bought my first Kawasaki, a 92 zx11.the bike is all stock with 12k on it.My intentions are to sport ride this bike, its been a long time since I have ridden on the street.I spent about 2 weeks following this forum prior to purchasing in an effort to learn as much as possible about the beast.Thanks to all for sharing information as I learned alot.Anyway, there are a couple of mods I would like to do and I ask for opinions.
front forks...I would like to start with springs and fresh oil so the question would be race tech or progressive?
rear shock..from what Ive read not many companys make a shock for this model anymore and my days of spending big bucks on ohlins or penske are over!Fox used to make an inexpensive (relative) shock but only make shocks for bicycles now.opinions?
part throttle surge..I seem to sense this is a trait of this bike even if the carbs(especialy the pilot circut) are clean.I believe Claude had mentioned shimming the stock needles 20 to 40 thou to solve this. I dont want to purchase a jet kit if I dont have to so this sounds very inviting.I also am not looking to make the bike faster,I just want it to run properly.
thanks. I hope I can be as helpful to y'all

[JBearSVT]

Can't really shed any insight in the modding of it, but that's a great bike. Welcome!

[ejmesq]

I also have a '92.

Corbin seat is supportive for long-days. Mr. Turbo pan is a little insurance against #3 failure. Michelin 2ct tires are very sticky. EBC rotors/Galfer steel brake lines and HH pads replaced warped stock rotors. The bike is well designed. Ride it hard and you might just leave it alone. Its very fast and though not a ZX 6, its quite nimble in the turns.

[joe38]

Thanks guys. Id like to leave it as stock as I can but the suspension is shot. the front forks are very soft and the rear shock is very stiff(regardless of how I adjust it) I think the first thing I will do is to mount some diablo strada's as the rear tire has the crown worn off from highway miles..The prior owner gave me 2 corbin seats with the bike, a gunfighter and a gunfighter and lady.I think I actualy like the stock seat the best but more seat time is needed.
If I dont wheelie or hammer the bike is the #3 bearing failure probable?
And yes...for a heavy girl, she dances well!

[wongman1]

I had my shox redone when I got my bike a year ago. I called various suspensinon tuners and a few bike shops. Since Im 185lbs and just sport touring\causal riding and not racing everyone except RaceTech and Progressive said I should stick with stock springs. So I did.

My bike came with a full Muzzy, jet kit, and KN filter. The puppy humms. Im getting about 150miles before I switch to reserve. Ive added the GenMar risers (major arm saver), Diablo Stradas, ThrottelMeister, Modulating headlight with electronic relay. I had a Corbin seat, but the stock is more comfortable. I need to get the Corbin redone for my specs.

My next mods are clutch, rear shox, maybe smoke the signals.

As for throttle surge, dunno what that means, but if you twist the throttle hard, you better hang on and keep that front end down. I do have very minor idle search issue, prolly nothing worth mentioning and prolly due to the ol carb system maybe needing a cleaning. The rpm needle bounces about half cm at the 1100 rpm line.

Congrats on the new bike and getting back on after your haitus. You may want to consider taking a safety class. Im looking at my next class with the CHP.

[BlackFrost]

welcome to the forum...just got my 95 zx11 as a project bike so i dont know much about them yet...i am going to re-valve my forks with a race tech kit...a few of my buddies have gone with race tech and they like the performance...i dont know much about progressive...good luck with your bike and enjoy the first ride...

[Claude]

Originally Posted by joe38

front forks...I would like to start with springs and fresh oil so the question would be race tech or progressive?

I know Race-Tech have a range of front springs that fits different rider weight or riding style so they are a good choice. Personally, I have been using Progressive Spring with very good result.

Originally Posted by joe38

rear shock..from what Ive read not many companys make a shock for this model anymore and my days of spending big bucks on ohlins or penske are over!Fox used to make an inexpensive (relative) shock but only make shocks for bicycles now.opinions?

If you don't want to spend big bucks, you have three options.
1- Hagon rear shock
2- Race-Tech Gold Valve installed in your OEM shock
3- Rebuild OEM shock to original specs
I used option 2 for years but option 1 is much simpler to perform.

Originally Posted by joe38

part throttle surge..I seem to sense this is a trait of this bike even if the carbs(especialy the pilot circut) are clean.I believe Claude had mentioned shimming the stock needles 20 to 40 thou to solve this. I dont want to purchase a jet kit if I dont have to so this sounds very inviting.I also am not looking to make the bike faster,I just want it to run properly.

You don't need a jet kit at all. There are two things to do to get rid of the surge:
1- Shim OEM needles 0.020" to 0.040" (0.5 to 1 mm)
2- Adjust Air Screws to 2½~2¾~3.0 turns.
I would begin with the lowest changes (0.020" and 2½ turns) and ride to check if enough. About the shims, I am pretty sure standard M3 (or 1/8") flat washers works perfectly. To be sure, you could bring a needle and the plastic thing it sits on to your nearest hardware store and check if ID is large enough for the needle to pass through and OD small enough to sit correctly on the plastic thing. Thickness can surely be measured if the hardware store have some vernier caliper for sale.

[Claude]

Oh and about #3 mishap, four points to keep in mind:
- No wheelie
- No high RPM high speed continuous riding
- Good quality oil frequently replaced
- Oil level above maximum mark (something like one small air bubble visible in the sight window.

TIPS
- How to check oil level: engine warm, bike on centerstand, about 5 minutes after shutting the engine off. More than 5 or 10 minutes and the oil will drain in one of oil pan's chamber and level will read low.

- There are TWO oil plugs on ZXD11 oil pan (plus oil filter cover). Be sure to remove both when you change oil.

[Claude]

Oil plugs picture in the link below
http://www.zxforums.com/forums/zx-11...s-zx-11-a.html

[joe38]

thanks to all...Claude, Im going to try that mod to the carbs..once again, I dont need to make the bike faster or louder but it is clearly very lean at part throttle under 6k rpm..Over that I need a lot of road infront of me!!holy kaw it runs!!!
new problem has surfaced...no low oil press light when key is turned to the on position,no flashing fuel lightswhen key is on(they flash with low fuel) and no tail lamp with key turned all the way to the right. Im thinking they may all be related as they all occured at the same time? help

[joe38]

Wongman1......the previous owner had smoked the blinker lenses on mine and it looks great. I seem to like the stock seat as well(not that its perfect but better than the 2 corbins the prev owner supplied. Id like to do the bar risers and then re evaluate the seats. if I feel the same after I will probably be selling the corbins.Im 5'8 and I find myself "hugging the tank" so I have a comfortable reach to the bars..In general the bike is very comfortable but after a couple of hours these issues come to the surface

[Claude]

Originally Posted by joe38

...new problem has surfaced...no low oil press light when key is turned to the on position,no flashing fuel lightswhen key is on(they flash with low fuel) and no tail lamp with key turned all the way to the right. Im thinking they may all be related as they all occured at the same time? help

Your cause is (not could be; it is): bad connection on the oil pressure switch located under the engine, close to the oil filter cover. The connection is bad, the switch is bad or the rubber boot is filled with crap. Look only at this place and you will solve your problem of fuel and oil lights.

However, I don't think it will solve the tail light problem. Let us know.

[joe38]

Claude, nothing better than a confident diagnosis! sounds like youve been there before. I ordered an oil switch and will be prepared for the worst when I get there.Ill let you know how it turns out...thanks for the advise!!

[Claude]

Joe, this is a so much frequent cause that it ends up being the culprit all the time. I got the same problem and read about it a thousand times...
BTW, no need for a new switch; usually it is just the connection or connector that is faulty. But the switch is not expensive anyway...

[rnoliver]

That and if it's corroded enough, you'll break the screw off in the switch!