ZL 400

[jas16]

Hey Guys, stumbled accross this site...finally i found a site dedicated to ZL owners...

neways, i am a student working as a part time mechanic...the great thing is that my employer gave me a 'project' bike that was goin to scrap to turn into a drag racer (nothin too fancy, just something to get my teeth into)

It happens to be a ZL400 (import from thailand) which i thought great because i liked the look of it, and with a bit of claning and work, it fired first time...YESSSSSS and it sounded great (well compared ot my 125)

i just love the bike and so far i have done a small amount of work to it...will try and post some pics v.soon

just that i have found that getting any kind of information on the bike, let alone parts, has been very difficult. More specifically, fluid amounts that should be used, eg Oil change, fork oil amount, coolent amount etc... (getting fork seals for it was a PAIN...took me two weeks!!!!!!)

And the odd sized rear tyre...omg what a pain, which brings me on to my first Q - what is the biggest sized tyre i can use, ie will a 175/65 tyre fit within the standard size frame?

Sorry for the long post...just thought i'd share it

Jas

[zlMark]

Welcome Jas!

Although this is a zl site not many of us own zl400's I do believe there is a few here and i hope they will pick up on your questions.

[SnakeDoctor]

KK will see this and be able to give you answers to just about anything you will need to know. Good luck with it.

[LUMI]

i would say that 170/80 15" tire wont fit (what size is that 175/65 is it a car tyre, on mc tires there should not be that size :D )

i have used 150/90 on my 500 and 150/80 is the stock size (frame is the same as on 400) and there is a little room for it so 160/80 would probably fit too...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p299/LUM-1/zl500.jpg

[Kawasaki-krazy]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Snake, but I haven't started with my ZL400 yet (too cold in the shed at the moment here in 'sunny' Aberdeen)

I don't have any information on the 400 myself yet but I can tell you that the 'Base' manual is the GPX600 and there's one on Ebay right now but you'll have to be quick

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HAYNES-MANUAL-FOR-GPZ-600-R-GPZ600R-GPX750R-GPX-750-R_W0QQitemZ150077116557QQihZ005QQcategoryZ122258QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item15007 7116557

That will give you all the general specs for the engine but the forks will be different. Its no good me giving you the fork oil amounts etc as the forks are a different diameter and length to my 1000.
There are quite a few 400/600's in the UK and some of the ERGB members post on here. Unfortunately the ERGB site has all but died so any questions on there remain unanswered. I really will have to get my finger out and get started on my 'project'

Just in case your 400 has been messed about. Here's what a 'proper' one should look like

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/kawasaki_zl_400_eliminator_1986.php

Sorry I couldn't be of more help at the moment.

KK

[Rick_in_WA]

I am so jelouse, you folks over seas get all the cool sized bikes, I have my fingers crossed a ZL750 will pop up in Canada, very doubfull I will ever find one here in the states.

[jas16]

hey guys, thanks for all of the replys and your help, much appreciated

thats a nice looking bike there LUMI

oh and btw, 175/65 is a car tyre (~£50), finding that it is cheaper than moto tyre (~£75)

[LUMI]

oh and btw, 175/65 is a car tyre (~£50), finding that it is cheaper than moto tyre (~£75)

don´t put a car tire on it, it is awful on bike, the worst place to save :nonono:

[Kawasaki-krazy]

oh and btw, 175/65 is a car tyre (~£50), finding that it is cheaper than moto tyre (~£75)

Ahh.............I see we have a wind up merchant

KK

[jas16]

hey hey hey, what do you expect from a student!!!

Fairplay, this project is goin to cost me round £150 in the end, which honestly is bout double what i wanted to spend, Damn you exhaust, Damn you back tire

and i've still got to get a new clutch lever, plugs, air filter, seat recovered and front wheel rim....oh dear what have i got myself into :sick:

neways, :bringiton: , hopefully it'll be worth it in the end

[Kawasaki-krazy]

Fairplay, this project is goin to cost me round £150 in the end,

If you go with your idea of putting a car tyre on the back of your project, it will cost you far more than that.

OK, I'll take it that you are/were serious :rotf: and point out that there are major differences between bike and car tyres. Apart from the fact that bike tyres are contoured to enable leaning round corners, whereas car tyres :nonono: have a flat (no pun intended) profile. Bike tyres are constructed to withstand the tremendous acceleration forces that are just not present on a car. The first time that you accelerate hard, http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/disagree/45.gifyou will leave a trail of rubber (thats TREAD and not just a rubbery line) as it will delaminate before you can say.......well.......delaminate. Then there's the fact that the MOT tester will just laugh :rotf: when you present it for its test. Convinced yet?

If I were you http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/misc/11.gifI would go with the size/type of tyre thats already there. Get the bike going and gain some experience of riding/repairing it and then buy a specific 'project' bike when proper funds allow. Done properly, http://webpages.charter.net/connectingzone/car/53.gif the 400 should get you a good return for your money when you come to sell it and the money could be re-invested into something with a bit more ooomph.http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/aktion/action-smiley-083.gif

God I'm feeling old.

Hope this helps...................No seriously

KK

[jas16]

thanks KK,

will def get a bike tyre anf this bike im specifically goin to b using for drag races only (thats where the flat profile might help)...ive got all of the original parts, may eventually put back as a road bike

btw the idea of a car tyre was suggested by my employer

[Kawasaki-krazy]

a 'project' bike that was goin to scrap to turn into a drag racer
Sorry ........didn't see this bit...................I'll get me coat

KK

[jas16]

hey guys

have just set up this website so that you can view the progress and tell me what you think

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p47/indian_munda16/

thanks

[zlMark]

Jas, looks great. Can't wait to see it finished and doin a smoky burnout :D

[jas16]

well bringing an old topic back up again...just to let you know of latest news...well finally the bike is done, :dancingfool:

im over the moon, it sounds amazing

right this is going to be a long post so be prepared and patient :D

firstly the changes, well not many as i removed very little of the plastic and still got some 'dead' weight to remove and seat to cut in half etc...
Put on cone air filter's and as such increased the jet sizes from 85 (standard) to 125, the main jet looks like twice the size of the old one lol
put a new proper MC back tire on, not a car tyre. and yes i accept my mistake for bringin up the car tyre idea, it was BAD!!
exhaust was knackered, well the collector boxes, so cut that off, kept the downpipes though and welded the back exhaust system from a suzuki 1100, with one silencer removed. (still blowing badly as the welding done wasn't good)
painted the tank and front mudguard blue
new clutch cable
new battery...and thats it (of what i can remember at mo)

so what are the results..........

i went to my frst drag race (not really a race, just a test run) couple of weekends ago at wroughton which was fantastic...bloody expensive but i loved every second of it.
my results page will be scanned and put up in my photobucket site as will the updated photos.

my first run was not bad (i say so myself) at 18.17secs = 72.4mph
by the end of the day, at the 6th attempt that went down to 16.33secs = 82.5mph, and on that run i managed to beat a suzuki gs1100 tuned and lengthened off the line, but it came back and wipped my ass though, although i think it was more of a case of the rider not paying attention rather than my super quick reactions, lol

well thanks for reading this and i will put up pics and videos soon, until then enjoy and safe riding

Jas

ps any tips for improving times would be much appreciated, thanks

[zlMark]

Congrats on your work! Just keep practicing and go for consistancy, if your bracket racing then it doesn't matter how fast it will go, it's the consistancy. good luck finding another in your bracket :D

[wuputt]

Nice pics Jas16! We will be patiently waiting for the video of your first set of runs! Good luck with it!

[jas16]

thanks Mark and Wuputt,

well here are a couple of videos, sound check, hope this works

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p47/indian_munda16/Kawasaki%20ZL400/?action=view&current=22-06-07_1522.flv

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p47/indian_munda16/Kawasaki%20ZL400/?action=view&current=22-06-07_1520.flv

sorry for poor quality videos, put it this way, noise is more important than looks

for now i can't be bothered with putting up pics, videos will have to do for now

let mw know what you think guys (and gals)

ps Good news, i'm going to Indiana for my summer internship and have just got my visa and tickets. trip is for 3 months so over the moon

[zlMark]

Sounds good, now get out there and beat up on some harley's :dancingfool:

[jas16]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p47/indian_munda16/Kawasaki%20ZL400/Jassibhajbike.jpg[/img]

[wuputt]

Where in Indiana Jas? Thats not far from Ohio ya know

[jas16]

well im going to Purdue University (west Lafeyette), which all i know is in the middle of nowhere and that indianapolis, the nearest place is like over 60 miles away. and i'll be living quite close to purdue,

[Jarney]

Hey jas16,
I'm about 40 miles east of Indianapolis. Maybe this is a stupid question but will you're bike be with you here in Indiana? If so, maybe we can get together for a ride. Later.