Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey guys,

I've just purchased myself a 1996 ZX-7R with 15,000km on the clock.

The bike is great, but I'm having a few issues which are testing my first impressions.

I'm assuming that you aren't supposed to be able to wobble the gauges. Some people have told me that they're "soft mounted", but mine feel far too lose. I suppose I'll have to take them off and check out what's going on.

The speedo is out by around 20%. I've noticed that when I come to a stop, the speedo needle doesn't rest on "0", it stays around 10km/h when the bike isn't moving.

The reason I noticed that the gauges wobble is because I was riding at about 100km/h and got on the brakes hard and the front of the bike shook quite hard. I'm assuming this means warped rotors. It's not apparent at lower speeds, which is why I didn't notice it on the test ride. (The bike was unregistered when I bought it, so I had to stick to side streets for the test ride.)

The front end makes a grinding noise when the bike rolls forward or backwards. I'm thinking that this could still be related to the rotors being warped and rubbing on the pads.

As I come to a stop, I can feel a "clicking" or "cracking" in the bars. Head stem bearings maybe?

Sorry to ask so many questions in my first post. It'd be greatly appreciated if somebody could tell me if I'm on the right track. I feel like there's so much stuff to fix that it's all a bit overwhelming at this point!

Cheers,

Mat

Welcome..

Thats a lot of problems on a bike that has only 15,000ks on it.
The instrument mounts do tend to crack at the mounting point, mine did. Take em off and have a look, its not hard to see and fix.
Could be warped rotors, lift the front wheel and spin it and see if it drags at certain points. Not hard to fix if it is, you just need to find someone down there who can straighten them.
It may also be the pads are stuffed or the forks need a service..
I'm sure one of experienced Vic members can give you hand checking it out...

Thanks for the reply.

It is a lot of problems... that'll teach me to put my trust in the word of the person selling the bike.

I'm a little hesitant to spend too much fixing it as I'm worried about over capitalising on the bike. It is my only mode of transport though so I should probably do something.

simatrik wrote:Thanks for the reply.

It is a lot of problems... that'll teach me to put my trust in the word of the person selling the bike.

I'm a little hesitant to spend too much fixing it as I'm worried about over capitalising on the bike. It is my only mode of transport though so I should probably do something.

Fixing the warped rotors & or head stem bearings is not over capitalizing it's a safety issue & would make riding the 7 more enjoyable
I may have overcapitalized on my 7 but I think it's a great ride

The way I see it you have no choice but to fix it. (unless you do as the previous seller did)

Jonno wrote:The way I see it you have no choice but to fix it. (unless you do as the previous seller did)

I know! I don't particularly want to do that!

Has anyone got ideas of what I could be up for to fix the head stem bearings?

Assuming I put new rotors on, I think they're about $140/rotor plus pads and labour which I don't think is too bad but the bearings are a bit of an unknown.

I bet that ain't the original speedo! ......15000 & the rest..

Everything you described is just general maintenance stuff. Definitely check the pads + go over the whole bike. You might as well service the thing & then you know what you got. Oil/filter/plugs/pads/check air filter/steering head bearings etc etc.

These are great bikes(owned one myself for about 8 years) & you will definitely enjoy it once you get it sorted.

By the way welcome to KSRC & post up some pics.

Cheers!

Welcome Mat...yeah fix the few probs and enjoy your riding.

simatrik wrote:

Jonno wrote:The way I see it you have no choice but to fix it. (unless you do as the previous seller did)

I know! I don't particularly want to do that!

Has anyone got ideas of what I could be up for to fix the head stem bearings?

Assuming I put new rotors on, I think they're about $140/rotor plus pads and labour which I don't think is too bad but the bearings are a bit of an unknown.

3 ways for bearings.

Head stem bearings: (Guessing at prices but ratio would be the same.)
Original from Kawasaki (usually most expensive) I paid $110 for ZX12R set a while ago.
or
http://www.allballsracing.com/ Look for Aussie distributor outlets..For zx9R I paid $85+ set
or
remove them, search for bearing supplies in your area get them to match them up and ask for quality Jap bearings... (cheapest by far $50 maybe)

Where are you getting rotors from for that price? Second hand?

Is there a lot of labour involved in fitting the bearings?

These are the rotors I've found so far, although I haven't looked anywhere further than eBay.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Disc-Rotor-F ... 095wt_1139

I'm unsure about whether the odometer is correct or not.

The guy I bought the bike off has owned it since 1998 and apparently hasn't ridden it in years due to a license disqualification. But then again he said he'd be "surprised if I'd find a better ZX-7R".

Oh, and here are some pics. I'll have to give it a wash and take some more.

simatrik wrote:Is there a lot of labour involved in fitting the bearings?

These are the rotors I've found so far, although I haven't looked anywhere further than eBay.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Disc-Rotor-F ... 095wt_1139

I'm unsure about whether the odometer is correct or not.

The guy I bought the bike off has owned it since 1998 and apparently hasn't ridden it in years due to a license disqualification. But then again he said he'd be "surprised if I'd find a better ZX-7R".

Yeah there is a bit involved, Remove front end basically.

One good indicator of kms is rotor wear if they are the originals (at a guess) they will have a min thickness number stamped into them i.e. 5.0mm or similar, measure them up and if worn excessively I would say it has done track work for 15k kms or has done at least 50k kms road.

Have you pulled the front in the air onto the sidestand and moved the bars side to side? feel any notchyness?

Yeah and a bike shop should do them within 3 hrs all going well.

Might be a good time to freshen forks up at the same time budget depending of course.

I'm not too sure what you mean about pulling the front into the air on the side stand?

Stand yourself on left side near the side stand which is down, pull back on the bars and to the left lifting the front wheel JUST off the ground. The side stand and rear wheel are supporting the bike on the ground, then turn bars left and right feeling for notchyness in the action..

Dont yank the bike all the way over, if your not sure get a bike mechanic to do it