THE NAKED TRUTH !!!

[the kid]

Looks pretty Sweet Strika , maybe we will see it next Sunday an can tell ya mate to shove his Yamahardly

Sounds like you may make a profit from selling of all the original bits

How much for those unmarked mirrors

[MadKaw]

Looks good, its a shame your gunna strip it..
take it for a decent ride, you may change your mind..

[Phil]

Looks good, its a shame your gunna strip it..
take it for a decent ride, you may change your mind..

what he said.

i'm still trying to recover after reading 50K on the original pads..........

on no strika, they dont use oil like yamaha's well mine doesnt.

whats the go with all these pristine 9's getting snapped up - OH thats right - the best all round motorcycle ever

[Strika]

Looks good, its a shame your gunna strip it..
take it for a decent ride, you may change your mind..

You know you are spot on. I am really feeling a bit guilty hacking into what is such a fastidously maintained machine. As I mentioned in a previous post, the orange one didn't worry me, as anything from there was an improvement. However, this 9 is what the trade describe as an absolute girl. I may just stick some tyres on it and see if I can sell it for a profit and buy something cheaper again, with maybe not such a good history and in such immaculate condition and start from there.

Then again, I reckon after a month of ownership, the gloss will wear off and I'll start modding. I am a victim, so it shouldn't take long.


I noticed the side on pic of the 07 Z1000. Has anyone a front on shot that clearly shows the new headlight??? If it's nice, it would be just so cool to keep all the replacement parts gen Kawasaki.

Billy, I probably won't have the time to go get it, and definately won't have the time to get some tyres on it and get it registered. So unfortunately, it looks like I will be on the R1. Just have to make sure the chiro has a booking for me on Monday!!!!

[FrogZ]

Whats not to like Strika?
Black, Kwak and if I squint it looks like a 12!!
Keep us posted mate, I am a bit sus' about that ram air but.
How do you reckon it will make a difference?
(sounds good after my inlet/exhaust length rant eh?)
While I havbent taken the 12 on a tour it doesnt seem to run any different sans all the ram air....
I also noted on my fueling from LAE that the only "richness" in the system, that I thought you would need for ram air, is all up the very top (which makes sense).
As you can imagine with my current "project" I am VERY interested in what you know/learn.

Also if you REALLY want to know just ask Ben (from Extreme) as he is a member here and has already helped me greatly with advice

This is what I LOVE about this site, it constantly questions the things I THINK I "know"

[Strika]

Whats not to like Strika?
Black, Kwak and if I squint it looks like a 12!!
Keep us posted mate, I am a bit sus' about that ram air but.
How do you reckon it will make a difference?
(sounds good after my inlet/exhaust length rant eh?)
While I havbent taken the 12 on a tour it doesnt seem to run any different sans all the ram air....
I also noted on my fueling from LAE that the only "richness" in the system, that I thought you would need for ram air, is all up the very top (which makes sense).
As you can imagine with my current "project" I am VERY interested in what you know/learn.

Also if you REALLY want to know just ask Ben (from Extreme) as he is a member here and has already helped me greatly with advice

This is what I LOVE about this site, it constantly questions the things I THINK I "know"

I have modded the odd ram air equiped bike over the years since K intro'd it. What I have found is inconsistencies in fuelling at, as you say, higher RPM's and especially when combined with high gears and high throttle loads. Most of the bikes I have done are racers, but the exact same principle applies.

Bear in mind ram air really has NO effect until the bike reaches speeds of 100mph! Before then, it is passive, and really just an extension of the airbox. As the air speed increases, this acts as a form of passive super charging. Now as more air is forced and slightly compressed into the airbox, the fuel metering must be matched accordingly.

With my ZX6R F1 racer as an example, we had special carbon fibre pods made, which effectively increased airbox volume by a massive 10%, added to that the design also caused more pressure which in turn gave even more volume. Thus main jets needed to flow more fuel to compensate.

The reverse applies if the pods are removed. Less volume, less pressure, less air, less fuel!

Thats a basic layman's explanation, I hope I havn't convoluted your thought process?

Their is also another issue, which is that of surging. The big ram air bikes need a consistent and constant flow of air. removing the feeders tubes or pods, can make the flow inconsistent and cause surging issues also.

Oddly enough, it doesn't always happen on all bikes????? A ZZR1100 we did years ago was a pig without them. But another one we did ran fine?? Go figure????

[HemiDuty]

I wonder how much these things are affected by the buffeting you get when crossing someone's draft on a fast straight?

Well anyway at least you guys have Ram Air. My R1 is a 2002 model and still no Ram Air....

All the good things in life have Ram Air; Kawasakis, Muscle Cars.....

[Strika]

I wonder how much these things are affected by the buffeting you get when crossing someone's draft on a fast straight?

Well anyway at least you guys have Ram Air. My R1 is a 2002 model and still no Ram Air....

All the good things in life have Ram Air; Kawasakis, Muscle Cars.....

The bike will lose a touch of power as you draft someone, but the slipstream more than makes up for it. As you know, that still air behind that next victim in front of you, is still because it's moving as fast as you. So it's a low pressure spot. Thus really no ram air effect. but once you pull out to pass, the air gets repressurised and it will growl a little harder and pick up just enough to be perceptible.

(Wally Campbell racecraft Hint # 23 (he was good to me in the pits in 1996 .... When you pull out of the slipstream to pass someone,....don't pull back in front of them once you have passed. All you do is succeed in slingshotting them back past you using your draft. Pull out and keep pulling out. )

[Stereo]

So you got a real bike again huh? hehehe

[FrogZ]

Thanks Strika, espec as it doesnt go against what i thought.
Apparently a BIG diff between '00 ZX12R's and later models is the front scoop for the ram air, the orig had that big open one and the later the bill with the slats in to defeat cross winds / surging.
It is also my understanding that the ram air works t opressurise the system rather than act like a big scoop, but to be honest too me that means the same bloody thing anyway, the diff being no pulse / surge....

Years ago I was talking to Alistair Maxwell whom used to race ZX7RR's (at WSB level when they were here, a 9th at PI as I remember) and he had these relatively small protrusions around the openings for Team Kwak on the ram air of a 7. At top speed he reckons (less than 1cm high) it was good for 10 HP !!!
AND it actually made the opening itself SMALLER (velocity??)

Keep us posted on the build pls

[Stereo]

If you look closely at the pre 98 honda CBR600F3's ram air it has a big "mouth" in the fairing, but inside there is actually quite a small tube that is the real ram air.... Increasing the size made no difference...

[FrogZ]

I think it is too do with pressure (above atmospeheric) rather than actualling RAMMING the air straight down the carb mouth...
My RX10 was one of the 1st (the 1st?) with ram air and it didnt have a snork as such but did have all the area under the headlight back to the airbox inlet "sealed" to build the airbox pressure.

[Strika]

If you look closely at the pre 98 honda CBR600F3's ram air it has a big "mouth" in the fairing, but inside there is actually quite a small tube that is the real ram air.... Increasing the size made no difference...

And if you were able to measure the difference accurately you would find that the system they used on the Honda did fcuk all!!! Some race guys would not even have them on!!!!

The big K until very recently has been the pioneer of ram air, and the others were for the most part basically useless but fashionable attempts more in line with marketing than actual improvement!

These days however most of them have it sussed too. But it's not alsways about having protrusions from the fairing nor the size of either the inlet ducts or the actual duct sizes. It's as others have pointed out more a need to have the ducts themselves in a position which creates enough pressure to force feed the airbox. We are not talking lbs of boost here like a belt driven supercharger, but possible increments of lbs boostage! Which give an increase in flow. And As most are aware, motors are but pumps, and the more you can get in and out and the faster, usually means more power. Obviously providing all other factors are as they should be. ie- it wouldn't matter how much fuel and air you could get in and out, if it had no compression it wouldn't run.

But,........back to the topic.

Anyone seen a frontal pic of the new Z1000's headlight???????

[FrogZ]

As Jamie Bezzina (is that the right spellling?) and Irving have pointed out, not only is the motor a big pump, it is a big ATMOSPHERIC pressure pump.
Its not even as if the motor "sucks" the inlet charge in, its just "fills" it.
It only takes a slight pressure to make big differences.

This is ALL beyond me but and I am just repeating what I have found in my efforts to understand it, because I wanted a "Hans" snorkel for my 12.

[Neka79]

simple solution strika...
take it for a blat up the spurs..and bin it trying real hard...
then u wont feel so bad turning it into a fighter!!

farkin simple really....