Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of getting a ZX7R to go racing with and had a couple of questions about them.


What sorta problems/faults are common with them?

What sorta things should i be looking out for when buying?

What sorta things break/wear out faster than usual?

Are there any other things i should know?


Thanks in advance.

Ahh, New Era 2 ah.???

The zx7r is a pretty strong bike with very few problems. It was developed from the zxr750 that came out in 91, so it was pretty much bullet proof by 96.
Just check the usual things like oil use, gearbox selector, for seals, frame damage etc..

I had one for about 5 years and had no troubles with it whatsoever.

I see you've started an interesting discussion on the pcra site..
I'm surprised no one on there has been abused for having an opinion like there do on here when that topic comes up..

http://www.postclassicracing.com.au/for ... =12&t=4958

Thanks MadKaw.

Not just NE2 but St. George's Unlimited Clubsport class too

So pretty bulletproof in your opinion huh? Even as they get older and the kms clock up? Most ZX7R's seem to have around 30-40,000kms on them now.

Yeah it seems to be a touchy subject that one. At the moment, they all seem to be holding back somewhat too. Should get really interesting if/when they all let loose and say what the really think

I've just purchased a 1992 ZXR750 to do some track days this year (first one is next week - haven't ridden a bike in two years since selling my last one) and look to start racing in NE2 next year.

I'd heard a lot of good things about the ZXR750/ZX7R, they seem to relatively common and parts easy to obtain and seem to be competitive in the class. If you get one that is close to standard as possible then you avoid the endless arguements/discussions that seem to occur about the eligiblity of a bike . Why not have either a hard and fast cut off date, ie: 12/95 and that's it, regardless of the "no significant changes" arguement and if some 1996 models are plated 1995 then thats a bit of good luck for them, otherwise have a list of "homologated" bikes to allow for the no significant changes. Also, a definitive list of what can and can't be changed, exclusion of RR models (normally only 50 of them anyway) etc would provide less interpretation, that's just my two cents worth from reading some of the threads.

Anyhow, back to the purchase of a bike, you can look in the for sale section on this forum (or some other lesser ones ) or here are a couple that were on ebay that have quite a bit of work done:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0285380547
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0275630254
or you look to get a road bike and convert it to a race bike.

I'm sure that's cleared nothing up for you..

You're absolutely right. Thats cleared up nothing for me But i do agree with you about the rules. Dont really want to get into all that here though.

Is that your ZXR in your avatar? So you're planning on racing that with NE2 next year? I thought only PCRA ran NE2. Aren't you in Brisbane?

Unfortunately both the bikes you posted would be ineligible for NE2. Not to mention that the auctions have already ended

Oh and good luck with your track day next week. You'll love it!

Now, now, you can't go banning the homologated specials... not the ones built before 95 anyway.. ..

This is what I attempted to race for a couple of years.

93 zxr750r M1 - Limited edition homologation special... Didn't go any better than a good stocker though (it was pretty stock) and was a lot of trouble..
Had an offer I couldn't refuse so I sold it earlier this year..

I love the term 'bullet proof'.

I have 2 ZX7R race bikes and I am on my 3rd motor. Generally they are fairly reliable except if they have fallen over on their left hand side and had the motor run for a little bit.

The No3 Rod/Big end is the most susceptible part to oil loss. Also try not to 'over rev' the engine as the No3 starts to starve of oil.

Handling wise the 7R is rock solid and some say to have an awesome front end.

I am currently (re)building a 793cc engine for my No1 race bike. Have a look at my site http://www.bigmitchracing.com

Oh yeah.. I forgot to say "except for Mitch's"....

I second the #3 big end bearing, i have done 2 engines !!! also cracked a head... The alternator chain tensioner can fail with the plastic coating stuff breaking up and filling the oil screen with bits, easy fix though. if you are racing/track daying i would recomend pulling the engine, fitting new main and big end bearings, a new alt chain and tensioner, new cam chain and manual tensioner, all of this is possible without pulling the head off. if you do the bearings every 2 years or so(depending on use) then you will have a very reliable bike, consider bearins as consumables. the 2 engines i had fail where both unknown history but since rebuilding are fantastic. the problem is if the bike has been on it's side and running even for a few seconds the bearing life will be shortend and the worst part is you will never know by how much..! if it fails you will be up for a con rod, a crank and a set of bearings at least, and at worst a set of cases, oil pump, barrels etc etc, much cheaper and smarter to change them out, then you know what you have got. learn from other peoples mis fortune, it is easier than the alternative.

this is all easy maintenace and the parts are very resonable (bike bandits) might pay to wait for the dollar to go up a bit though.

Cheers