Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual: Shifting Gears

Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual / How to ride the motorcycle / Shifting Gears

WARNING

Downshifting to a lower gear at high speed causes engine rpm to increase excessively, potentially damaging the engine and it may also cause the rear wheel to skid and cause an accident.

Vehicle speed when shifting


NOTE

The transmission is equipped with a positive neutral finder. When the motorcycle is standing still, the transmission cannot be shifted past neutral from 1st gear. To use the positive neutral finder, shift down to 1st gear, then lift up on the shift pedal while standing still. The transmission will shift only into neutral.

Moving Off
Check that the side stand is up. Pull in the clutch lever. Shift into 1st gear. Open the throttle a little, and start to let out the clutch lever very slowly. As the clutch starts to enga ...

Braking
Close the throttle completely, leaving the clutch engaged (except when shifting gears) so that the engine will help slow down the motorcycle. Shift down one gear at a time so that you are ...

Other materials:

Upper Fairing Assembly Removal
Remove: Lower Fairings (see Lower Fairing Removal) Center Inner Fairing (see Center Inner Fairing Removal) Upper Inner Fairings (see Upper Inner Fairing Removal) Windshield (see Windshield Removal) Disconnect the front turn signal light lead connector [A] (both sides). Remove the bo ...

Radiator and Radiator Fan Removal
Remove: Upper Fairing Assembly (see Upper Fairing Assembly Removal in the Frame chapter) Coolant (Drain, see Coolant Change in the Periodic Maintenance chapter) Air Cleaner Housing (see Air Cleaner Housing Removal in the Fuel System (DFI) chapter) Coolant Reserve Tank (see Coolant R ...

Oil Cooler Removal
Remove: Coolant (Drain, see Coolant Change in the Periodic Maintenance chapter) Engine Oil (Drain, see Engine Oil Change in the Periodic Maintenance chapter) Lower Fairings (see Lower Fairing Removal in the Frame chapter) Water Hose Ends [A] (Disconnect) Remove: Oil Cool ...