Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual: Shifting Gears

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

Close the throttle while pulling in the clutch lever.
Shift into the next higher or lower gear.
Open the throttle part way, while releasing the clutch lever.
For smooth riding, each gear position should cover the proper rate of speed shown in the table.

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:

Spark Plug Replacement
Remove the stick coils (see Stick Coil Removal in the Electrical System chapter). Remove the spark plugs using the 16 mm (0.63 in.) plug wrench [A] vertically. Replace the spark plug with new ones. Standard Spark Plug Type: NGK CR9EIA-9 Insert the spark plug vertically into the sp ...

Front and Rear Brakes
Disc and disc pad wear is automatically compensated for and has no effect on the brake lever or pedal action. So there are no parts that require adjustment on the front and rear brakes. WARNINGAir in the brake lines diminish braking performance and can cause an accident resulting ...

Switch Inspection
Using a hand tester, check to see that only the connections shown in the table have continuity. Special Tool - Hand Tester: 57001-1394 For the switch housings and the ignition switch, refer to the tables in the Wiring Diagram. If the switch has an open or short, repair it or replace it w ...