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:

Fuel Tank and Cap Inspection
Visually inspect the gasket [A] on the tank cap for any damage. Replace the gasket if it is damaged. Check to see if the water drain pipe [B] and fuel breather pipe [C] in the tank are not clogged. Check the tank cap breather also. If they are clogged, remove the tank and drain it ...

Rear Sprocket Warp Inspection
Raise the rear wheel off the ground with the stand so that it will turn freely. Set a dial gauge [A] against the rear sprocket [B] near the teeth as shown in the figure, and rotate [C] the rear wheel to measure the sprocket runout (warp). The difference between the highest and lowest di ...

Rocker Arm Installation
Install the both rocker arms [A] so that their marks [B] face left side. Replace the tie-rod nut, rear shock absorber nut and rocker arm nut with new ones. Apply grease to the inside of the oil seals. Tighten: Torque - Rocker Arm Nut: 34 N·m (3.5 kgf·m, 25 ft·lb) Tie-Rod ...