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:

Mode-switching
Depress the S-KTRC button on the left handlebar switch to change the mode. The mode can be changed only when the throttle grip is closed completely. The S-KTRC OFF can be selected only when the motorcycle is at a stop. Changing to mode 1 from S-KTRC OFF is possible while riding. NOTE ...

Air Suction System Damage Inspection
Separate the air switching valve hose [A] from the lower air cleaner housing [B] (see Air Cleaner Housing Removal in the Fuel System (DFI) chapter). Connect the following parts temporarily. Fuel Pump Lead Connector [A] Extension Tube [B] Air Cleaner Housing (see Air Cleaner Hou ...

Connecting Rod Big End Bearing Insert/Crankpin Wear Inspection
Remove the connecting rod big end (see Connecting Rod Removal). Cut strips of plastigage to crankpin width. Place a strip on the crankpin parallel to the crankshaft installed in the correct position. Tighten the connecting rod big end nuts to the specified torque (see Connecting Rod I ...