Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Now that the "oooh shiny new bike" feeling has peaked, I can start to adjust things to my liking and also look at the bike with a bit more of a critical eye

And I have a question for previous Crim owners, because I'm not sure if my bike is gutless / something wrong, or if my expectations are too high... I'm pretty sure it's not my expectations though.
I was kinda expecting lots of raw power available just with a bit of wrist action. I'm actually finding it to be not the case. It seems to be very low on power, down low, and not as torque-y as I thought it would be. It just bogs down, and feels like it has less power than my old 636 FFS.

An example: Cruising along at 70kms in 6th gear so pretty low revs, I twist open the throttle (not enough that I'm worried about lifting the front, but not gently either), and it just gives me nothing. It bogs down and grunts along for a moment, before slowing starting to accelerate, but doesn't really make me smile until I'm much higher up in the power band (higher than the 636 had to be).

So does this sound right to you guys? Or do I need to add the revs to the above example before you can tell? Surely, it should be pretty responsive with power on tap even at low revs, shouldn't it? Or do one of you wanna test ride it for me?

(it also has annoying fairing vibration rattles, but that's just going to take time to track down. And I have some eBay goodies on the way )

what are you doing in 6th at 70kms an hour..................................... hmhmm correction WTF are you doing only travelling 70km/h on a 10r

Happy to ride it to tell.

At 70kms in 6th you wont feel a heap of rush but it should at least get a move on.

I have a bad fairing vibration, well I thought it was.........Tim located a loose crash knob bracket is the problem

Should have got a zx9

You can ride mine and compare if you like.
Under 5000rpm is normally just fart noises and stuff, then once past 5000, things start to happen.

Try dropping one tooth on the front sprocket for starters...

MadKaw wrote:Try dropping one tooth on the front sprocket for starters...

+1 and a quick action are mandatory

I still haven't dropped a front tooth on mine.
I just run +2 on the rear I think?

lol guys. I was in 70 because it was a 60 zone where the cops often sit
And I'm not buying new sprockets, etc until other things are sorted. Besides, it's a ZX10!!! It should just be raaaaaaaar without extra bling!

Thanks Wattie - I'll try it again, but next time keeping an eye on revs instead of speed (der - I shoulda known better). I'm actually hoping there is a problem (fuel / air) and that it is easily fixable.

Timing retardation in the lower RPM?

X-TRE mod applicable to the Crim?

You can do tre.

I personally never bothered. I keep it about 5k if I need it to go.

Kermit wrote:Timing retardation in the lower RPM?

X-TRE mod applicable to the Crim?

No TRE in 4th 5th and 6th

but yes they are good for a roadie, track not so much

Agree with the idea of a QA Throttle as it gives a big lift in performance feel without any major work!

Would the R1 throttle upgrade work or is the 10R throttle tube cam the same size?

Worked wonders on my old ZXR's and ZX6R's!

Well, just to update. There's nothing wrong with the engine. In fact, mechanically the bike is very nice.

Dave's noticed a few other problems that the bright dazzle of 'shiny new bike' hid from my eyes. I'll definitely take someone who isn't all excited with me next time I look at a second hand bike! So yeah, it's been crashed, the tank has had a respray, not the best job... Lots of things were loose, rattly, not adjusted right etc.

Dave gave her some general TLC, tightening things, fixing minor stuff, and now it's much more pleasant to ride Basically I think all the rattles as well as some excessive expectations, led me to believe there was engine problems, but she now has the all-clear

One day ill get out for a ride cath and we can swapsies