Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi guys

Hoping the knowledgeable mechanical types that are rumored to roam this forum can help me out

I bought a ZX7R cheap and of course the whammies are starting to appear.

It is due for a new chain and sprockets and tonight the Speedo died.

So my questions are:

How much does a new chain and sprockets for a 96 ZX7R cost? (labour estimates?)

What’s the best way to go about sourcing a replacement Speedo, is this something i could install myself?

There is very little clutch left and it often won't change from 2nd to 1st - is this likely to be because of my worn out chain and sprockets or will i need to look at replacing my clutch as well?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Welcome to the forum!
Chain and sprocket prices vary- shop around- you should be able to source the parts for $200-300. If you buy a genuine Kawasaki chain you could be up for $600 alone- this is the quote I got for my ZZR1100 a few years ago- I would imagine your bike would run a similar if not the same chain. One advantage of a Kawasaki chain is that it comes in one piece- no joining links- the disadvantage of this is that you need to remove your swingarm to install the chain! Otherwise the aftermarket chains are identical (DID brand I think from memory) but you need to join the chain- two methods are used- a clip link which the easiest but prone to fail (don't do it on a powerful bike such as yours) and rivet link which is the way to go but you need a special rivet tool. I'm sure someone here would volunteer to help you if you decided to have a crack at the chain yourself.
As for the speedo, you are in luck it is probably the speedo cable- it is far more likely to have failed than the speedo! Much cheaper- $15-20- just got to disconnect at the front wheel (cable) and at the speedo and install the new cable. Easy!
Your clutch problems are hopefully just a cable again- either adjustment is out or the cable has stretched- a bugger if the cable fails- you lose the ability to disengage the clutch- still rideable, just.... Worst case scenario is clutch itself is shot, but these aren't too hard to change- put a new clutch in my GT recently and it was a piece of cake. New clutch cable wouldn't hurt- if it fails it is a PITA!

bonester wrote: a clip link which the easiest but prone to fail (don't do it on a powerful bike such as yours)

Riding Dirt bikes nearlly all my life I have never seen the link fail. And when doing big jumps this would put alot more stress on chain links than riding a high power bike. THis is also with a smaller size chain as well compaired to roadbikes.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I am keen to learn more about the mechanical side of things, ideally with help I will be able to do most of my own servicing on this one

I would be keen to do the chain/sprockets/clutch/etc myself but I am both lacking tools and experience. Are there any members in Bris who could offer some help? (reimbursement via premium beer often tends to do the trick

b.

Hey mate, so you got yourself a 7r hey.....

The 7r speedos are almost impoosible to kill. God knows I've tried. Usually the cable will break before anything else. However it is fairly common for the cable to simply come undone at the back of the speedo. Have a real close look because it can be loose and still look ok. The other possible source of problem can be the cable drive on the front wheel, Blueflys failed about 6months ago. Cheap as from a wreker though. I got one for about $5 on ebay.
As for the clutch issue, a shitty chain can create you grief. sadly there is no easy adjustment since it has a hydrolic clutch, unlike 6,9 and 10r's that have a cable unit. Do the chain first and see how it goes.

Badly-worn chain and sprockets will cause problems with gear shifting, it will make the gear-change seem 'clunky' and can also cause problems with bikes jumping out of gear, or hard to shift into gear.

How many riders do you know who have said......"man, just fitted a new chain and sprockets, and it feels like a new gearbox !! soooo smooth..."

Happens every day

Badly-worn chain and sprockets will cause problems with gear shifting, it will make the gear-change seem 'clunky' and can also cause problems with bikes jumping out of gear, or hard to shift into gear.

How many riders do you know who have said......"man, just fitted a new chain and sprockets, and it feels like a new gearbox !! soooo smooth..."

My GN250 had a miss in it around 3-4k rpm. Tried everything to fix it- cleaned and adjusted carb (several times) went through ignition, including trying different coils and plugs.....Never worked it out until I put new chain and sprockets on it! Musta had an unevenly worn chain...weird. Runs like a swiss watch now!

if u know what u are doing u can get away with $200-300 on chain and sprockets.

$180 for cahins and sprocket off ebay to ur door.

if u dont know what u are doing. $400 maybe more

bonester wrote:
One advantage of a Kawasaki chain is that it comes in one piece- no joining links- the disadvantage of this is that you need to remove your swingarm to install the chain! Otherwise the aftermarket chains are identical (DID brand I think from memory) but you need to join the chain- two methods are used- a clip link which the easiest but prone to fail (don't do it on a powerful bike such as yours) and rivet link which is the way to go but you need a special rivet tool. :

Chains are much like tyres as far as OEM to aftermarket differences. The factory may specify a certain type/grade/quality of chain, which is more often than not different to the aftermarket chain from the same supplier. I have never been able to get the same mileage from an aftermarket chain as I have from the OEM stuff. Mind you the last two I had, didn't remain in my posession long enough to replace them so they may have changed in the last few years, but i doubt it.

On the link front, after 20+ years of road and track riding, I have never had a split link come apart on me. I even race with them. Provided you replace the link if it is ever removed, no problems.

The peen/rivet links (ones which require a peening tool) can still be used even if you don't have a peening tool. I did a mates chain and sprockets two weekends ago on an R1 and used a Peen link. I just clamped the backing plate, used a hole punch to spread the outer pin ends, then used a flat drift to complete the peen. As we didn't have a socket big enough to undo the front sprocket, that was done by a dealer the next week, and he had my work double checked by him and the mechanic thought it had been done with the special tool. So provided you use common sense it's easy enough a task to complete.

Thanks for the advice guys

Matty was nice enough to take a look at my bike while we were at uni today and looked over everthing. Thankfully my speedo cable has just come loose and didnt need replacement.

Chain and sprockets are in the pipe as well and its looks like matty can help me out there too!

....Cam chain....erg...pain in the ass job - might leave that one for a while...

Looking for the parts on ebay i've found the following for my 96 ZX-7R:

Rear Sprocket:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-96-0 ... 6208QQrdZ1

Front Sprocket:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-96-0 ... 6214QQrdZ1

Kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-96-0 ... 9753QQrdZ1

I really couldnt find any chains for mine unless I was using the wrong search terms. Are these the sort of items I am looking for or are they a bit 'bling' for someone just wanting to replace their chain & sprockets as cheaply as possible?

Hey Elrond,

My speedo went not long after i got my ZX7R and it was nothing some silver solder and a little patience did not fix. I have since given it a real workout and it is fine/correct.

The Unit.

With the clutch, a full bleed and new fluid through the system (do the brakes while you are at it) can work wonders, if you use one of those bleed valve things from SuperCrap Auto it makes it pretty easy.

BTW if you want help on the Northside send me a PM and I will see what I can do.

Previous owner of my old 7 found a way to kill the speedo: Flip the bike at Phillip Island! Mind you it is a little excessive, did some other damage too.....

bonester wrote: My GN250 had a miss in it around 3-4k rpm. Tried everything to fix it- cleaned and adjusted carb (several times) went through ignition, including trying different coils and plugs.....Never worked it out until I put new chain and sprockets on it! Musta had an unevenly worn chain...weird. Runs like a swiss watch now!

Prolly makes similar power too.

HemiDuty wrote:...Prolly makes similar power too.

so whose a cheeky bugger tonight eh ?? good call mate !


Elrond - try searching for Takasago or RK, I would always recommend one of these chains over a *cheapie* (if you can find on anyway), anything cheap is pretty much a false economy where chains/sprockets are concerned.

Cheaper 'name' chains are always the non o-ring style, these are *fine* if you maintain them regularly. O-ring are OK, they will take a HP or 2 away from you........X-ring or even W-ring are pretty good........there is a big selection these days.........

Thanks for the heads-up hemi

Coin is a touch tight at the moment so I'm fixing things in bits. Mick at MTM quoted me $235 max to do chain and sprockets, i don't know what type of chain he will be putting on tho.

Things still to do:

-cam chain (it really is starting to sound terrible)...ergh

-get the suspension looked@by someone in the know, looks like pontikat will be able to help me out there

-clutch has just been bled by previous owner so im hoping its just my shagged chain 'n' sprok.

-brakes feel like bollocks, def. need a bleed.

newb question: how does one go about 'tuning' a bike, or is this even applicable to my zx7r? I know it has a power commander unit but my understanding of its workings is limited (read: nil)