Kawasaki Ninja Owners Manual: Shifting Gears

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:

Oil and/or Oil Filter Change
To change the engine oil and replace oil filter, the engine oil drain bolt and oil filter must be removed. The oil change and oil filter replacement should be done by an authorized Kawasaki dealer. A. Engine Oil Drain Bolt A. Oil Filter WARNINGEngine oil is a toxic s ...

Valve Clearance
Valve and valve seat wear decreases valve clearance, upsetting valve timing. NOTICE If valve clearance is left unadjusted, wear will eventually cause the valves to remain partly open; which lowers performance, burns the valves and valve seats, and may cause serious engine damage. Valve cle ...

Master Cylinder Inspection (Visual Inspection)
Remove the master cylinders (see Front/Rear Master Cylinder Removal). Disassemble the front and rear master cylinders (see Master Cylinder Rubber Parts Replacement in the Periodic Maintenance chapter). Check that there are no scratches, rust or pitting on the inner wall [A] of each ma ...