Kawasaki Ninja

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:

Drive Chain Slack Adjustment
Remove the cotter pin [A], and loosen the rear axle nut [B]. Loosen the both chain adjuster locknuts [C]. If the chain is too loose, turn out the left and right chain adjusters [D] evenly. If the chain is too tight, turn in the left and right chain adjusters evenly, and kick the wheel f ...

Lights and Switches Operation Inspection
First Step Set the gear position in the neutral position. Turn the ignition switch to ON. The following lights should go on according to below table. If the following light does not go on, inspect the meter unit (see Meter Unit Inspection in the Electrical System chapter). ...

Crankshaft Main Bearing Insert/Journal Wear Inspection
Split the crankcase (see Crankcase Splitting). Cut strips of plastigage to journal width. Place a strip on each journal parallel to the crankshaft installed in the correct position. Tighten the crankcase bolts to the specified torque (see Crankcase Assembly). NOTE Do not turn ...