[IslandNinja]

Well Ive just officially made it alive through my first month owning my ZX10R. What a machine!! One thing Ive been reading alot on here, is that you have to understand the shear power this bike gives, you must respect it or it will eat you alive. IM not a newbie rider, nor am I a vet either, but even with some good riding under me from other bikes, this one will take some serious time to get to know. IM not into doing stuff like stunts or track racing, I just drive it around, but its hard not to punch it when a light turns green! One thing Id like to say is how comforable the Ninja has become over the years. No more balls in the gas tank. I got the titanium looking one and it gets alot of head turns and alot of compliments. IM looking forward to much warmer weather in the spring and summer to really get to feel this bike. I did go all out and buy some of the best equipment I could wear, I dont want to be a smear on the road incase I have a spill. I would recommend this bike to anyone who is a serious rider or who plans on being responsible with it.

 

[kyhick1]

IslandNinja,

Welcome to the Forum. Sounds like you are starting off with the right attitude...and the right equipment.

We would love to see a pic of you, your riding gear and your bike!!!!! in the Show off your ride Thread.

Again Welcome and Safe and Fun Riding in 2005!!!

Heather

 

[2WheelFun]

IslandNinja....Welcome and I have to agree with Heather....you have a good attitude and respect for your awesome machine. Enjoy getting to know it and be safe.

 

[ZX10 Guy]

Look into getting a steering damper as your next safety equipment purchase.

 

[nathan600r]

You have the same attitude as I do about sportbikes, and if this a face to face meeting I'd shake your hand. Keep it up and may the motorcycle gods continue to give you good luck.

 

[spdrkt ZX7R]

I want one so bad!!

Congrats.

 

[IslandNinja]

Heres my baby!! Ill get one with me in it soon. Just need someone else to hold the camera for me.

P.S. How much does that Steering damper really help?? Ive never seen one or been on a bike that has one. Does it change the feel?

 

[ZX10 Guy]

I don't know if you'll get into "playing" with the bike. But if you feel that you'll eventually get into exploring the power delivery of the 10, you'll want a steering damper for that extra bit of safety assurance. A steering damper is a device that acts much like a shock absorber which is attached to the front suspension in some manner. The damping behavior of a steering damper helps minimize effects of the front tire just skimming the road surface which can cause head shakes. If severe enough, the head shakes can turn into tank slappers. Many of the popular set ups out there utilize a mounting system which attaches to the two bolts at the top of the fuel tank and the main steering stem nut. Adjusted properly, you shouldn't feel much of a difference over not having a damper there. With the light weight of the 10 and the short wheel base, the ZX-10 is very wheelie prone. Some of the dampers out there are Ohlins (I have this one), Hyper Pro, Scotts, and GPR. The Ohlins and Hyper Pro units look very much like shocks on their side. The Scotts and GPR are a different design which is called a rotary type damper. Everyone has their favorite but most agree that you can't go wrong with any of these units. It all boils down to asthetics and how adjustable you want the damper to be. I went with Ohlins because of the ease of adjusting the damper on the fly and because of their reputation.

Congrats on the bike.

 

[Odog]

I might be selling my Akrapovic carbon fiber slip on for about $300(US) in the spring. If things go well I'm getting the full Akra evo. And the damper is a must!

 

[Gip10R]

Hi there, you seem to know your stuff about the 10r, and there seems a severe lack of people from the UK like me on here.
I think the standard suspension settings on the 10r are terrible, and having owned one since april '04, managed to get some decent settings from Performance Bike mag that have dramatically improved the handling, but i still think there is improvement to be gained. I would be very interested in your opinion on this. Thanks.

 

[ZX10 Guy]

I haven't gotten around to playing with the suspension settings yet. I'm tapping a resource when I get some time to dial in my suspension. My resource is a privateer that is racing in the AMA Superstock and will be running in Superbike next year. One advice he told me right off the bat to do is to pull the shim above the rear shock. This will lower the rear some which he says is a must to create a better balance. I have to send him some information on where my suspension settings are as he said the bikes have shipped from the factory with some wildly varying settings. He said most dealers won't pay attention to make sure the settings are what the factory calls out for during the pre delivery prep. Over all, we're going to focus on adjusting the compression and rebound settings but the biggest thing is to dial in the appropriate amount of preload as the stock settings are already acknowledged as being too stiff. I can let you know how things go as I work with him on getting the bike dialed in. You'll have to remind me if some time has passed as I may forget to update you on my progress.

 

[Gip10R]

Thanks for that info, and you're dead right about the stock settings from the factory being out. My front compression was 7 clicks on one fork and 6 on the other, so it was a good job we were dialing some new settings in, or i probably wouldn't have known. Keep me informed how you go with the race settings from your friend, but bear in mind my settings will have to be a happy medium between road and track, and the roads are pretty bumpy over here in the uk. Cheers.