[bigNINJArdr]

Hello everyone. I've been reading the forum for a good while, and thought I would ask a couple questions. I was up late one night searching around the net and found a site from a woman in the Ukraine that had done a couple mods to her ZX-11. She lowered her bike using the "dog bones" from a ZZR600 and bolted on 3 pot front caliper from a GSX-R 1000. Since my bike is not a great deal different from hers, I would like to try her mods. What year ZZR600 can I use for suspension components? What year Gixxer front calipers should bolt right on? Thanks in advance for your help. I know the resident minds will have my answers. :-?

 

[jaseman]

Actually, your 10 is a far cry different from a ZX-11. The share almost NO common components (I made this same mistake years ago).

Why do you want to lower the rear? Are you planning to drag-race it? Or is the seat hieght to tall for you? With out making ANY mods, one trick to getting an extra inch, is to rotate the concentric chain adjuster so that the axle is at the 12 o'clock positon (if it's not already). It's a minute differance, but can give you that extra 1/2" you may need.

Not sure what to tell you about the front caliper. But the set-up on these monsters is a bit inadiquate. Steel braided lines make a world of differance, and is a good place to start. Though more modern, agressive three-pots would definately be nice!

Anything is possible with a little imagination, fabrication skills, and a good set of tools.

 

[bigNINJArdr]

Actually, your 10 is a far cry different from a ZX-11. The share almost NO common components (I made this same mistake years ago).

Why do you want to lower the rear? Are you planning to drag-race it? Or is the seat hieght to tall for you? With out making ANY mods, one trick to getting an extra inch, is to rotate the concentric chain adjuster so that the axle is at the 12 o'clock positon (if it's not already). It's a minute differance, but can give you that extra 1/2" you may need.

Not sure what to tell you about the front caliper. But the set-up on these monsters is a bit inadiquate. Steel braided lines make a world of differance, and is a good place to start. Though more modern, agressive three-pots would definately be nice!

Anything is possible with a little imagination, fabrication skills, and a good set of tools.

Jaseman, thanks for your reply. I was just curious more than anything. This beast is old enough now, as well as I, that something newer and a bit more sedate is probably in order. I did the concentric move, have braided stainless lines, and have modified the seat. It would be nice to get an extra, half inch maybe, so I can flat foot it when I stop. With the newer technology in brake pads, the 2 pot calipers might not be that inefficient anymore. I just saw the article and was looking into the feasibility of a couple mods that might let me get a couple more years of enjoyment out of the Big Ninja.

 

[raceman]

the 2001/2002 Suzuki GSXR 1000 calipers will bolt up to your bike but you`ll need to make some spacers.l have seen these for sale and l think there`s a pair for sale on the other forum

bigbikeworld.com
you`ll be able to get more info on the upgrade there,it`s a common one.l have a spare set of lowering links l can sell you,l also have a 1989 ZX10. l have installed a Hayabusa front end and rear end on the bike,wheels,brakes suspension-the works and l have some stock parts left over.

 

[jaseman]

How tall are you? I never had a problem flat-footing the ol' girl, but then again, I'm 6'1" with a 34" inseem. I can flat-foot a girafe!:biggrin: Don't know what to tell you about lowering links. Never had to worry about it.

Even with braided lines, and modern pads, the 88-90's always had sub-par brakes. Even for their time. The same generation CBR-1000 had much better stopping power. Better calipers (and maybe rotors) would be a nice addition. I'm sure it wouldn't be to hard to find something that would work.

No reason to want something more sedate. Don't know how long you've had the bike, but it is actually quite user friendly. A true GT bike that will allow you to just lope along at whatever pace you want. But will also get real serious, real quick, if you want it to. I use mine for sport-touring on a regular basis, and have to say, she's quite a joy to rack up the miles on. I like to tell people "she may be old and fat, but she never forgot how to dance!"

With just basic maintnance, I've got well over 30k on the odometer, with no signs that the drivetrain is gonna give out anytime soon. Other than cams and carbs, it's the same motor as the Concourse's from that era. And there are penty of those with 70+ on the clock. So don't give up on the ol' girl just yet! :-D

 

[elr658]

I like old school ZX10s. SO.....I was winding myself for one of my trademark answers, when Jaseman gave a much better one than I could. I'm bumming because the only ones in CT are SCRAP!

 

[raceman]

Bad brakes? actually the 89 ZX10 was the fastest and hardest stopping bike ever tested by Cycle World at the time it came out. For 1989 the brakes were superb,l`ve got all the original tests and the brakes were lauded for their power and fade resistent nature.The bike was also the fastest production bike on the planet.Now that was 20 years ago and you can do lots to improve the front brakes but the most straightforward mod is the 2001 1K gixxer front calipers.Because these are the upgrade units for the ZX10/11 they usually go for $150 a set.To mount you can buy special spacers from a guy on the BB forum or use a clever selection of washers. l opted to replace my entire front end of my 89 ZX10 with a Hayabusa front end.Problem solved. Regardless of what the bike tests say it`s pretty well understood that 90% of riders are incapable of the threshhold braking that magazine writers do to get the numbers so low in their published tests.Brake fade? l ride at high speeds a lot (150mph+) and even with the stock ZX10 brakes l never felt that they weren`t up to the job.

 

[jaseman]

I'll take your word for it. It just always seemed the brakes could have been better for a bike of it's size/weight and potential for speed.

I definately like the idea of swapping in the Gixxer brakes, but am more curious in the Busa front end. What years work best, and how direct of a swap is it?

Also, any idea how hard it would be to swap in the ram-air set-up from the 11? Is it even possible, without major modification? I know the frame's are different, as well as the airbox, but is this something that would be worth the time and effort for a novice "wrench" to attempt?

 

[jaseman]

bigbikeworld.com

Thamks for the link, by the way!

 

[suzy1052]

The best mod I ever did for my 89 besides cams and piston kit was a 17 inch ZX11 rear wheel.A C model ZX11 bolts right in using same caliper and rotor.The left side spacer and right side eccentric have to be milled 3mm to center the wheel.While youre at it get a chain and sprocket kit for ZX11C as it is the ZX10 530 conversion from 532 anyway.Had a 190/50/17 Michelin 2CT that didnt last the summer (lol) using stock swingarm.Oh yeah,this will lower your bike too.

 

[bigNINJArdr]

Well this is starting to get interesting. Thanks for all of your comments and recommendations so far. I too thought the brakes could be improved. As was stated they were state of the art 20 years ago. The brakes have been adequate so far, but I am still learning what this large beast can do. As I get more confident with its performance, I would like to have more braking power. Just to boost my own confidence.

jaseman: I think you would probably be better off just finding a ZX-11 to get the ram air. I kinda looked into it, and it would take some serious frame mods to use the factory setup. You might be able to design a system to fit.

suzy: Thanks for that info. That might be the magic fix I was needing for my perceived height issue. I am going to look into that rear wheel. I like the idea of the wider tire too.

raceman: Who is the "guy" on the BB that is selling the spacers? I would like to look into those.

Thank you all again for the comments. Keep it coming. :biggrin:

 

[jaseman]

Actually, I'm not tooooooo interested in the ram-air set-up. I'm more interested in fitting the bodywork. It's easier to come by that ZX-10 plastics. I just thought the ram-air would be a nice plus!! Especially since the snorkle would already be there.

If the bodywork is a close enough fit (I don't mind drilling some mounting holes), I could probably plumb some sort of ducting to pressurize the airbox. But it may do more harm than good.

 

[ZrexRich]

Hey Jaseman, if you do get different bodywork I may be interested in your old pieces for my 90'. -Rich

 

[raceman]

Bodywork is pricey for zx10/11`s,no doubt about it. A company called Airtech has a ZX11 race set with solo seat,very light and looks cool. The Ram Air system conversion on the ZX10 requires: ZX11C/D carbs(which are bigger,will need re-jetting) ,complete airbox and ram air tubes , gas tank (stock zx10 tank has zero room for air passages) ,seat(to fit tank) , tail section/side panels (to fit seat) , ZX11 fairing and main mounting stay and finally FRAME MODS. Ram Air on the 88-90 ZX10 is a be-atch of a conversion...

 

[emmabrmly]

hi we have zx10 1989 is the rear end easy to do and the fornt end cheers

emma