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Why a zxr400
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:54 pm
by Chris1984
Just wondered why you chose a zxr400?Is it your only bike or do you have others,is it the biggest bike you can ride due to licence restrictions etc.
For me here in ireland its the biggest bike i can get insurance on.But the past few days i have had the bike in the shed and have started to do a few jobs on the bike and i'm starting to really enjoy it. All i started off with was replacing the sump due to stripped thread but have ended up taking alot off things off in the process just to explore the bike,hope i can remember how it all goes back together and now i'm seriously thinking about buying a cheap one and doing it up as i have been hooked with this bike.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:34 pm
by Jamz
I was perfectly happy on my TZR125 for just under a year, then was at a local garage when I spotted a strange black bike with pink flashes. I'd never seen one before but loved the look of it instantly.
I think I must have already been taking lessons for a full license, and this was perfect timing - I got it reserved, had a biking mate test ride it for me, then went to the bank and bought it! It spent a couple of months dormant and then I passed, jumped on it, and haven't looked back since!
It saved me the hassle of trying to decide what cc bike to buy after a 125, and at the time I knew pretty much bugger-all about bikes other than that I was only interested in 'sportsbikes' - knowing what I do now I wouldn't change a thing about my choice!
Best handling bike I've ever owned with a front end that you'd have to hit with a wrecking ball to get a slight twitch in a bend - and it taught me so much about riding in the corners. Three magical years of ownership...

Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:59 pm
by RedexRobB
I'd first seen one in a bike magazine, and instantly i knew it was what i had to have. It wasnt too big nor too small engine wise, and looked like it went like stink! About a year or so passed, had myself a 250 during that time which went wrong and only just got a CG125. Went into a honda dealers to get a manual and some parts and outside i saw a purple and pink one. Since then it kept playing on my mind, then went in to pick up the bits i ordered and asked about it. Yes they took finance, yes the deposit was low and yes thankyou id like to buy it.
You mention about working on the bike, the ZXR is about the only bike ive ever really wanted to learn about and they are really quite easy to work on, too. Have to say im pleased as punch i bought one (on my 2nd one now after a break) and also wanna buy a 2nd one to do up.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:13 pm
by bendog66
saw my mates ex race bike he put back on the road. fell in love with it and knew i must have one myself. i'll put a pic up sometime of it.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:17 pm
by SOILZX
I always lied the look when i was a kid, always been abit of a Kwaka fan anyway, so when i passed, 1 came up at the right money, so i had to have it, then jumped upto a gixxer 750 srad (still had the 400), then 1 day i decided i needed a B1H 636 (always wanted 1 from the minute they were released), so i sold all 3 bikes that i owned and stumped up for a B1H. Then a couple of months ago a smashed the B1H up (along with myself!!), so whilst i was reovering i decided i had to have another 400. I found 1 locally pretty much instantly, not a perfect example by any means, but this was always gona be abit of a project, i wanted to do the 1st up, but decided to get the bigger bike fix first. Soive had my current 400 for about 2 months now and it's currently in pieces having a small revamp over winter and once it's finished, i'll be looking for a H model (if andwhen funds allow anyway)
SOILZX
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:48 am
by wonderpupp
I had passed my test (age 21) and was very happy with my TZR125RR, for a few more months, then one day in the biketrader, I saw a Blue bike with a black frame, and I said to myself, I must have it.
So my brother drove us to East Grinstead in surrey to look at this place, and there were 4 in there, 2 blue ones, and I chose the one with renthal C & S, ART race system and the lighter (more girly) blue paint job. He said it's the one he would have picked too.
There was also a couple of CBR400s, VFR400s, a FZR400rr and a RVF400, but I didn't have enough cash for it, and he wouldn't take my TZR in part Ex.
We drove home with it, and unloaded it in the farmyard, and my mum gave us both a clout round the head for buying a motorbike. She didn't know I'd been riding for 5 years or so, and had passed my test already. Lol. We were gonna pass it off as Tim's but Mum knew. She Just knew.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 1:12 pm
by nc73
It's pretty and good on fuel. Well I think I'm the only one here that gets 150+ miles to the tank.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:05 pm
by bendog66
nc73 wrote:It's pretty and good on fuel. Well I think I'm the only one here that gets 150+ miles to the tank.
i certainly don't...
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:51 pm
by ZXR400H
My dad has had bikes the majority of my life so I have always been interested in bikes, so when he went to peterborough kawasaki to get parts I would tag along and quite often they would have one either in the showroom or a customers bike outside and I always liked them and used to pick up the sales brochures (still got one somewhere). Fast forward a few years and I had an RS50 followed by an RS125 then passed my car test so had a car and due to finances gave up on the bikes, by this time my younger brother had started on bikes and within a year done his test and bought a H model I passed my test had a go (which ended up me borrowing it randomly) liked it so bought a crashed damaged one about 5 - 6 years ago and still have it today.
Re: Why a zxr400
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:53 pm
by ZXR400H
nc73 wrote:It's pretty and good on fuel. Well I think I'm the only one here that gets 150+ miles to the tank.
I get similar about 51mpg most of the time