Hi, all
I have big problems with the ground clearing/lean angle capabilities on my zzr.
Have a bone stock setup exept adding preload in front& rear plus comp&rebound adjust.
The bike tends to scrape fairings and even oil level check trough the bends.

My wheigt is approx 115kg so im a bit heavy for stock springs.
Looking for tailriser and maybe wilbers rear shock plus front springs..
Anybody here with mods. For the twisties???

I'm impressed.

* Last updated by: buck20 on 5/9/2010 @ 6:42 AM *

complaining or bragging? Doesn't matter I'm impressed!

My intentions where not to brag about it bur what the hell...

Just looking for mods to give mor ground clearance&less compression.

Luckily my area offer plenty of twisty roads so good mods are appreciated....

OMG!.....okay-gotta ask.....what speeds are you going while scraping your hard parts?

Compared to the literbikes, he's right. I feel like we're scraping a bit early and I've been looking for rearsets (that I don't have to give my left nut for) that will raise the footpegs some. Vortex offers them but they're around 400.

This is quite intriguing.NO ONE is mentioning how fast they're going when scraping these parts.I'll tell ya,I've leaned mine in ...way in...and never scraped a thing.Speeds around 100,120.Didn't even hit the feelers. I guess it's possible I just don't weigh enough.Maybe the roads here have a tad bit of bank to em?They were designed when there was no daytime speed limit-way back when.I can normally hit a corner marked 45 at around 90,usually more.Still...no scraping.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 5/9/2010 @ 11:15 AM *

Voodoodoo,
You said you weigh about 115kgs. That is approx. 250lbs. If thats not in full gear, then you'll be around 265-270lbs in gear. You are way undersprung if that's the case. Your bike came sprung for a rider of 72kgs or 160lbs. Get her re-sprung and set your sags correctly and you will see a huge improvement.

blue, It all depends, on the really tight stuff you don't have to be going all that fast to get some serious lean angle.

I've scraped the fairings at various speeds.
Anything from 60mph to 170mph(on track) i did 274km/h in the compression of fuchsrohre at nurburgring and got my left fairing and exhaust.
I have changed my feelers twice. Trackdays wear them out.
Theyre good to have because they guve you a hint before the fairing starts to touch. When i hit the feelers and still need to lean further i jus ease some weight og the peg and go further down.
If the damping were far off i would crash out for sure....
for sure new springs will help but with all the preload in the sag on my bike is quite ok.
I will probably try to raise the tail a little (tailriser) and swap my rear shock with a wilbers with a spring for my weight. In front a change of spring and different fork oil light do the trick.

U guys who say u're never even touched the feelers, what do the wear of your tires look like. After a trackday mine are worn all the way and there Are often chunks of rubber hanging from the edges.
No chicken strips :0)

* Last updated by: voodoodoo on 5/9/2010 @ 2:57 PM *

I guess there's not too much tight stuff here-not that I would want to try doing that on.The stuff like you're saying here comes with"usually" blind corners and the unexpected cage coming the other way.Just too risky.I've had er all the way over on the tire-to the edge.But not enough,long enough to melt the rubber like you're sayin.Usually when I start gettin in the groove-invariably they'll be cages comin around the bend at me...kinda ruins the "GET YER CARVE ON" feeling.I've had a fair share of tickets from Highway Patrol doin just that...comin around a curve while I was rollin in.Not fun.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 5/9/2010 @ 3:54 PM *

Voodoodoo,
Big guys shag tires. Think about it. 155lb rider doing 1:15 laps and 255lb rider doing 1:15 laps, all things equal, big guy shags tires worse. (heat build up, deflection, etc.) I have done many track days with big dudes not achieving same lean angle yet, their tires are shagged deeper than mine. You obviously have skills and know that you are riding this machine past it's design intent. Guys that do what you are doing take off their lowers at my local track. Again, your bike was not designed to be used the way you are using it at your weight. Check out Dave Moss (Catalyst Reaction) suspension tuning video. (google it)for the ZX14. With your skills you are going to shit when your bike is properly set up for your weight. (Time to learn how to ride it all over again)

I usually wear out the sides first, then take it easy in the corners and jump on it a lot in the straights to wear down the centers. Can't get myself to put new tires on while there is still rubber left. Dave Moss instructional videos are a tramendous help in dialing in the suspension, and reading the tires!

Voodoo, when you say "when you hit the feelers and need more lean, you just just weight the peg and lean more" are you getting off the seat any? when I first started riding the 14 I scrubbed everything trying to make good time in the tight stuff. The trick to the 14 for carrying good corner spped and keeping that exit momentum is getting off the seat.

On a good tight corner I weight the inside peg, slide the inside cheek off the seat, pull on the tank with the outside leg. This is especially important on the 14, move the inside shoulder over and down and bring your head down and just above the inside grip, this will greatly reduce your lean angle at a given speed and actually allow you to carry more speed through a given corner when not getting that shoulder and head down and in. The object is to get that COG lowed and inside. Sounds like you do alot of track riding so you know the basics already, just pointing out something that may help.

* Last updated by: heathun on 5/9/2010 @ 7:16 PM *

Okay Heathun...that's exactly what I'm doing when I roll in.Do I get my knee down...no,I keep that tucked in-no sense trying to break my kneecap or worse.But yeah,exactly how you described it.I know I'm carrying a pretty good clip...That's why I was asking about speed in the corners.I'm feeling like(usually)she's about at her limit-but I'm probably WAY off.I can't afford to repair my bike cause I "just passed the limit".Only if there were some way to view some of these corners that some of you guys are scraping on,I could get a better idea of the dynamics of what's going on.When I describe a"curve"...geez...that's way subjective.So many things that make up a curve.Saying "twisties",or "Tight curves"...well,it's impossible for me to reference what these could be without actually seeing one,watching the speed going in and through,and the lean/body position needed to accomplish the turn.But I do focus on doing what you've said Heathun-and yes,it does feel different positioning oneself like that.You really have to trust your tires IMO when doing that,cause I can't really feel the bike doing much under me,except she's holding the line and steering right through planted.I'm ALWAYS thinking about oncoming traffic-in a curve that is-kinda ruins it for me at some level.But I love experimenting with my body position,speed,and getting it dialed in.There's no tracks around here-the roads are just awesome for practicing-but it's risky and illegal mostly the speeds I'm running.Although there are some places where you can run "almost" risk free.Still...there's always the "fear" of crossing a cage in my lane,or the Highway Patrol.I'm "only" 175 with my gear on...and my bike I believe is suspension -wise dialed in pretty well.Definitely NOT dialed in as stock.But still comfortable.All the learning I've done has been from watching vids of these guys roadracing.Seeing how they're doing it.I know...sounds stupid probably.That's why I've said in the past.."I really don't know ANYTHING about how to ride a bike like this"....ridiculous as it sounds.But it's true.I've ridden Harleys,but we both know that's a different animal.I LOVE my big Ninja....wouldn't ride anything else again.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 5/9/2010 @ 8:01 PM *

Yup, my ass is moved to the side. Head well in and down, knee out and occasionally touch the ground(trac only).
I do some track riding, 4-5 times during season.
Know people with same prob. On their busa too.
My question was not about the riding style. Just asking if any of you have done something to increase lean angle.
I guess not

I haven't changed anything on my ZX to increase lean but if you raise the rear ride height it will increase your ground clearance, maybe you need a new shock linkage or whole shock to do that or maybe springs. Visiting a suspension profesional would be a good start. If you were in Australia I could recommend a couple of places :-P

Voodoo, that was my point. Riding position is about it, even if you go with top of the line adjustable rearsets you'll still have a problem with the lowers and cases. The only possible solution would be to raise the rear and I'm not sure that would buy you any additional clearance up front. The forks are already level with the top triple and can't be lowered anymore.

I hardly lean at all....

This is what i call lean angle:

I noticed.....he doesn't have HIS knee out either!Maybe I AM doing it right?!

You won't achieve that kind of lean angle on any stock bike with the tires we have available to us.
On my 01' 6R I got brave once, at little tally leaned over in a slightly banked tight left hander I had my knee out and touching down lap after lap, I thought I would try tightening the corner up and carrying a little more speed which would require more lean angle. As I apexed the corner my knee touched down as soon as that happened I lifted it up and layed the bike in a little more, well that was just enough to run out od tire front and rear and ride up on the lip. The bike started into a lateral drift to the outside of the corner, I eased off the throttle just slightly, put my knee down and made contact and lifted the bike just a hair and she hooked back up just before I reached the loose stuff. I figured out at that moment that with that bike and tire set up I had reached the max speed for that corner.

Blue on the street there isn't a need to touch down a knee anyway, to many unknowns about the road surface, something coming into your path and oncoming road traffic. You can easily double and in most cases triple the speed limit for any given road and never have to go that route.

That's what I was thinking also.Ya...too many "if's" to contend with.Plus...the big one...."passing the bike's limits"....that'll get ya killed on the street for sure.I'm darn selective when it comes to gassing it and road racing nowadays.I've backed off a tad with the "see how far ya can go" attitude.Track..ya...fine...maybe someday.But till then,I'm tryin to stay smart about enjoyin my bike.Not to say I don't crank er...ya...I do.But it's not as glamorous as it was two years ago....I'm actually enjoyin er more now than back then.I think I'm entering into a different set of learning about my bike's behavior now.It's becoming MORE fun!!!!Ride safe.(and that's why I was asking about the speed and such).You don't HAVE to go balls out everywhere and in every curve to carve enjoyably.

No you don't, there's a time and a place for everything. You just have to be smart if you want to enjoy this sport your whole life. I'm 44 been riding street since I was 15, me and my wife have been married for 25 years and she's ridden with me the whole time and we plan on riding well into our old age.

On our old site,I recall a few people saying they were scraping lowers,I just figured they were big boys who needed suspension upgrades,how much difference does a 190 /55 as opposed to a 190/50 make,I'm 5'7" when I changed from a 55 to a 50 the bike seemed lower to me,I could almost flat foot it at a stop.