Mods advise

[stitch82]

Hello my name is Gareth Orme,
I`m new to the community after being away from bikes a couple of years. I pick up my 1st big bike( Kawasaki ZZR 600 2000 Reg) on 17th November 2011. I hear alot about brakes are a bit wooden etc, love the bike in general but exhaust sound is a bit tinny. Could anyone suggest what to do about the brakes and what is the best full exhaust system, is it worth while fitting a HID light kit?. Any other mods you can think would be help full.

Cheers

Gareth

[Akrapovic]

I had an F3 ZX6R and loved it. The wife had a J2 ZX6R and she loved that. Never owned / ridden a ZZR600, but would assume they are not too far away. Nice big bike that handles great, so you should enjoy it. I have recently acquired a ZZR1400 and am loving it.

Regarding mods, I would fit an Akrapovic can and put the baffle in your toolbox till it requires an MOT. Things like ASV shorty levers, etc is always good, but its a personal thing so spend money on what you want to improve / change.

If I was you and picking the bike up on that day, then I would suggest you go and do a few miles when you first get it and suss out the bike. You say that you are returning to biking after a few years, so get comfortable with it first then maybe post up for a run the day after? Depends how comfortable you are with it.

Have fun and stay safe.

[RK6]

Hello my name is Gareth Orme,
I`m new to the community after being away from bikes a couple of years. I pick up my 1st big bike( Kawasaki ZZR 600 2000 Reg) on 17th November 2011. I hear alot about brakes are a bit wooden etc, love the bike in general but exhaust sound is a bit tinny. Could anyone suggest what to do about the brakes and what is the best full exhaust system, is it worth while fitting a HID light kit?. Any other mods you can think would be help full.

Cheers

Gareth

Welcome aboard Gareth!

Mods depend entirely on personal preference & how you want your bike to feel. I would recommend holding off buying bits till you've ridden your new bike as you may find that the standard brakes already suit your needs. If not; the most cost effective solution would be to chuck on a set of braided hoses & then upgrade your pads. The braided hoses will stop the spongy feeling which is caused by the standard brake lines expanding under pressure & better pads will give you more "bite". I tend to use SBS Sintered pads which provide MUCH more "bite" than standard street pads but that's just down to my personal preference & may not suit your needs. With a bit of trial & error; you'll soon find out what works for you.

Rowan.

[Coddy]

Welcome aboard Gareth!

Mods depend entirely on personal preference & how you want your bike to feel. I would recommend holding off buying bits till you've ridden your new bike as you may find that the standard brakes already suit your needs. If not; the most cost effective solution would be to chuck on a set of braided hoses & then upgrade your pads. The braided hoses will stop the spongy feeling which is caused by the standard brake lines expanding under pressure & better pads will give you more "bite". I tend to use SBS Sintered pads which provide MUCH more "bite" than standard street pads but that's just down to my personal preference & may not suit your needs. With a bit of trial & error; you'll soon find out what works for you.

[al]

If you want to improve the headlight then don't get an HID kit. Instead go for replacement bulbs that are brighter than standard (up to 120% in some cases) but still draw the same power from your electrical system and are legal!

As for the brakes, as the posts above recomend, wait till you have put some miles on the bike and have got used to it. The first thing I would always recommend with brakes is to make sure that your callipers are clean and the pistons move freely. After that make sure that the brake fluid is fresh and your pads have plenty of life in them. For a bike of your age I would hope that the standard brake lines will have been replaced at least once if not twice.

One thing not to overlook when it comes to brakes is the condition of the tyres. No point in having megga brakes if you have a set of old tyres with the wrong pressure in them!

I presonally would put your money into getting the bike to perform like new rather than trying to throw money away on mods. The likes of the forks would benifit from having the oil changed at least and the rear shock will probably be past its best so that's where I would look at investing in.

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

[steve]

Braided brake lines and double H pads should help the braking performance of your bike , If the bike your getting is not new check the brake callipers are in good condition and the pistons don't have corrosion on them , a radial front master cylinder from a more sporty style bike might help too

[stitch82]

Thank you very much folks giving me loads to think about and hope too meet you all at some point. Think the tyres are good getting full service when collect from dealership. Prob best to replace forks,cylinders, brake lines and suspention since I have the cash and prob what is mainly going to need.

Cheers again folks

[dukeofpork]

Prob best to replace forks,cylinders, brake lines and suspention since I have the cash and prob what is mainly going to need

To be honest if I was buying a recently serviced bike from a dealership I would not expect to have to change any of the above.
As has been mentioned before have a good ride of the bike before you decide to make any changes.
If you have the cash to spare as you say why not look into different or newer bikes which you won't have to spend a heap of money on to suit your needs?

[stitch82]

dukeofpork your prob right like. when I say I have the cash I mean some left over from a house sale but not enough to get a newer bike. The bike Im getting is in really good condition for age but keep getting from zzr foroms that the zzr600 tends to have wooden/spongy brakes and easiast way to sort it is to change to braided lines. Little unsure on what i`m doing in regards to aftermarket parts hence why I was calling on you guys for opinions. Yourself and everyone else have giving me food for thought and think I will see how I get on. Will be giving it a good run when I pick it up on 17/11/11 if weather good, so see then. Thanks very much everyone and will let you know how I get on.

[Zathos]

The Mrs used to have a zzr600. Very nice first bike. Nice and stable.

Brakes aren't as sharp as a supersports bike, but still more than good enough for the road

It is worth checking the rear shock. The zzr600 is a relatively heavy bike and the shock was taken from the GPZ500 when Kwak built the bike. If it hasn't been replaced Hagon used to do a nice replacement unit for sensible cash.

As others have said, for a bike that age braded brake lines are a worthwhile investement.

Best bet is to take it for a spin first and see how it feels

[Crazy Turbo Beast]

I'm with akra on the akra - Sounds great!
(The can I mean....)

I had braided lines on my old RVF and it made a huge difference, would thoroughly reccomend that.
Also remember to give your brakes a good clean every now and then as they are totally exposed to dirt etc and this reduces their effectiveness.
You can get specialist brake cleaner that evaporates quickly (for obvious reasons) and after using it you will see loads of dirt come off and get that solid feel back.

[Ninja Winja]

Wecome Gareth

I thought you wanted advice on MODS (Scooter boys)
The days of fighting with the rockers on the beach front are long gone. Joking aside I have never riden a ZZR 600 but used to own a ZX6 R (J1). I don't know if both bikes used the same calipers etc but I found the brakes to be ok. Were prone to seizing pistons in the calipers if not maintained. I rode the bike in all weathers so experienced this a few times. Stripping and cleaning 6 pot callipers can be a bit of a headache
I share the opinion of others on this post that you are best to get used to the bike in standard trim before modifying. Best advice I can give is (especially if you plan to ride in winter) is to keep it clean and well lubed.That applies to the Kwak as well

Keep it shiney side up mate and maybe see you on the road soon.

[Graeme]

As above, get some miles and get a feel for it before splashing out on mods.

I've had my 10 year old GSXR 750 since new, and it's still on all the original parts other than braided front brake lines and a slip-on exhaust. It's been well looked after and had some minor work done to the rear shock linkage but thats it. The brakes on that model also got slagged for lacking feel & power, but I've never had a problem and it still pulls a stoppie with only 2 fingers on the lever. That said, the front discs are aging and becoming worn so I will be upgrading the discs and master cylinder over winter.

A good tip is to use a rag to tie back the lever to the grip overnight, by keeping constant pressure on it will f0rce any trapped air bubbles out giving you a noticible improvement, gratis.

Beware that using super-duper racing pads on stock discs could lead to warping, at least thats what I blamed the two warped discs on my old bike on.

Also I'd steer clear of full exhaust systems (unless it's road legal) otherwise MOT time is a nightmare. Been there, done that and had the snapped exhaust header bolt to prove it. Any performance increase will be negligible on a bike of that age and will also involve adjusting the fueling. If you want performance then better saving the pennies up for a more sporty model.

Hope this is of some help

[al]

As above, get some miles and get a feel for it before splashing out on mods.

I've had my 10 year old GSXR 750 since new, and it's still on all the original parts other than braided front brake lines and a slip-on exhaust.

10 year old tyres?????

[Graeme]

As above, get some miles and get a feel for it before splashing out on mods.

I've had my 10 year old GSXR 750 since new, and it's still on all the original parts other than braided front brake lines and a slip-on exhaust.

10 year old tyres?????

that would be a consumable

[Gazza]

If you want to improve the headlight then don't get an HID kit. Instead go for replacement bulbs that are brighter than standard (up to 120% in some cases) but still draw the same power from your electrical system and are legal!

Are HID light illegal?

I have HID dipped beam on my cage and 100W xenon bulbs for the main beam. The HID are so bright that I hardly notice I've put main beam on. HID are significantly brighter than upmarket bulbs IMHO.

[al]

[quote="Big Kneed Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian) (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian)"]If you want to improve the headlight then don't get an HID kit. Instead go for replacement bulbs that are brighter than standard (up to 120% in some cases) but still draw the same power from your electrical system and are legal!

Are HID light illegal?

I have HID dipped beam on my cage and 100W xenon bulbs for the main beam. The HID are so bright that I hardly notice I've put main beam on. HID are significantly brighter than upmarket bulbs IMHO.[/quote]
In the UK, aftermarket kits used in applications where halogen bulbs are standard fitment are illegal on 99% of cars and 100% of motorcycles.

If you do fit a kit you should only fit it to the dipped beam headlight and make sure that the dipped beam headlight remains on when the full beam switch is activated other wise you will be plunged into darkeness when going from full beam to dipped beam. Also, none of the kits I've seen are auto reignighting so if they don't ignite the when the power is initially switched then you have to switch the lights off then switch them back on again.

Like I aid, they are more hastle than they are worth. If I'm honest I didn't think that they cast any more lights on the road than premium bulbs even though they looked brighter when you looked at the bike.

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

[Gazza]

I've been using HID for about 4 years now without any issues, or re-igniting problems. I've also used upmarket bulbs in the past, but I don't think I'd want anything else other than HID now.