[misnblu]

Nice work on everything. 🫡
Let us know how everything goes with the AntiGravity battery and how it operates everything etc. 👍
Also what charger are you going to be using for this setup?

Thanks

 

[Tracy]

Well, I solved the spacing problem with the spacing on my Ninja 400 screen, I believe. I used some 300 mirror gaskets and some washers to make a spacer.

View attachment 33043

View attachment 33044

The way it sat before, it was digging into the fairing when tightened down. Now, clearance. Most aftermarket screens are saying N400/500 compatible. I wonder if a lot of them dig in like an oem? I bet so.

View attachment 33045

View attachment 33046

There are more elaborate fixes to be had, I'm sure. I might upgrade to black washers. But otherwise, I think this will work well.

The offsets in the windscreen for the mount on the 500 are quite a bit deeper than the 400 which puts the windscreen quite a bit closer to the plastic.

 

[Warp12]

Nice work on everything. 🫡
Let us know how everything goes with the AntiGravity battery and how it operates everything etc. 👍
Also what charger are you going to be using for this setup?

Thanks

I have a charger similar to this one. It was sold under the Ballistic brand, years ago.

Amazon.com: Hobby Fans B6 Mini Professional Balance Charger/Discharger with Power Supply for 1S-6S LiPo Lilon Life NiCd NiMh Pb RC Battery : Toys & Games

Amazon.com: Hobby Fans B6 Mini Professional Balance Charger/Discharger with Power Supply for 1S-6S LiPo Lilon Life NiCd NiMh Pb RC Battery : Toys & Games

www.amazon.com

The one above says it works for LiFe batteries. I got one that did not have that option programmed in, sometime back. Fortunately my old one still works. I am not too much of an expert on these things...even though I have had various Speedcell, Ballistic, Shorai, and Antigravity products over the years. I think most chargers will work using charging-rate guidelines, but you want to avoid the type that desulfate the battery.

 

[Warp12]

So, as for the weight loss tally, here is the semi-rough estimate (I weighed all but the tidy tail itself):

Battery & Toolkit 6 lbs 5 oz
Hindle Slip-On 6 lbs 11 oz
Helmet Lock 5 oz
Mirrors 4 oz or 3 lbs (300 mirrors vs block-offs)
Peg Hangers 2 lbs
Rear Fender 2 lbs
Windscreen 4 oz
Bar Ends 1 lb

Around 18-20 lbs lost on the bike, depending on the setup. If you used a cheaper slip-on, this weight loss would cost only a few hundred dollars. Pretty economical.

 

[pwalo]

That's an impressive or maybe obsessive list. Nice work. Gives me a few ideas for when my 500 turns up.

 

[Tracy]

That's an impressive or maybe obsessive list. Nice work. Gives me a few ideas for when my 500 turns up.

Patience....Patience.
Trust me, it's worth the wait.
🐉

 

[Warp12]

Second adjustment on the rear shock, today. It is now at its highest setting. As others have observed, the suspension seems softer than that of the 400. I am a larger guy, at around 240 lbs, and both the 400 and the 500 sometimes wallow a bit in the turns for me. I think it is my weight combined with the short wheelbase. The 300 oddly seems more stable. Maybe I am imagining things, since I have a soft spot for the 300's and they seem to fit me better.

Anyway, I adjusted it from the chain side, and removed the guard so I could clean every thing up.

I also used this Bikemaster adjustable spanner. It gives more leverage. Plus it is a usable tool for multiple bikes and jobs, such as steering heads. It accepts a 3/8" drive, so with proper adjustment of your torque values you are able to do those jobs according to specs.

This tool is no longer available on Amazon, but I found a similar (same?) product on eBay, for the same price I paid close to 1.5 years ago. Around $33.

Pardon Our Interruption...

The Bikemaster tool is also available on eBay, but it is about 1/3 more in cost.

 

[Warp12]

I installed a fuel cap today. It is a REVO from M-Factory. I wanted a keyless cap because it is a pain to take the immobilizer/stun device from the holster just for gas.

It matches the levers nicely. I don't know what to make of it, though. It is for a 400, but all of those ads show different years. I'm not sure if they are different or not. I am not even sure if the cap works, lol. It has a rubber seal underneath. I couldn't really feel any resistance like you might normally feel when the cap set down. So, it might leak like crazy. I have no idea. I imagine nobody else does, either. But hey, it is 2 oz lighter than stock.

Fit Kawasaki Ninja 400 18 19 Ninja 650 17-19 REVO Quick Lock Fuel Tank Gas Cap | eBay

I guess if the seal doesn't seal, I can fashion a new...seal. Otherwise I have to take it back off and do some measuring.

 

[Warp12]

Nice work on everything. 🫡
Let us know how everything goes with the AntiGravity battery and how it operates everything etc. 👍
Also what charger are you going to be using for this setup?

Thanks

The Antigravity ATZ-7 Battery is a no-go for me.

Twice the unit has not started the bike. It would crank slow. Then, after turning the key off and back on, it would start without issue. There is no rhyme or reason for this, no repeatable pattern. I don't think this is a limitation of the 150 cranking amps, even though that is 15 less than what comes with the 500. I have started a ZX-14 on a cool morning with a 150CA LiFe battery. This seems more like an individual product defect, due to the random nature of the occurrences. This is twice out of say 15+ starts. I got my return authorization through Amazon, and now I am going to decide my next choice. Temporarily I will put the stocker back in.

 

[Warp12]

I measured both mine at 5% optimistic on N400.

You can use a site like gearingcommander.com to play with ratios, or you can just take the ratios from the owner's manual and do the math yourself...

primary ratio = 2.029
6th gear = 1.037
final ratio = 3.071
rear tire = 150/60x17

At 11,000 rpm, theoretically you get:

11000 rpm/2.029/1.037/3.071 * pi * (17in + 150mm*.6*2) ? mph
> (((11000 rpm_as_frequency / 2.029) / 1.037) / 3.071) * pi * ((17 inch) + (150 milli~meter * .6 * 2)) ? mph
= 121.987 mph

That's just rpm times tire circumference, where the circumference is pi times the rim diameter plus twice the tire height (which is equal to tire width times profile ratio).

(You can click the links above and play with the calculator -- it is all live.)

The limitations of this kind of math are:

• there is tire wear affecting the static height of the tire by up to 10mm reduction (and hence the circumference by pi times that),
• there is tire deformation from the static height calculated above (tire sag and centrifugal force tend to balance out), and
• and most importantly, there is tire slip (at skid) of 5% to 15% depending on the rubber compound and road surface.

Tire slip always makes the tire speed be greater than the road speed (or less when you are braking) -- tires are always slipping except when the vehicle is coasting in a straight line (with no force transmitted to the ground)...

I believe this is about as fast as you can go on stock gearing, IRL. This bike has more in it with some small changes.

I did the first oil and filter change yesterday. I just put in standard Honda GN40 dino oil. I will likely switch to synthetic within 1000 miles. Since I am a larger rider for this bike, I may also switch to some heavier clutch springs at the same time. Probably makes sense since I see a full header in my future.

 

[pwalo]

That's more than enough to get you a stern talking to from the local constabulary!

 

[Tracy]

That's more than enough to get you a stern talking to from the local constabulary!

Looked like he was on a wide open highway BUT the first thing comes to my mind is critters running out in front of you. Happens a lot to me around the mountains.
🐉

 

[pwalo]

Mate, that's a criminal offence in NZ.

 

[Chuck Graves]

I believe this is about as fast as you can go on stock gearing, IRL. This bike has more in it with some small changes.

View attachment 33102

I did the first oil and filter change yesterday. I just put in standard Honda GN40 dino oil. I will likely switch to synthetic within 1000 miles. Since I am a larger rider for this bike, I may also switch to some heavier clutch springs at the same time. Probably makes sense since I see a full header in my future.

Are you wearing gloves?

 

[Pard]

Deer and Turkey are the risk around here. This morning this turkey saw my 400 and said I can take that for sure!

 

[Warp12]

Are you wearing gloves?

Only when preparing meals.

 

[Warp12]

I swapped over to the 41T rear sprocket today. Stock is 43T.

There were no issues with the swap. There is adequate chain adjustment remaining.

Basically this lowers your cruising rpm. There are a variety of reasons one might wish to do that.

I took the opportunity to clean and lube the chain again. I use Alisyn chain lube. It is not thick and gooey. Some chain lube is like a grit magnet. This one is not.

Synthetic Chain Lubricant Alisyn 9 Oz. Aerosol Can

Buy Synthetic Chain Lubricant Alisyn 9 Oz. Aerosol Can SKU: 790219 at the price of US$ 12.99 | BrocksPerformance.com

brocksperformance.com

Anyway, I took it for a 15 mile test ride. There were no codes or check engine lights. You can definitely feel that the acceleration is impacted. You have to downshift more often. I expected this. The plus is that cruising rpm is lower, and you get whatever benefits might come with that. I am going to try it for a while, and see if it works for my purpose. I have had a sneaking suspicion I might end up splitting the difference, with a 42T. We will see.

 

[Warp12]

Took a nice ride out in the countryside this morning. The new gearing did very nicely at keeping revs down when holding highway speeds. A little less buzzy than before (remember I have those lightweight bar ends on there). Of course, going uphill in the mountains you have to keep it in a lower gear than before. The sound of the pipe is a non-issue. Very nice, and not obtrusive. You don't really notice it at all at highway speeds; the wind is louder.

It was a nice, relaxing ride. Not even a glance from the trooper parked at the base of the mountain. The pipe is really nice with that noise reducer; no extra attention.

 

[Warp12]

Just a quick 50-mile ride to start the morning. Misty and heavy clouds, not the best for hp. I've tried out that new gearing a few times though, and it doesn't want to pull any more mph on top. It needs more power, and more importantly, the power moved up the rpm band. So, I think I am done testing that for now, until I order a full pipe to mount to the Hindle muffler. I am thinking pretty hard about one of those Chinese knock-off headers. Although I might just get the real thing. Not sure. You can almost get a flash and the Chinese part for the cost of the real-deal header.

As I mentioned before, the new gearing is nice for cruising at highway speeds. Doesn't feel busy at all. It is important to keep in mind that the bike will pull nearly 1k into the red zone before hitting the true 11300 rpm limiter. Otherwise, it makes it look like you are a lot closer to the rpm limit than you really are.

And here is where we sit today mileage-wise, after a little over a month of riding:

I'm happy with 752 miles. It has been really hot here at times, and rainy at others. I'm not trying to set a miles record, and Fall is my preferred riding time. But I am having a lot of fun getting to know the bike and doing these small mods.

On a different note, I have a different battery coming, and we will see how that goes. This one only seems to give me a problem once every 10 starts or so, and otherwise it starts in a split second. I started wondering if the occasional start issue might be from adding slip-on pipe (which I did around the same time), but that seems extremely unlikely to me, based on my experience with adding exhausts of all sorts to these FI bikes. We'll see.

 

[Tracy]

I've got the Chinese header on my 400. No gripes so far. Fitment is good. It's thinner lower quality metal so it's lighter, but will it last?