After getting a full year into the Ninja I've put together my initial mods list for Jan-Feb installation. A few of you are fairly intimate with the bike, so feel free to weigh in with thoughts/opinions. They'll probably be ignored, but you never know LOL

Suspension:
1. This is apparently how to start a flame fight in a forum...jeez.

-Rear: I've decided to go Penske for the rear, details of the specific shock set are in another post in this forum.

-Front: I don't really have any complaints about the front at all. They are fully adjustable already and the springs seem fine (sag set with no issue).I've been tracking tire wear patterns in hard use, "lot" practice, and casual riding and everything looks good...so not thinking of any changes there right now.

Tires:
1. This is apparently also how to start a flame fight in a forum...jeez again.

-I've decided to go with the Bridgestone S20s in 190/50. I've loved the BT16pros and the 20's are better in every way:


Here is the SportRider test of all the new tires with excellent writeups and rankings:

Exhaust:
-I'm uncommitted here, I've seen a Two Brothers and a Akropovik that I've liked

Misc:
There are a number of little things I'd like to look at.
-Rear Sets: looking at the Sato Racing components here:

-Sliders: same again:

-Stainless brake lines

-Different pad materials for the fronts. Those who have ridden it know that the Ninja does not lack for brakes :-), but I would like different feel.

-X-ring chain

Those are the biggies.

Maybe in other forums.



As I mentioned before, Ryan is a real big fan of the Penske shocks. I know little about them as Ryan is the only person I know how has run them.

I tend to think of the bike as an integrated system and wonder if you make such a huge upgrade to the rear will it affect the handling of the front in other ways beyond sag? I guess it would be a "make the mod then try it out" kind of thing.



I'll be very interested to hear what you think about these tires.



With as crazy powerful as that bike is already, what does upgrading the exhaust get you beyond style points and an incremental gain?



I can attest to what a /huge/ difference stainless steel brake lines make, at least in my experience on much older bikes. I've also noticed quite a difference in various brake pads.

But I have to ask, what use is a chain on a bike?

my ohlins are going back in for a rebuild. just I thought I share. maybe to get a uprated spring as well.

I hope the Penske works out for you, though like Yermo, I do wonder if you may find the front end response altered after the swap.

As for tires, I've never seen a reason to get religious about them--after all the reviews and tests it's how the tires work for the individual rider and his or her preferences that counts most heavily in the end.

Aftermarket exhaust systems are nice, so long as you can live with the noise, and your FI system can adjust sufficiently to keep fuel mixtures in the right zone. Also, in some cases (like BMW) you're dumping a catalyst as well.

Stainless brake lines a rarely a bad choice and generally prove to be a great improvement for the brake system. The chain upgrade also seems quite rational, especially for "spirited" riding

Frame sliders (can't remember if you have 'em already or not) are also cheap insurance--and much cheaper to replace than fairing plastics.

Great points all around...some thoughts in answer (not original order, but in the current "thought order" lol)

-Chain...When a shaft drive bike takes 2 consecutive podium finishes in international open competition I'll consider listening to crap about chains..until then, I'm thinking it's maintenance laziness talking Oh yeah...the 1000RR that the BMW guys love to point out as the top of the sportbike pyramid...shaft??? Nope.

-Exhaust...yeah, not a power thing. Reasonably today's bikes don't really gain anything from new cans (unlike tuning the expansion chambers on two strokes). Can make a weight difference but really it's for looks or sound. I don't really like the sound the Ninja makes, which is not a big deal and thus way down the priorities list.

-Suspension...the front suspension on the Ninja is already three way adjustable with plenty of "clicks" available, and the springs are both plenty stiff and progressive. Thus, not in a rush to change it just because of a change to the rear. From the factory the front end of the Ninja is better sorted than the rear, the front end components come directly from the ZX sportbikes, the rear end was bespoke to the Z1000 and not in the same league. It's difficult to get set up right while maintaining both enough effective travel and good compression characteristics. In day to day riding there's no reason to really change the rear unless you are far outside of the range of adjustment. I'd like to take it to track days though and the rear can get a little spooky in certain circumstances. Quite common in the Ninja1000 world to just do the back. The most common mod to the front is not actually a suspension change but to drop the forks 5-10mm in the triple clamp to alter geometry and quicken initial turn-in and increase front end feel. If I were ever to change the front it would really only make sense to change it all, i.e. put in new cartridges etc. If it ever gets to that I would simply use a different bike.

Regarding the Penske/Ohlins/Other choice, it came down to the construction of the innards and overall adjustability, including easy ride height adjustment. The spring is largely irrelevant because you can always get whatever is the right spring for your weight and purpose separate from the shock body. Since coming out worldwide there is now a pretty good base of bikes who have had suspension mods and, so far, the Penskes get great marks - although more expensive than the Ohlins.

Brakes...As with the motor, power is not in question. The pads and steel lines are to address specific "feel" preferences. The steel lines will improve the feel at the grip, giving a more linear pull with more direct cause/effect as the lines won't flex under pressure. Of note, I don't expect huge gains here as in bikes of the past because all the lines on the N1K are stout and shielded. The pads are to improve, or maybe change is a better word to use, the initial bite and progression. With the stock pads the brakes are certainly strong enough and actually are already pretty progressive and fade free. I personally like a bit more of an initial bite, somewhere between one and two finger brakes. Just going to a slightly more grabby compound will take care of that.

Oh most definitely, but then again I just couldn't help pulling your chain.



You make a compelling argument.



Ah, now it all makes sense. Gotcha.



It's interesting to hear about them outside of racing circles. Ohlins might be getting some real competition.



It's going to be really interesting to hear your thoughts after you've completed these mods. Please take photos as you do it! If you'd like some company while turning wrenches let me know.

It's almost like you thought you might *not* be wrenching on it LoL.

LOL. Well, I had just been thinking about that article how it's bad form to ask to take somebody's bike for a ride, I thought it might be worse form to offer to turn wrenches on it.

Some are very particular about who they let work on their machines and I didn't want to make any presumptions.

I am particular.

Sounds like some great mods and can't wait to see how it turns out. Personally, I don't think I would replace the chain until the original is shot, but that's me. If you decide to make a party out of it, I'd make the trip to VA.

Just wondering re: shocks if you've looked at Wilbers:



I've heard good things about them as well. Many consider them a viable competitor for Ohlins.

Interesting, there is a lot of chat about them (the HyperPro) in the Ninja forums right now. The early word (not a large sample size yet) is that they're good on the street but entry level at best on the track...which is fine for most folks anyway. the high- and low- speed adjustability is nice and that's really what your getting with aftermarket anyway...greater adjustability.

I think I neglected to mention earlier that I had past experience with Penske, just not on bikes. We used Penske suspension components on two different track cars with great results.

Something to always keep in mind, regardless of the "brand" seen on bikes at the track (especially in pro) you can be assured that they have been custom built to the rider, bike, and usually track+weather. For us "normal" riders it's actually all about compromise, and that's where adjustability comes into play. The more compromise, the more adjustability comes into play. If 100% street riding you only need to have enough adjustment to set to a single preference. If street+back road there's more adjusting, if street+backroad+track there's yet more adjusting. A stock suspension on a bike sold in the U.S. has been optimized for a 170lb rider on the street. Even the top supersport bikes have been configured for a 170lb rider with a 90% street bias. That's why the vast majority of motorcycle owners never even really think about the components, and certainly don't change them. The compromise works well enough for them.

Engineers, tinkerers, and certain others will change stuff out more often largely because they can. I'm willing to bet that if they were given a blind test they wouldn't be able to tell which components had been changed or which settings had been modified. They MIGHT...big MIGHT...be able to feel a difference, but doubtful they could accurately describe it in terms of any of the components and really unlikely to identify the actual cause. But new shiny stuff does make us feel better

A man after my own heart...use it till it's dead. It's a longer term maint reduction thing for me, and this chain will be about 1/2 way through life. Going to a slightly beefier D.I.D. x-ring will cut down on chain maint, and have a lot longer life.

BTW The Blackbird would go through a chain about every 2nd rear tire, and sprockets every 3. Part of the price for power.

You raise a really interesting point. Except for the largest level changes I doubt I could correctly identify such changes. I confess my knowledge on the subject is almost entirely lacking. What I would love to see is an article or video that describes what various suspension changes feel like. Too much or too little preload is fairly easy but what would, for instance, changing front to rear rebound dampening feel like? etc.

It is incredibly hard to teach"feel", and even harder to teach a way to describe the "feel" in such a way that it's actionable. One of the common traits of the most successful top racers is their ability to translate perceptive inputs- including what they feel, see, and hear- into actionable intelligence to their mechanics.

The other aspect of course is, would it make a difference? For even highly proficient riders the difference between 2clicks and 4clicks is unlikely to be noticed, and even knowing the change they're unlikely to be able to accurately describe it. Most will "believe" it's making a difference because human nature likes there to be an effect for every cause. But lap times tell the tale.

The best way to determine if your suspension is set up properly is to track tire wear patterns. There are a lot of great videos on the web showing how to read your tires. Wayyyy more accurate than amateur feel.

Sportrider has some reall good ones. Start with learning how to tell "cold tears" from "hot tears", direction of the tear, and location on the tire profile.

Tires provide a physical, definitive interface. Than the only difficult part for the rider is being absolutely consistent lap to lap to be able to baseline changes.

Here are some links to really good information on reading tire wear and what, exactly, it means in terms of suspension setup and adjustment:







And...Suspension setup 101...from a pro:

Awesome. thanks!

So Yermo, any winter projects planned for YOUR garage? Or is The Project to be the search for a cross-country off-road bike?

My winter project is to remedy my charging system problem. I'd have done it already if I weren't so busy all the time... When I finally grant myself a budget, I'll do some more interesting upgrades.

We pulled the shocks off Yun's bike so he could ship the to Ohlins for a rebuild.

Both bikes needs some TLC in the form of a tuneup and I really need to see if I can repair some of the broken fairing mount points on the guest bike. It's been dropped so many times that the fairing is in rough shape. On the upside the bike handles amazingly well.

No upgrades planned for either. I think I pretty much have them set up exactly as I want them.

Yea, I'm keeping an eye out for adventure bikes. I'm still leaning towards an older smaller F650GS instead of going with a Sertao or Dakar but the jury is still out ... we'll see. I do think the trip will happen though ... I've been perusing the Touratech catalog and Travel Time magazine. The more I learn about that company the more impressed I become. They are so German it hurts.