Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Lockhart's Quick-Set adjusters make it possible to externally alter spring preload of front suspension. · Profile 01an Attack Ninja; note charcoal-silver graphics under seat and on the gas tank carry onto Lockhart's Fast Glass lowe.rs. Braided stainless-steel brake lines offered marginal improvement to front brake feel; bleeding the brakes is an ordeal. bike and my stage-one low-budgetmod Ninja was astonishing. Where a stock Ninja is quick, good-handling yet (relatively) mild-mannered, Maillet had seemingly created a monster. Where a stock Ninja makes its horsepower witha sudden shriek near redline, Maillet's kitted Ninja seemed to make ridiculous power throughout the revs: a machine ready to shred tire or pavement with a flick of the wrist. All that with only a carb and muffler swap; in the case of the Ninja, the power was on tap - wait· ing to be uncorked with simple bolton parts. The next questions weren't so easy: how much Power could a Ninja make? How would it do on the dragstrip? What could a Ninja be made to do? Any project bike needs some sort of goal or direction; the various modifications and accessories should finetune the machine for·a specific purpose. Since the test-bed for this project happened to be my own personal motorcycle, I was curious to see if it was possible to transform Kawasaki's dedicated sports flagship into a higher-performance, yet·comfortable-andpractical motorcycle; one that made mare power and had better handling than its stock counterpart. That's a tall order for the Ninja. Well, the project has taken over six months, and has involved many generations with various combinations of accessories. The result is a machine that I've named (for obvious reasons) the "Attack Ninja." Some of the modifications have been costly, resulting in negligible improvement over the stock Kawasaki running gear; others cost little, yet yielded a tremendous improvement in the comfort or performance of the motorcycle. Chronicled below is the creation of the Attack Ninja. Project: Transforming Kawasaki's ZX900·A 1 into The Attack Ninja By Jim Wolcott With 9000 miles under its wheels, the Ninja that had served as our long-term project bike had proven its potential for being a comfortable, easy-to-maintain motorcycle suitable for touring, commuting, and high-speed work on deserted back roads. However, as the mile'S rolled up, it became apparent that the machine's potential was being hampered by an uncomfortable seat, inadequate mirrors, and worn-out suspension. Step one of the project, "Life with Ninja" (Cycle News, March 13, 1985), investigated ways to improve the machine while spending little or no money. Step two began innocently enough ".... one morning on the desert fI.o.pr of Panamint Valley, located just east of Death Valley, California, when Harry Maillet offered me a chance to open up his 900 Ninja on the deserted (and relatively unpatrolled) stretch of California Highway 178. Maillet owns the i'erforma-nce Works (7854 Alabama Ave., Canoga Park, CAl, and the machine was his personal Ninja. The bike was basicall y stock, with the exception of a bank of Keihin CR carburetors and a pair of SuperTrapp slip-on mufflers. ~ Th.e Qifference ..between .~jUet's I. 'I ?I "J .' The seat Anyone who's tried to ride the stock Ninja for more than one tank of gas knows the seat is nat one of the machine's highlights. Though it blends in with the swoopy lines of the Ninja, Kawasaki's styling department blessed it with nearly -square edges that cut into the rider's thighs. Mike Corbin has been· building custom motorcycle seats for nearJ.y two decades, and his latest "Gunfighter" series is designed for the latest crop of sport bikes. Unlike some seal manufacturers, Corbin moldshis own foam seat cushion, using a molding technique that creates a single foam piece 6f varying density. Viewed as a cross-section, this foam has relatively large air pockets near the surface, and more dense foam (smaller pockets) near the seat pan. As a result, the seat conforms to suit the individual rider, and has proven remarkably comfortable during long rides. The Gunfighter is covered with Uniroyal naugahyde, which is stable against fading and cracking when exposed to sunlight. The Gunfighter is available in a variety of color schemes, and retails for $149. For specific ordering information contact Corbin Pacific at BOO/538-7035 or 800/662-6296. An improved seat should be considered the first step in transforming a Ninja into a comfortable long-range cruiser. The front suspension. The fork springs of the Ninja are soft, ,md are calibrated to be used wi th air-pressure assist. As with all bikes using air forks, the air pressure tends to cinch the fork seals against the fork tubes. As the front suspension compresses, air pressure increases ... making the fork seals cinch tighter, and making the suspel\sion even stiffer and less compliant. The result is a paradox: a suspension that's soft, yet non-compliant on rough surfaces. .. __ .. " ., (r;9'J!Ii;lw{1.t9,P(lg~.7~)

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