VFR Getting the Boot? New Ninja in the garage.

Well, I finally had enough with carbs and older tech. (more on that later) so two weeks ago I went shopping and came home with a new leftover 2011 Ninja 1000. Got it with bags for a good price. Everything already written on the web about the bike is true. Good brakes and suspension, comfy riding position and monster engine. Basically everything like a VFR only better (except the sound).

Here's the proof of purchase.





Back to the VFR. I got home June 1st from a 5 month deployment with intentions on touring out the VFR and maybe getting something for myself. Well, before I left I drained the carbs, put some stabilizer in the tank and filled it up and figured the carbs may be a lil finicky after 5 months. Sure enough, one of the floats stuck and flooded. No biggie, took the carbs off and apart, had them cleaned in the dealers ultrasonic cleaner (is that what it's called). They look great! Put it all back together, syched the carbs and she's running perfect!! Rode it for a day and put about 200 miles on it. Let it sit over night and sure enough, one of the carb floats stuck and there's fuel in the cylinder again. Back to sqaure one and i wanted to ride and not fix so now I have two bikes with similar purpases.



Ideally I'd just sell the VFR and get my wife a lil ninja 250 or a Grom for her to start learning but.......damn I put so much time and effort into the VFR since I got it. While it's no Ninja 1000 (although the brakes are better than the Ninja's thanks to a R1) I do have my fingerprints on nearly every little part of it since I found it rotting in a field 2 years ago. I wouldn't even know what to expect to get for it if I did sell.

Here's the culprit.






Suggestions? Should I just let her go and not look back? Keep it and sell off some of the accessories (damn brand new bags and corbin)?

 

Unless you need the cash I would take my time and think it over, Hard to replace a nice 3rd gen and they don't demand big money so you may see at the high end 3k for it and that is only of you can find the right buyer. It looks awesome btw!

 

+++++++1 Congratulation on your new ride. She look sexy :thumb:
Nice 3rd gen :love:
I am with Jethro.....If you don't need the cash keep the bike otherwise find a nice home her her :sad:as for a small bike I think the CBR250 is much better.

 

Relying on float needles to shut the fuel is always a risk and that it why I fit a fuel shutoff solonoid to my bikes, turn the ignition off and no fuel and you don't have to remember to shut the tap every time

 

Congrats on the new ride. As for the VFR, there aren't many production motorcycles with gear driven cams V4 layout. It's a piece of history IMHO, and not to mention the time & effort you put into restoring it. You should keep it.

 

Impressions on the Ninja 1000? I have seriously been looking at them with the factory bag option......I can get a left over 2012 pretty cheap. Is it buzzy at highway speeds? looking for some real life feedback...

 

Yeah, my VFR has a fuel shut off but the design is poor, meaning that to get at it you must remove the seat cowl and seat. Kinda a pain but now I know better. After riding it all last year and never having an issue I thought it wouldn't be a problem.

The Ninja 1000 so far is great. A very faint buzz is felt at highway speeds and gets a little more noticeable over 75 mph but I don't spend much time there. Ther ergos are nearly perfect for me at 6'2". A little more leg room would be nice but it's better than the '93 VFR. Seat is firm and with only 400 miles on it so far I can't judge it fairly. I will say that after 80 minutes my bum needs a break. Gauge layout is simple and nice but no temp.? WTF? I guess kawasaki assumes it'll never overheat so who cares. I like seeing what's going on between my legs though.

Oil changes/filter changes and chain maintenance is stupid easy. No bodywork to remove for the oil/filter = 15 min. ordeal.

Suspension seems good even for my 240 lb. frame. I have it set a lil stiff but even still there is no wallowing or pushing through corners at a 7/10s pace. I'm no racer though.

So far, I'm very happy. The M4 pipes are a very nice add-on. Not loud but deep and growly. Bags are big and can't tell there on there at all. I think it looks good with them but I'm sure others would disagree.

Really, nothing bad to say about it.

 

fuel shutoff solonoid
...and which one would you recommend? I've got a 4th gen and this sounds like a good 'prevent-a-problem' project.

 

Great, thanks for the info! I think it looks great with the bags btw.:smile:

 

fuel shutoff solonoid
...and which one would you recommend? I've got a 4th gen and this sounds like a good 'prevent-a-problem' project.
Just google up fuel shutoff soloniod valves there is a million out there and you can get them for about $20

 

It's funny, I'm sitting here this morning reading through the posts of the weekend and I look at the Ninja and think, that ain't a Ninja. How can that be a Ninja? They were sport bikes aka race replicas etc. That is something else entirely! It may share the engine that would be in a Ninja but how can they call that a Ninja? It needs a different name. One that describes the role or niche that it fits into. Something like a Raptor or Wolverine LOL...

I don't know but when I look at that bike, it doesn't share any of the traits of my old ZX11. It's just too nimble looking and it has ergos too.

Hmmmm, I shall ponder this for a bit.

What do you guys think??

 

I think this one is Kawi's VFR with an inline or maybe more closely related to it's other brother from another mother the FZ1.

 

So perhaps it should be called a KFR?
Hey why aren't you working???? You should be on the tee right now.....otstir:

 

Kawasaki had to call it a Ninja because Americans wouldn't buy a Kawasaki that wasn't called a Ninja.

 

I am late, just moving alittle slow this morning but not too much longer before I sling a leg over the beast and I'll be moving a little faster

 

Thats cause the people that designed those bikes are :rip: and were not video game/Transformer fanatics. Nice bike btw, dont sell dah Viffer cause you will regret it later...

 

A 2011 Ninja 1000 is what I just got rid of. After having an Interceptor, and then going to the Ninja, I simply could not stand that boring old inline 4 engine. It has no character, no soul, I don't care how much power it has. The thing also buzzed my ass so bad at 7000 RPM I wanted to drive it off a cliff. Didn't like the bike much at all. I'm the biggest Kawasaki fan there is...I will proclaim til the day I die NOBODY makes a more reliable bike than Kawasaki, but that Ninja I did not like.....and I've had many Kawasakis. The best bike and probably my most favorite of all time was a 2000 ZX9.

 

The all black Ninjas look amazing though. Mine was the black and red which I never really liked as well.

 

that is a *very* nice looking 3rd gen...