[Sgooner]

Hi all!

I went to test ride a ducati panigale 959 and ended up testing a gen 5 zx10r whilst they were preparing it. I fell in love with the zx10r and much preferred it to the panigale.

I'm now looking to buy a gen 5 zx10r which will be my first 1000cc bike, and I'm after some advice. A lot of the bikes available have had the cat removed, am I right in thinking that if the bike hasn't been remapped that it should run OK but may be a little snatchy at lower revs? Would it be worth getting it remapped to smooth things out for someone who is just moving up to a 1000?

Apart from the usual is there anything that I need to look for when viewing a gen 5?

How easy is it to change over the fairings on them? I do a few track days a year and after having a slide on track last year I'm a bit wary about damaging the fairings if I came off again. Is switching between road and track fairings before and after each track day a feasible option?

Sorry for all the newbie questions!

 

[SkyDork]

Welcome to the party!

To answer a couple of the questions you have, removing the cat converter is the equivalent of throwing a slip-on on the bike. More noise, maybe a HP if you get the fueling adjusted to take advatnage of that, and less weight. There won't really be noticeable power improvements even with a good tune. Any "snatchy" feeling you're talking about has nothing to do with the fueling or the exhaust on the bike. That has to do with the ride-by-wire settings and you have to reflash the ECU to resolve that by someone who is familiar with it and what you're trying to achieve. A standard "tune" or getting it "tuned" usually doesn't touch that part of it. As for track fairings and switching between them, it's no different than any other bike. If you've already done that for your Panigale then it's the same as a Gen 5 would be, with the exception of the number and placement of the rivets and screws.

 

[Southwest_Ninja]

Welcome. And Sky already addressed many of your questions. The only thing I could add is, if you are considering the removal of the cat as an increase in HP, it will be very slight. I removed my cat and used an intermediate pipe back into the stock exhaust and while I did reduce weight (less weight = free "HP" (less weight to thrust forward), I did have my bike tuned as well. And if this is your first 1000, I would suggest get used to riding it before you mod it for more HP. I rode my 2017 10RR for 3 years before I did any mods and the addition of 24 more HP comes with some personal rider adjustments and safety considerations.

 

[Sgooner]

Thank you for the information SkyDork. With my previous bikes I've always just brought them and left them as they were so this world of removing cats, tuning, reflashing etc is all new to me! I'm trying to pick it all up as best I can but it can be a little confusing. Your response has been a big help and made it all a lot clearer.

I didn't get the panigale in the end as I decided I preferred the zx10r. The one I tested was the demo bike and out of my price range so I've been looking at other ones. I've never owned a bike with full fairings before but I'm guessing removing and putting them on isn't overly hard?

Thanks Southwest_Ninja. I'm not looking to increase hp, the standard power is more than enough for me! Most of the bikes I've seen for sale have had the cat removed though and I wasn't sure what effect this had on the bike.

Thank you both again for you help.

 

[SkyDork]

Ok, well I assumed you wound up with the Duc or had worried experience with bikes before.

Swapping bodywork is pretty straight forward, but the hardest part will be fitting the track bodywork. Once that's done, the swapping part is easy. Most track bodywork has to be fitted and painted and there's a few OEM parts that you have to relocate since the track stuff doesn't have fitment for those things. It just depends on what brand you go with in the end.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sgooner]

My current bike is a Triumph Street Triple so no worries about damaging or swapping fairings there! Thank you, I'll do some research into the fairings and see what's what. Are there any brands to look out for or to avoid?

 

[SkyDork]

Most people rag on the Hotbodies stuff. The advantage of them is they are cheap. You'll have to figure out what's important to you as far as fitment, survivability, or cost. If you're just using them for trackdays occasionally, they will be fine. If you do more than that and expect to crash occasional because of it, then you'll be repairing them and would want something better for that. You pay for that, so it just depends on your ability to do the work yourself and the depth of your wallet. It's fun though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Southwest_Ninja]

Thank you for the information SkyDork. With my previous bikes I've always just brought them and left them as they were so this world of removing cats, tuning, reflashing etc is all new to me! I'm trying to pick it all up as best I can but it can be a little confusing. Your response has been a big help and made it all a lot clearer.

I didn't get the panigale in the end as I decided I preferred the zx10r. The one I tested was the demo bike and out of my price range so I've been looking at other ones. I've never owned a bike with full fairings before but I'm guessing removing and putting them on isn't overly hard?

Thanks Southwest_Ninja. I'm not looking to increase hp, the standard power is more than enough for me! Most of the bikes I've seen for sale have had the cat removed though and I wasn't sure what effect this had on the bike.

Thank you both again for you help.

No problem. I would like to help more if I could. But I am limited in knowledge. SkyDork is the man!!

One other thing that just came to mind with the decatted bike though..... will you require any emissions inspection or testing for registration purposes where you are located??

 

[Sgooner]

Most people rag on the Hotbodies stuff. The advantage of them is they are cheap. You'll have to figure out what's important to you as far as fitment, survivability, or cost. If you're just using them for trackdays occasionally, they will be fine. If you do more than that and expect to crash occasional because of it, then you'll be repairing them and would want something better for that. You pay for that, so it just depends on your ability to do the work yourself and the depth of your wallet. It's fun though!

Thanks... I've had a quick look and I'm not sure I'll be able to get Hotbodies stuff over here in the UK. Something along those lines look like they'll do the job though, I only do 3-4 track days a year so not worth spending mega bucks on anything. As long as after the initial fit they're easy enough to swap over I'm happy. I'm looking forward to the garages opening again so I can get my hands on a bike and get to work!

No problem. I would like to help more if I could. But I am limited in knowledge. SkyDork is the man!!

One other thing that just came to mind with the decatted bike though..... will you require any emissions inspection or testing for registration purposes where you are located??

Thank you. Luckily over here in the UK they don't check emissions on the annual tests on motorcycles