Last year after getting tired of wading through the menus on buykawasaki.com every time I needed to look up a part, I dumped them all to a spreadsheet. Today since I could not go riding (and having way too much time on my hands... :) ) I did the same thing for the 2002 parts and then did a comparison to see what the differences are. While the conventional wisdom that there is nothing new except BNG held true for the most part, there are some interesting differences. Here are a few:
1) The front brake master cylinder is a different part number. The individual parts appear to be the same, but the assembly part numbers are different
2) Clutch springs are different. This is a real difference. After '96 Kawasaki beefed them up.
3) The shifter return spring and the collar on the end of the shaft are different part numbers. This one has me curious. Is it a different rate spring I wonder?
4) The organization of the front fork parts has changed slightly. On the 96, the fork rod can be ordered separately. On the 02, it cannot. Since it looks like there's been no design change, this suggests a strategy for an 02 owner who just needs the rod.
5) Radiators are a different part no. Again I wonder if there is any difference? If not, then it would be interesting to find out if there was any price difference. My suspicious mind could envision a case of the Kawasaki price list for the "out of production" 1996 radiator being higher. :think
6) Rear Axle. The 02 drawing is missing the snail adjuster. The part number is different, and I'm wondering if the axle is shorter, but then what happened to the chain adjuster? They show up in the '02 photo.
7) Some part numbers are apparently changed for no reason. There's a different part number for the same NGK BR8ES plug.
For those interested, you can find the spreadsheet here.
1) The front brake master cylinder is a different part number. The individual parts appear to be the same, but the assembly part numbers are different
2) Clutch springs are different. This is a real difference. After '96 Kawasaki beefed them up.
3) The shifter return spring and the collar on the end of the shaft are different part numbers. This one has me curious. Is it a different rate spring I wonder?
4) The organization of the front fork parts has changed slightly. On the 96, the fork rod can be ordered separately. On the 02, it cannot. Since it looks like there's been no design change, this suggests a strategy for an 02 owner who just needs the rod.
5) Radiators are a different part no. Again I wonder if there is any difference? If not, then it would be interesting to find out if there was any price difference. My suspicious mind could envision a case of the Kawasaki price list for the "out of production" 1996 radiator being higher. :think
6) Rear Axle. The 02 drawing is missing the snail adjuster. The part number is different, and I'm wondering if the axle is shorter, but then what happened to the chain adjuster? They show up in the '02 photo.
7) Some part numbers are apparently changed for no reason. There's a different part number for the same NGK BR8ES plug.
For those interested, you can find the spreadsheet here.
