I scored this Ninja on craigslist for free when I went to pick up a Bigfoot, the owner basically gave me his lot since he didn't want to keep them any more. The Ninja wasn't in too bad of shape aside from the broken seat and hacked up wiring. Lawnmower batteries are BAD BAD BAD.
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The more I look at the Ninja, the more I like it. The right handle makes "motor sounds" when turned, kind of a neat feature that doesn't require batteries. The gears are sealed up inside the frame, so I'm not sure what boxes it has yet. I probably won't get a look at it until the weekend. It also looks like the rear was designed to move independently from the body, but it doesn't do so. Has anyone modded one of these to have a rear suspension?
first off, the first pic, that had #3 gearboxes in them keep it for parts and you can install a seperate brake with the right side foot pad on the one that looks just like it.
second one has been modded, and a good one at that. those are #7 boxes, probably 19t, but like you said you will have to take them off to see for sure. use parts from the first one to mod that one.
the last on is the best of all you have. it has #3 gearboxes in it that are 12v, but if you can find some super six motors they will slide right in there and you can keep it 12v. it will fly on 12v. my kids love theres, i have done it to two of them. i also have a spare seat for that model hanging around, its black, but its yours for 12.00 to your door if you want it.
i also have a quick way for dropping the rear pan down. drill two holes directly above the two most forward screws so it allows you to take them out with removing the rear pan.
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make sure to angle the drill so you cutting a diagonal hole in the plastic the same way your screw driver needs to be to take the screw out.
take out the rest of the screws and it just flops down if front of you. but be sure to take off the push nut first, its kinda hard to do that with the pan flopping around.
Well I gave the Ninja a good scrubbing tonight, it's amazing what just cleaning off all the dirt and grime will do, it's looking pretty decent now. I also replaced the motors with Super 6 motors, and it really is an improvement in speed. I need to go by another inline fuse tomorrow since the last guy was running this one with a lawnmower batt and no fuse . I don't want my daughter riding it without one.
One thing I noticed is that that the steering bar is really sloppy. Is this a common problem on these quads? Is there a good way to fix it?
Also, I was trying to pull the handle grips off to really clean them up better, but they wouldn't budge. Any special tricks to removing them?
I dropped some super 6 motors in the ninja on friday, and when testing it on Sat, discovered the gearboxes were trashed. I guess I shouldn't expect anything more from a freebee. No worries though, I had a spare set of 3B boxes, and dropped them in, and now the thing is running like a champ. The rear wheels are starting to look a little warn, so I'm going to do a wheel rotation soon.
Here's a video of my 3 1/2 year old nephew giving it a good run on 12V with the super 6 motors. This was basically his second time on a power wheels, and he already figured out how to power slide and do donuts. Sorry for the poor quality, I still need to get a better camera.
Well my 6 year old nehpew was over and was riding the Ninja, and it was fast for him, but he wanted to go faster, so I decided to try it on 18V. Man did that thing move! But it didn't take long before I could smell the motors heating up, so I guess Super 6 Motors really shouldn't be run on 12V. Now my nephew is only 54lbs, only 12 lbs heavier than my daughter, so I don't think the weight was an issue. I'd like to keep those Super 6's so I'll just keep them on 12V.
Well he was riding the Ninja again, on 12V this time, but it died. The 18V must have been too much for the Super 6's. One of them was completely burned up. The other is still good, but I don't have an extra Super 6 to go back in it. Something else happened to the wiring or switches too, since when I put good, tested, motors back in, nothing worked.
So now I'm torn on what to do with this on. It was cool with 12V super 6 motors, and I could make it fast with 18V on regular motors, but if I were to keep it and troubleshoot whats wrong with it, I probably wouldn't get around to it until I'm finished my Jeep and Apache projects. Plus I have the metal frame Jeep that I plan to lift and make 4wd. So should I keep this one and fix it, or sell it for parts? Let me know your thoughts.
The steering slop...... assuming this is the same setup, check out what I did to our Dora Quad, click on it in my signature. Most of the slop is actually flex is the plastic blocks at the wheels. Fortunately, the rest of the setup is pretty decent substantial. Unfortantely, I don't think there's a way to fix it without access to a welder.
Super 6's on 18 volts is definitely pushing it, and the added weight of the bigger rider I'm sure was enough to put it over the edge that much quicker. Are you sure the motors are bad? If swapping them didn't fix it, it's possible the motors are fine and something else is wrong. Though once you get the "too hot" smell, they likely don't have much life left.
As far as reliability vs. speed, I'd think Super 6's on 12 volts is pretty compable to regular 12 volt motors on 18 volts. The 12 volt motors on 18 volts is likely a bit more torque though.
Yes, I tested the motors out individually after taking it apart. The one that went bad had it's cooling fins completely melted. The other appears to be fine.
The plan for now it to put this one down in the basement until warmer weather, and maybe some more free time. It definitely has a lot of potential. It was a freebee after all. It's just a shame I killed a super 6. Oh well, live and learn.
Resurrected! I tore apart the Ninja today and replace the butchered wiring harness with the one donated from the blue Ninja. I also had found out what was wrong with the old harness, aside from the mangling it had undergone. Some of the insulation on the wires had melted off and they were shorting out. While I had it apart I painted all the yellow pieces to brighten them up, and replaced the busted foot pedal. Since I only had one good Super 6 motor left, the Ninja is now equipped with standard motors and 18V power. I also figured out how to fix the sloppy steering. I drilled through the T shaped metal piece through to the steerting shaft and used a metal screw to tie them together and presto, no more slop. Now the handle bars move the steering shaft with no play at all. I forgot to take a picture of it before puttin the plastic covers on though...
Here's a video of the kids racing around yesterday. I noticed the gears on the Ninja were starting to slip when starting on the grass, so I'll have to take them apart and see how bad they are chewed up. There wasn't any slipping once it got going though, just that initial hard start.
Looking good! Just scored this same type of quad this past weekend. It looks like death incarnate, but it actually runs perfectly!
Question - do you have a model# on it? The sticker on the inside of the battery compartment isn't in bad shape, but there's no model# on it. Don't know what's up with that!
My shifter lever is busted off - the actual switches and everything are good, but the lever is snapped off so you kinf of have to press really hard and you can slide the shifter up and down. I need to pick up a shifter lever and the box that holds the gas pedal, but don't have a model#!
I picked up a blue Ninja I used for parts a few weeks ago and it had the same problem, the shifter worked, but the lever was broken off, so it was nearly impossible to shift it.
I do have an extra gas pedal housing, but the lower half of it does have a small crack in it that I melted back together from the inside.
I took apart the Ninja today to fix some issues that had popped up, so I had a chance to take a picture of the simple steering fix I did. I just drilled through the T connector to the steering rod and tied them together with a metal screw and some locktite to keep things together.
I also put the new speedometer/tachometer decal I got from bugman72. The odometer reads Olivia's birthday.
The stock motors will be fine on 18V, the problem is the #3 gearboxes it has. They just aren't as strong as the #7s. I've gone through 3 sets already on it with 18V.
Wheels are a tough one. Your best bet is to see if you can find some used ones. I think wheels from the Bigfoot Models like my Blue Thunder will fit too. I haven't tried for sure, but they appear to be the same size.
Check out the definitive gearbox thread in the FAQ section. It will tell you all you need to know about the gearboxes. http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2206 The #7s are a lot bigger than the #3's and won't fit in the Ninja rear without some major cutting. Not to say it can't be done. Wheres did it, and as you can see, they stick out a lot.
As for finding them. The cheapest way would be to find a 12V donor like a Jeep, but if that doesn't happen, you can post a wanted to by thread in the for sale section, or even check Ebay (just watch for inflated prices there)
The 4th set of 3B gearboxes blew out yesterday, so now it's time to either try putting in some Metal Frame gearboxes or seeing if I can squeeze some #7s in there using the pictures Artax posted in his build as a guide.
The extra set of Metal frame gearboxes I have are 11T, so they might be slower than the 3Bs, but if I do use them I could try bumping this one up to 24V and see what happens.
Check out the definitive gearbox thread in the FAQ section. It will tell you all you need to know about the gearboxes. http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2206 The #7s are a lot bigger than the #3's and won't fit in the Ninja rear without some major cutting. Not to say it can't be done. Wheres did it, and as you can see, they stick out a lot.
As for finding them. The cheapest way would be to find a 12V donor like a Jeep, but if that doesn't happen, you can post a wanted to by thread in the for sale section, or even check Ebay (just watch for inflated prices there)
LOL, my kfx has the same external gearbox thing going on. Only with metal frame jeep boxes.
The 4th set of 3B gearboxes blew out yesterday, so now it's time to either try putting in some Metal Frame gearboxes or seeing if I can squeeze some #7s in there using the pictures Artax posted in his build as a guide.
The extra set of Metal frame gearboxes I have are 11T, so they might be slower than the 3Bs, but if I do use them I could try bumping this one up to 24V and see what happens.
If you need any more pictures let me know, I still have mine in pieces. Also might be nice to get some pics of yours opened up so we can compare the shells that came with #3 and #7 gearboxes.
Stick with the metal frame, then pump in the power!!! :)... I think the Metal frame gears look better anyway installed then then #7 then you don't have them hanging out either sure they would breath better but if the metal frame are suppose to be stronger why use a weaker product? Or if you got with #7 try and install them like in Artax Ninja so it still looks clean and original.
Granted I am a 12T metal gearbox on 24v anyway seems to zing along pretty nice even on 18volt it's pretty solid, then if you shave the inside of the casing down near the bottom of the final drive gear this could free it up abit and reduces noise as well.
Although with #7 then you could install the big 14" tires on the back lol... really beef it up :)
99 Ninja Quad W/Metal Frame Gearbox and 700 motors and 24 volt.
Well I finally found a way to fit #7 Gearboxes in the rear of these Green and Blue Ninja quads that originally came with #3 gearboxes in them. After the 4th set of #3s went out on this one, I decided to try to get away from them alltogether. I wanted to do it without having them stick out like some mutant growths, and came up with a solution. Read all about it here: http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12733
And here is my newest addition, a very nice Blue Ninja that I picked up for $10. The right rear 3B gearbox was shot, but everything else was fine on it, so it became a prime candidate for the #7 Gearbox Mod I just did to a 3B rearend. Here are the after shots with the new rear and 19T #7s installed in it.
Nice! I wish the older Suzuki Quad i have would have the plastic molding in the back like the Ninjas to hide some of the mess. I found 2 different ways to put #7s on the back of the Suzuki but it looks odd. But it is fully functional so for racing reasons it will do.
The nice weather allowed the kids to have some fun outside today. Got some video of the Blue Ninja in action witht he 19T #7s in it. The McQueen has since been upgraded to 21T gearboxes as well, and turned out to be faster than the quad with the 19T gearboxes, even though the quad has taller wheels and both were on 18V. The Ninja #7 GB modification performed great, so I'm looking forward to doing it again on the Green Ninja. I just need to get some time to do it now.
21T at 18volts seems to be the best setup by far for me. Reliable and fast.Cool videos.
Thanks, I'm really liking that combo too. I might have to put some 21T in the quads and see how they do. Man I hate taking those rear ends apart though.
Very cool and I see you have a wild thing...nice... that could be a cool side car, what have you done to this?
quote:Originally posted by gseric69
The nice weather allowed the kids to have some fun outside today. Got some video of the Blue Ninja in action witht he 19T #7s in it. The McQueen has since been upgraded to 21T gearboxes as well, and turned out to be faster than the quad with the 19T gearboxes, even though the quad has taller wheels and both were on 18V. The Ninja #7 GB modification performed great, so I'm looking forward to doing it again on the Green Ninja. I just need to get some time to do it now.
*arctic Shark snowmobile (beng modified again) but works! *indianaJones Harley *desert bike..chain driven *desert Challenger street bike *saftey 1st Chopper *viper *Herbie fully loaded via remote 12v....18v if lucky *herbie (dora6v) 12v AMY
were do you guys usualy get ur batt. from and when you put 12v and a 6v in the quads do you have to cut anything out
I had been getting most of my batteries from Power-Cell (Zeus brand) from their Ebay store. They seem to have a limited availability lately of the 12AH batteries I like though, but I haven't needed to order any for a while. Gruber is also a common place to get them on here. Both stores are posted in the Market Prices for Ebay Batteries thread
Nothing has needed to be cut, but I usually remove the battery hold down bar since it doesn't fit the 12V 12AH batteries I use.
Modmom, so far I haven't done anything to the Wild Thing except for cleaning the switches to get it working right again. It's a Super 6, and it already spins my daughter silly as is, I'm kind of nervous about overvolting it actually. She already got so dizzy once, she went down hard on the driveway when she tried to get off it.
The Dora quad is all cleaned up and back together now. I dropped in the new 21T gearboxes I got from the Harley Parts bin, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results. If it does well, I may have to replace the 19T GB's in the other two quads with 21T's as well The kids are on a field trip to Gettysburg today, so I'll have to wait for some action.
We finally had enough days without rain so the swamp that was my backyard dried up and was able to provide some good ride time. Olivia loved the speed the 21T's offered in the Dora quad. When she hopped on the Blue Ninja afterwards she asked me to make that one faster too. I guess I shouldn't have sold so many of the 21T gearboxes I had. Oh well, I'm sure I'll come across more eventually. So here's some video. She was doing some crazy power slides on the driveway too, but I didn't manage to get video of those.
Wow, that thing flys. It looks like that goes faster than my sons mustang on 18v... are the quad tires bigger?
I know how you feel about the rain... South Texas has been in a drought for years, and this year for some odd reason it has rained a ton... and when it rains, it floods. Then it takes at least 3 days for it to dry up.
Im glad that Im not the only one with swamp problems lol.
I'm not an addict, addicts have the potential to quit.
Wow, that thing flys. It looks like that goes faster than my sons mustang on 18v... are the quad tires bigger?
I think they may be taller. The Quad tires are 11.5" tall. I know they are bigger than Lightning McQueen wheels, which only come with 19T GB's. I think the Mustang wheels are pretty close in size to Lightning McQueens.
Well the 21T's didn't last long. I'm not sure if it was a bad gearbox or what, but the pinion for the first gear must have been loose. It looks like it wobbled around in there, and dug itself large holes on both sides of the housing, and made a nice large hole in the center of the first gear too. Maybe it was too much riding it on 18V with them, and the torque pushed it around. This was one of my brand new GB's, so I'm not too happy right now. Since I'm running low on 21T's, I'm putting 19T's back in for now. Also going to take apart the other 21T and inspect it before using it again. It sucks that it killed the housing, I have plenty of extra gears but housings are harder to come by. The grease is also filled with tiny plastic bits throughout, so it can't be saved either.
Well the 21T's didn't last long. I'm not sure if it was a bad gearbox or what, but the pinion for the first gear must have been loose. It looks like it wobbled around in there, and dug itself large holes on both sides of the housing, and made a nice large hole in the center of the first gear too. Maybe it was too much riding it on 18V with them, and the torque pushed it around. This was one of my brand new GB's, so I'm not too happy right now. Since I'm running low on 21T's, I'm putting 19T's back in for now. Also going to take apart the other 21T and inspect it before using it again. It sucks that it killed the housing, I have plenty of extra gears but housings are harder to come by. The grease is also filled with tiny plastic bits throughout, so it can't be saved either.
BLAH!
So I just read through this long thread, alot of good info... just picked up a Ninja today... Gambler and I did some trading... so whats the verdict on the upgrades and what to do and not to do??? 18v to much? I would like to upgrade mine but dont want to waste monet and burn stuff up...
Tony K. Jacksonville, Florida PW Fire Jeep PW Ninja Quad Dumar Raptor
So I just read through this long thread, alot of good info... just picked up a Ninja today... Gambler and I did some trading... so whats the verdict on the upgrades and what to do and not to do??? 18v to much? I would like to upgrade mine but dont want to waste monet and burn stuff up...
My take was to go with 19T and 18V. 21T was too much, and it's a pity, since the 21T gearboxes are so rare.
My take was to go with 19T and 18V. 21T was too much, and it's a pity, since the 21T gearboxes are so rare.
Yea, for now, I'm going to keep the 19T's in there. I'm not sure if I just had a bad gearbox, or if it was too much for it. The Dora quad has been giving me trouble in general though, so if I get adventurous again, I may try putting 21T's in the Green Ninja.
With the stock 3B gearboxes, be prepared for stripped gears sooner or later on 18V. Even on 12V, these quads are notorious for stripping gears in the 3B's. I'm sure that is the reason the newer quads like the Dora one now come with #7's.
quote:Originally posted by gseric69 With the stock 3B gearboxes, be prepared for stripped gears sooner or later on 18V. Even on 12V, these quads are notorious for stripping gears in the 3B's. I'm sure that is the reason the newer quads like the Dora one now come with #7's.
So I think the stock gear boxes are striping, whenever my kid put his foot on the gas you hear a grinding noise that goes away as soon as it starts moving. So did you find a gear box that would hold up to 18v? Also if I do upgrade the battery to 18v do i also have to upgrade the motors. Or does this thing pretty much only run efficiently with the stock setup?
Tony K. Jacksonville, Florida PW Fire Jeep PW Ninja Quad Dumar Raptor
So I think the stock gear boxes are striping, whenever my kid put his foot on the gas you hear a grinding noise that goes away as soon as it starts moving. So did you find a gear box that would hold up to 18v? Also if I do upgrade the battery to 18v do i also have to upgrade the motors. Or does this thing pretty much only run efficiently with the stock setup?
The #7 gearboxes hold up to 18V much better than the 3B's, but you'll have to modify the rear to fit them. You can either do something like the picture near the middle of the thread where they are shown hanging halfway out, or do what I did and Modify the rear to fit the #7 gearboxes inside it. I would stick with 19T #7's, as stated in my last post. If you get #7 gearboxes, get the motors with them.
The stock motors will hold up ok to 18V. Mods always shorten the life of the equipment, but you should get a nice long run if nothing else is changed like going to 21T gearboxes, or adding larger wheels.
You could also try as I did provided you have some but put metal frame jeep gearboxes into it, from what I've read/heard they will hold up to 24volt fairly well, and the gears are stronger then that of the #7 gearboxes.. I toasted one #7 with 24volt, but so for my ninja is running metal frame gearboxes at 24volt for about 5-6 months now , just recently took them apart and no signs of plastic grindings, or moving pinions everything seems pretty secure yet..
99 Ninja Quad W/Metal Frame Gearbox and 700 motors and 24 volt.
You could also try as I did provided you have some but put metal frame jeep gearboxes into it, from what I've read/heard they will hold up to 24volt fairly well, and the gears are stronger then that of the #7 gearboxes.. I toasted one #7 with 24volt, but so for my ninja is running metal frame gearboxes at 24volt for about 5-6 months now , just recently took them apart and no signs of plastic grindings, or moving pinions everything seems pretty secure yet..
what all has to be replaced to run 24v? gear box, wiring harness, motors?
Tony K. Jacksonville, Florida PW Fire Jeep PW Ninja Quad Dumar Raptor
ok need a shopping list i have 2 ninja quads to build please tell me everything i need what batts,motors,and gear boxes and in between thanks oh and i'm looking for a set of tires off the blue quad one with the yellow rims my black quad has a plastic bushing that keeps everything in line and i miss placed it so now i need some new wheels
ok need a shopping list i have 2 ninja quads to build please tell me everything i need what batts,motors,and gear boxes and in between thanks oh and i'm looking for a set of tires off the blue quad one with the yellow rims my black quad has a plastic bushing that keeps everything in line and i miss placed it so now i need some new wheels
Can he come build it for you too?
Just kidding.
(pics link to threads)Fast, Reliable, and Cheap... Pick any two.
18V Green & Blue Kawasaki Ninja & Dora Quads
Posted - 10/22/2008 : 20:11:34
. I don't want my daughter riding it without one. 
Oh well, I'm sure I'll come across more eventually. 
