Parts I will be ordering shortly...
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It's especially galling when my wife's 2 nd COVID shot was just put off, due to the potential for bad weather. I'm going 25 miles further than her, to spend 6+ hours in the hospital in Stafford getting imaging done..... they're not closing. Most of the elective stuff is being shuttered, but a primary hospital's imaging department never sleeps.
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So the screen and pegs were simple installs, hardest part was finding the circlip after it sprung off, and figuring out which way the springs install to keep the pegs fully deployed. Pleasant surprise when I found the bolts for the foot peg carrier had loosened....
Left side, without adjusting the shift lever... it should easily move to where I'll want it.
![107887]()
Right side, same story. This is the side the carrier was loose on. I should receive my rear brake reservoir cover in a couple of days.
![107888]()
The Zero Gravity touring screen, is about 1" taller than OEM over the center half of the screen. Clean install, no spatter marks from brake fluid spills.
![107889]()
This shot, I wanted to try and show how the bar end sliders on the longer bars, and the engine cover slider should limit plastics damage.
![107890]()
Left side, without adjusting the shift lever... it should easily move to where I'll want it.
Right side, same story. This is the side the carrier was loose on. I should receive my rear brake reservoir cover in a couple of days.
The Zero Gravity touring screen, is about 1" taller than OEM over the center half of the screen. Clean install, no spatter marks from brake fluid spills.
This shot, I wanted to try and show how the bar end sliders on the longer bars, and the engine cover slider should limit plastics damage.
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Personally I wouldn't give a shit about plastics being damaged (since the Chinese reproductions are so good these days). I'd rather protect the frame, engine and tank. Cool pegs, never seen those before. I was looking into these ones for my Z900 but never bothered and sold the bike for a Z1000R which was more roomy: MFW Vario Adjustable Footpegs Rider | Rider Magazine | Rider Magazine
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I have avoided bike with large amounts of plastics, because of the expenses involved in keeping them pristine. Bikes should be used and worn in. Character.
Now that my health is in question, I can find some solace in making the bike better. It gives me a small illusion of control and I can see the positive in it.
When it was just another of a long series of bikes I have owned, my perception and appreciation of it was somewhat different than it is at the moment.
To anyone else, this is and should be just another 12 year old bike with nearly 70K miles on it. I daresay it is in better condition than many that were built that year. I am sure there are some number of better examples than this one; there are more that are worse than better, IMHO. Irregardless, I am finding some peace in making it closer to whole.
My milage will certainly vary, compared to yours. I'd rather ride it into the ground, than polish a hangar queen. If I can't ride it because of the weather or health, some level of polishing is inevitable. It's a good distraction. Improving this one is a losing proposition -- what I sink into it, cannot be recovered if it is sold. The market will not bear that. What I am doing now, is less than the cost of years of payments on something I am unlikely to wear out, which would still have negative equity when I can no longer ride.
The amount I am doing now, is my wife's nefarious plot to keep me from buying a new bike.
Now that my health is in question, I can find some solace in making the bike better. It gives me a small illusion of control and I can see the positive in it.
When it was just another of a long series of bikes I have owned, my perception and appreciation of it was somewhat different than it is at the moment.
To anyone else, this is and should be just another 12 year old bike with nearly 70K miles on it. I daresay it is in better condition than many that were built that year. I am sure there are some number of better examples than this one; there are more that are worse than better, IMHO. Irregardless, I am finding some peace in making it closer to whole.
My milage will certainly vary, compared to yours. I'd rather ride it into the ground, than polish a hangar queen. If I can't ride it because of the weather or health, some level of polishing is inevitable. It's a good distraction. Improving this one is a losing proposition -- what I sink into it, cannot be recovered if it is sold. The market will not bear that. What I am doing now, is less than the cost of years of payments on something I am unlikely to wear out, which would still have negative equity when I can no longer ride.
The amount I am doing now, is my wife's nefarious plot to keep me from buying a new bike.
RJ2112, you have a great attitude. Your bike looks fantastic! When you love a bike it really shows. Remember we only have today, tomorrow is not guaranteed - it just seems that way sometimes.
Very glad your wife is getting the vaccine. My wife and I are over 65 and have been trying to get our vaccines but no success. Was very difficult getting my mother-in-law signed up and she is 92 with health issues. Have friends and relatives in Georgia and Florida that are same age and got their vaccines a week or two ago. I guess I can say Alabama 1st in football last in vaccinations.
LOL since I bought a new bike last September I am banned from even mentioning a different motorcycle - you can't want a new bike you just got one. When I did a demo ride on an Indian FTR I got the you rant going to trade your new bike are you? Last month I mentioned buying a new Bolt because they were giving them away (well almost) we had a involved discussion about having a battery car where would I charge it how could it have something I couldn't charge away from home. I gave up figuring too hard to convince her, next day she says when are we going to go look at the Bolt? I thought she was totally against it but no she just had concerns. She also pointed out to me we got an extra $3,000 bonus earnings on top of our GM Card earnings. So 3 days later I had a Bolt ($21,322 out the door for a car with a MWRP of $44,130). Now I have to be good and not talk about cars or motorcycles for a while.
Very glad your wife is getting the vaccine. My wife and I are over 65 and have been trying to get our vaccines but no success. Was very difficult getting my mother-in-law signed up and she is 92 with health issues. Have friends and relatives in Georgia and Florida that are same age and got their vaccines a week or two ago. I guess I can say Alabama 1st in football last in vaccinations.
LOL since I bought a new bike last September I am banned from even mentioning a different motorcycle - you can't want a new bike you just got one. When I did a demo ride on an Indian FTR I got the you rant going to trade your new bike are you? Last month I mentioned buying a new Bolt because they were giving them away (well almost) we had a involved discussion about having a battery car where would I charge it how could it have something I couldn't charge away from home. I gave up figuring too hard to convince her, next day she says when are we going to go look at the Bolt? I thought she was totally against it but no she just had concerns. She also pointed out to me we got an extra $3,000 bonus earnings on top of our GM Card earnings. So 3 days later I had a Bolt ($21,322 out the door for a car with a MWRP of $44,130). Now I have to be good and not talk about cars or motorcycles for a while.
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Al,
Previous bikes have started to lose their 'snap' after 50K miles or so. By that, I mean the things that keep a bike interesting -- acceleration, handling, etc. This one is still doing well in that regard.
I've always taken the position that how a bike looks is at best a secondary consideration. Form should follow function, and the best derivation of that is the minimum needed to do the job. Light makes right. Less mass benefits anything to do with motorcycles in the most fundamental ways.
I used to admire the pre-unit Triumphs, when you had a bike that you could see through. Pared down to the essence of what was required to do the job. A form of poetry, in that.
I know I could make this bike lighter..... but for me there isn't a whole lot of point in that. It's light enough already. The 0-60 times are perfectly acceptable as is. The easy weight is there to be removed; if the exhaust is modified and the battery replaced, I'm sure that's an easy 20 lbs, which would cost $400 or more (at the best $2/lb). From there, it just gets more expensive. The freebies -- I could toss the tool kit, the exhaust servo, etc. -- I'll leave to someone else.
Previous bikes have started to lose their 'snap' after 50K miles or so. By that, I mean the things that keep a bike interesting -- acceleration, handling, etc. This one is still doing well in that regard.
I've always taken the position that how a bike looks is at best a secondary consideration. Form should follow function, and the best derivation of that is the minimum needed to do the job. Light makes right. Less mass benefits anything to do with motorcycles in the most fundamental ways.
I used to admire the pre-unit Triumphs, when you had a bike that you could see through. Pared down to the essence of what was required to do the job. A form of poetry, in that.
I know I could make this bike lighter..... but for me there isn't a whole lot of point in that. It's light enough already. The 0-60 times are perfectly acceptable as is. The easy weight is there to be removed; if the exhaust is modified and the battery replaced, I'm sure that's an easy 20 lbs, which would cost $400 or more (at the best $2/lb). From there, it just gets more expensive. The freebies -- I could toss the tool kit, the exhaust servo, etc. -- I'll leave to someone else.
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One thing I did find odd, when I went to adjust the lever heights for rear brake and shifter..... the rear brake side OEM peg carrier has additional nuts backing the tapped portion of the frame.
When I was installing the lowered peg on that side, I had noticed the upper bolt of the carrier to frame mounting point was a bit loose. I tightened it up that day; but when I went to do the adjustment, I decided the right answer was to use some thread lock on those bolts to ensure it didn't happen again.
When I loosened the upper bolt and started backing it out of the hole, I heard and saw a nut fall out of the bike from that same area. Seemed very odd to me, to have an extra lock nut on the back of such an assembly. Particularly with the difficulty of getting to the back side of that tapped portion frame rail, due to the proximity of the swingarm and exhaust resonant box. That nut threaded onto the bolt I removed, fairly conclusive that it came from where I think it did.....
I looked closely at the lower mounting point; sure enough, there's another nut there. With that as my basis, I re-installed that nut onto the inside of the frame on the upper mounting point, locking the bolt to the frame from the back.
I've since looked at the parts diagram on Partzilla..... no such nut exists. There is also a bracket of some kind stacked with the footpeg bracket which does not appear to be on the diagram. It appears to be flat stock, probably at least 0.040" thick and has a tang pointed down towards the exhaust.
Has anyone else seen this stuff?
When I was installing the lowered peg on that side, I had noticed the upper bolt of the carrier to frame mounting point was a bit loose. I tightened it up that day; but when I went to do the adjustment, I decided the right answer was to use some thread lock on those bolts to ensure it didn't happen again.
When I loosened the upper bolt and started backing it out of the hole, I heard and saw a nut fall out of the bike from that same area. Seemed very odd to me, to have an extra lock nut on the back of such an assembly. Particularly with the difficulty of getting to the back side of that tapped portion frame rail, due to the proximity of the swingarm and exhaust resonant box. That nut threaded onto the bolt I removed, fairly conclusive that it came from where I think it did.....
I looked closely at the lower mounting point; sure enough, there's another nut there. With that as my basis, I re-installed that nut onto the inside of the frame on the upper mounting point, locking the bolt to the frame from the back.
I've since looked at the parts diagram on Partzilla..... no such nut exists. There is also a bracket of some kind stacked with the footpeg bracket which does not appear to be on the diagram. It appears to be flat stock, probably at least 0.040" thick and has a tang pointed down towards the exhaust.
Has anyone else seen this stuff?
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The last part I ordered arrived and it was another 1 minute install.
The rear beaker reservoir bracket/cover has weathered quite a bit over 12 years. $13 for a replacement, which has the added benefit of being complete, so it actually hold the reservoir.
![107911]()
comparing old, to new:
![107912]()
The rear beaker reservoir bracket/cover has weathered quite a bit over 12 years. $13 for a replacement, which has the added benefit of being complete, so it actually hold the reservoir.
comparing old, to new:
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47 Posts
Where did you buy this from?
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You got some pics? If I remember correctly, one of the zx6s I’ve bought had a m4 slip on muffler that had a weird mounting bracket setup, kinda like what you described.
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I buy the vast majority of my OEM stuff through Partzilla.com. Usually about 30% off retail. It can be irritating on how slow they ship; no rhyme or reason... and I would have paid as much to ship that part as it cost if I had bought just that one item.
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it’s really hard to pick out but if you zoom in looking behind the rear MC you can see an edge of the nut. This bike had an M4 GP installed when I bought it— I’d expect you nailed it.
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Didnt realize this was oem for the 2012...thought it was aftermarket.
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Yea its got those weird bolts on it. IMO somebody at m4 was smokin something ferocious when they designed that mount. If I was you, I’d get the oem bolts. The ones m4 supply are really easy to strip and its hard to put torque on them.
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I bought a second passenger seat form a forum member for like $50, and I removed the cover and padding. That left me with the hard plastic base to mount things to. Same idea, but a .lot less expensive.
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This is the point I am at with this, tbh. The pillion pad is stable because of the multiple points of contact with the frame. I don't see how the gizmo would match that. Is the pillion seat pan flat? Is it tall enough to allow a wider flat plate to be mounted to it without hitting your tail plastics?
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