My touring mods for my 07 ZX14

[motordog1]

I have had a number of bikes in the last few years to include, 02 Aprilia Futura, 04 FJR, 06 950 KTM Adventrue, Vstrom DL1000, 08 Versys, and my 07 ZX14. Of these bikes the Futura was the best. IMHO this was the best sport touring bike ever made. I sold it fearing parts availability and the cost to maintain it. I miss it and and hope Aprilia will make a new Futura with a 1200. For now I am happy with my Versys and my 14, I ride the Versys about 70 percent of the time. I never thought I could have so much fun with just 60 hp.


Here is a picture I took just before I sold the Futura




I will illustrate the things I have done so far to make the zx14 into a touring bike that I can ride all day. With my current setup I have the comfort of a FJR or C14 bike with much less weight and much better performance. To get rid of the nuttered bottom end that the 06 and 07 had I first used a GI Pro and then just recently had the Secondary throttles removed and had the bike dyno tuned.





Here is my bike in sport mode, sans luggage, note the Buell foot pegs and Zero Gravity ST Shield



With SW Motech detachable racks and Givi V35 cases



Speigler LSL bar risers, Ram ball mount for GPS, Dirt bike grips from cycle gear, and Powerlet outlet




Rick Mayer Seat



Close up of V35 Case and SW Motech rack




View of Attachment points of SW Motech Racks



The 14 next to two of my old bikes


Miss this one

[Envy]

Nice bikes. I may have to look into a seat like you have on the 14. Looking for something more comfy here in the near future as travel season is about to begin. Bought mine in December '08 and haven't got to do much of a trip yet. Thanks for the pics.

Bruce

[kevin_stevens]

Supposedly the C14 seat fits with a bracket/latch change.

KeS

[DJStevieB]

Do the LSL bars require a new triple tree assembly?

[motordog1]

The Speigler LSL kit comes with the new Triple Tree, steel braided brake lines, mounting brackets for clutch and brake reservoirs, and the Speigler handle bar. Some have used a different handle bar to further raise the bar. Renthal makes a bar that works good.

The seat from Rick Mayer is works very well. He custom fits the seat for your needs and is good to work with.  If you use a C14 seat you can't use the rear cowling and in my opinion this seat looks bulky and out of place on the zx

[Rammer]

motordog1, I have a question. Is that a reflection of the pipes in one pic or is that scratches on the rear cowl from the bag mounts??. At first it looked scratched but the more I look at it, it looks like a reflection.

And also, I notice you have a center stand, is that the Kawasaki one ? or aftermarket?

And lastly, how does the bag-rack system work with the handle for lifting the bike onto the centerstand?

Thanks, Erik

[Squareman357]

motordog1, I have a question. Is that a reflection of the pipes in one pic or is that scratches on the rear cowl from the bag mounts??. At first it looked scratched but the more I look at it, it looks like a reflection.

Definitely a reflection of the pipes in the rear fairing panel.  I had the SW Motek rack on my '06 (have to get parts to install it on my new '08) and even though they hug REALLY close they do NOT touch the rear panels.  It's a nice kit.

[Fav]

Nice mods  

[JJP XX]

Please tell me more about the Buell footpegs?  Easy to install?  Any issues after install?  

I have a Corbin seat with my ZX14 but the seat / footpeg relationship is worse as the seat is lower than stock.  For that reason alone, I ride with the stock seat more often.

Thanks.
 

[todao]

Please tell me more about the Buell footpegs?  Easy to install?  Any issues after install?  

I have a Corbin seat with my ZX14 but the seat / footpeg relationship is worse as the seat is lower than stock.  For that reason alone, I ride with the stock seat more often.

Thanks.
 

I had exactly the same problem.  I ordered a seat, my first, from Corbin.  It came back withe the bowl for the back, where your butt hit the back, about a foot further than I could ever reach.  I'm 6 feet.  WTF?  You'd have to have a seven footer for his butt to ever reach that far back for support.  Worse, they lowered the seat about one inch below the stock height.  Now why would they do that?  Like you it threw off all the ergonomics.  I measured exactly the height I wanted (i.e., the height of the stock seat) and also where the bowl would fit my butt and sent it back.  If I had known when I ordered I could've customized it.  I had to pay $200 more but it was worth it as it is now perfect.

I asked them why they put the bowl of the seat so far back that nobody could sit their butt against that.  they said to maintain the ability of the rear cowl to fit the corbin seat.  Geez what a stupid design decision.

On top of all that, Corbin promised me the seat within a certain time period, since I planned my trip around delivery.  Three days later the seat arrived.  Customer service sucks.  I even emailed Tom Corbin himself twice, never heard a word from him.  So I don't mind telling others how bad the service is.

[rajflyboy]

Interesting ZX 14

I like the center stand.   Is that a factory Kawi part of something else?   Thanks!

[Squareman357]

Interesting ZX 14

I like the center stand.   Is that a factory Kawi part of something else?   Thanks!

Yup, Kawi factory center stand.  It replaces that underwing on the back.

[rajflyboy]

Yup, Kawi factory center stand.  It replaces that underwing on the back.

Sweet!

Cool Beans!

[crashtech]

Nice bikes.   Put some color on those bags and that 14 will be awesome!!

[CheesyRider]

Nice bikes.   Put some color on those bags and that 14 will be awesome!!

+1
You wont even need to have them painted.  Just order the blue color inserts for Versys luggage.

[Robbo]

Hey - Really like the ST mods.  Could you tell me about the Yoshi's?  My shop wants to sell me Muzzy, but the Yoshi slip-ons seem more my style.  How do they sound?  not that it needs it, was there any noticable increase in HP?  Easy on? No Mapping?  Thanks much!

[kwb377]

I'll bring this one back form the dead with a question for those with the SW Motech racks...

I'm looking at an '08 ZX14 and am interested in the SW rack/Givi bag combo...every pic I've seen has them mounted with the stock fender. Will the rearmost bracket work with a fender eliminator? Looks like they connect with a bracket that bolts behind the license plate on the stock fender...would it be possible to just bolt the bracket between the two racks in absence of the fender?

[Squareman357]

I'll bring this one back form the dead with a question for those with the SW Motech racks...

I'm looking at an '08 ZX14 and am interested in the SW rack/Givi bag combo...every pic I've seen has them mounted with the stock fender. Will the rearmost bracket work with a fender eliminator? Looks like they connect with a bracket that bolts behind the license plate on the stock fender...would it be possible to just bolt the bracket between the two racks in absence of the fender?

There is a bracket that bolts on to the license plate holder.  My buddy fender eliminated his ZX-14 and just put the bar on between the bags as a horizontal stabilizer mounted to nothing.  It looked odd with the bracket floating above the rear wheel like that, but it didn't appear to be detrimental functinoally.  I left my stock fender on, mostly because I didn't like the way that looked.

[Rammer]

I'll bring this one back form the dead with a question for those with the SW Motech racks...

I'm looking at an '08 ZX14 and am interested in the SW rack/Givi bag combo...every pic I've seen has them mounted with the stock fender. Will the rearmost bracket work with a fender eliminator? Looks like they connect with a bracket that bolts behind the license plate on the stock fender...would it be possible to just bolt the bracket between the two racks in absence of the fender?

Yes, it will work. The cross brace connects the lower rear corners of the bag racks. I'm on a road trip on my FJR now and don't have any pictures of my Zx-14 to show you. The cross brace on mine hangs below my license plate.

Erik.

[Silverbird]

Most of what corbin does is for asthetic appeal. I love their seats, lowering your seat height makes the bike handle better for some, but it does decrease the distance to the pegs so it's all relative.

[kwb377]

I wound up getting the '08 I was looking at, and my SWM racks came in today (got a pair of used V35's off eBay a couple weeks ago)...really diggin' 'em!

[74Z1]

That bike is gorgeous, looks like it's in beautiful shape. Is it the midnight sapphire blue?

Can I be so forward to ask for some details about the purchase?

[kwb377]

That bike is gorgeous, looks like it's in beautiful shape. Is it the midnight sapphire blue?

Can I be so forward to ask for some details about the purchase?

Thanks...yes, it's the MMS (or Bass Boat Blue  ).

Sure, what kinda details are you interested in?

[74Z1]

How many miles on it? Dealer or private purchase? Run as good as it looks?

[kwb377]

Bought it from an individual at the first of June for $7k with 6k miles. Came with a C14 seat, stock windscreen with Laminar Lip, and an MRA screen.

I had originally looked at it last October when I first put my Road King up for sale, but it didn't sell until January and I wound up buying a very nice Ducati ST4S that my friend who deals in high-end vehicles took in on trade.

I knew the Duc would be high maintenance, but because I hadn't done many miles the previous year due to work and divorce related issues, I figured I'd be OK. But I wound up riding it...alot. At the rate I was putting miles on it, I was going to be doing about 2 major services per year (every 6k = $$$$). I reluctantly sold the Duc, and contacted the owner of the Zed to see if he still had it.

Before I rode it, I had visions of it being unGodly powerful and totally unridable. Went for the test ride, and found it somewhat docile, yet deceptively fast. However, in third gear I rolled it on, and when it hit @7k...remember in Star Wars when they hit Hyper Drive in the Millenuim Falcon, and everything became a blur of colored streaks? That's what happened on this thing. It was going faster than my brain could keep up. Once you adjust your brain's "calibration", this thing is a pussy-cat.    On the backroads, usually 4th gear is all you need...it'll pull from down low out of the corners, and wind through the tach just in time to get to the next one.

[74Z1]

Thanks for the information, kwb377.

I want to get one myself, but I will probably wait until next year, when I hope to be able to afford it. I think that color is probably my favorite, but I haven't seen it in person yet.

Enjoy the miles on yours. I usually don't like bags and stuff (spoils the bike's lines, in my view), but yours with the bags looks sleek and purposeful.

[motordog1]

Added some color panels to my Givi Cases. I sold my Versys and no longer will be switching them back and forth. 07 zx14 and 09 Versys both use Candy Plasma Blue. Kawasaki offers the panels as an accessory for the versys, they cost me about 100.00.

[Rammer]

I too used the Kawasaki color panels from a Versys. The '09 Versys was the same Candy Lime Green as my '09 ZX14.

I've added a C-14 seat, bar risers, and a ZG S-T screen.
I just got back from 2 trip this summer. I totaled 8500 miles in less that 30 days on the road.
I went to Oregon to meet a few friends. Then, after I got home I rode to NM and AZ for a road trip.

[1wd]

Hey gang, I've got a few questions for you guys with the zx14r.  I'm slowly narrowing down my choices for my next bike.  I'm currently riding a 06 Kawi 650r and am looking to move up to a full size sport touring bike.  I definitely need the longer wheelbase, I'm 6'2" and want a better occasional two-up and highway bike.  I'm looking at used bikes and considering the zx14r, zzr1200, Yamaha FZ1 (Gen II) and the FJR, although a fairly low mileage FJR might be out of my price range.  I've ridden the zzr1200 and was impressed with the smoothness of the engine and shifting and of course the power.  I also liked that I felt that I was riding in or a part of the bike.  The bike had risers, corbin seat and aftermarket exhaust.  I just test rode a FZ1 that had alot of mods, the only thing missing was the bar risers.  The bike also was very smooth running, maybe just a hair less smoothness in the shifting department, could of been me also.  The power was there as well.  The FZ1 has a more upright riding position than the zzr1200 and I felt like I was riding on top of the bike versus the feel of the zzr.  I have sat on both of the other bikes at a dealer but  have yet to take out the zx14 or the FJR, but should have the chance soon.  

So, now onto some questions; Any things I should consider about these bikes that I may be overlooking?  Has anyone had the zzr1200 and moved onto the zx14 or compared both?  As far as I'm concerned all of these bikes have more than enough power, so that's not at the top of the list of concerns.  The  zzr1200 and FZ1 are probably more in my price range but I would get a higher mileage zx14 or FJR if I find a major difference in those bikes.  How would you rate your after market windshields on the highway?  I'm sure I'll have more questions, but this should get the ball rolling.  

Thanks!      

[2WheelPilot]

Has anyone had the zzr1200 and moved onto the zx14 or compared both?

Lots of people.  Go here: http://zzrbikes.com/forum.php.

I think more people there own ZX14's than ZZR1200's now.