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

[Sport-Touring]

[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.