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[c-m]

Where in the UK did you get your braided rear hose?

[SANGER_A2]

Don't have braided yet actually. You can get Goodridge ones like these http://www.motorcycle-road-and-race.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=258_475_503&products_id=400316 from any bike shop or from searching online.

[Dubcity]

thanks

[SANGER_A2]

I think that bikes should have shiny stuff on them. Not totally over the top but just bits and pieces to catch your eye. I've replaced the levers with silver ones (although the originals were knackered anyway) and now I've done the pegs to match. I've also got some nice heavy steel barends on the way too.

This mod took ages! There wasn't much work but there was a lot of waiting for things to dry etc. You can't get any non-stock pegs that fit directly to the GPZ so I had to buy generic Kawasaki ones, then fill up the overly large holes with cold weld, sand down the edges and then drill a hole that the bolt from the original pegs will fit through. If you are going to do the same thing using cold weld epoxy stuff, make sure that you do it inside and that both the epoxy tubes and the pegs have been at room temperature for at least a few hours or the cold weld will not set. You can see what I did from the picture below:-


On the right hand side:-


You can also see my shiny alloy tax disc holder here that I got ages ago. I didn't bother documenting this as a proper mod cos it's not really. The pegs from the left hand side:-


From above:-


From the rear:-


You can see that the rear pegs can be temporarily flipped up (although the fall straight down again) in case I get caught in tight space or something. The front ones are immovable, which is what I wanted:-


EDIT: This is another mod I no longer have. It was silly choosing form over function. These pegs look waaay better than the stock but because they're round they are nowhere near as comfortable for long periods of time. Also the vibrations of the bike slowly increased the size of the holes drilled into the cold-weld so they droop - which made them even more uncomfortable to ride with.

[SANGER_A2]

I decided to get some heavier bar ends to reduce vibration and protect the bike a bit more in a drop. I got some nice shiny steel Bike-it ones for about £15 and they were REALLY easy to replace. If the bar ends have never been taken off before you'd need an impact driver but luckily mine had been taken off to put on my Oxford heated grips. I had to get a couple of new bolts that fitted down inside the bar ends (M8s about 5cm long) as the ones that came with it were a bit too short to get a decent grip inside the bars. VERY easy to do, they look nicer and the bars are a bit steadier now when I'm riding.

Comparing the new to the old:-


Close-ups:-


From the front:-


From the back:-

[SANGER_A2]

Lol. I just noticed I can see me in the mirrors!

PS 400th post. Woot!

[t0msmith]

The levers and bar ends look great, I've got those on my GPZ as well

I was thinking of getting a tax disc holder, horns and a chainguard to match. Can't beat the stainless steel look

[SANGER_A2]

The levers and bar ends look great, I've got those on my GPZ as well

I was thinking of getting a tax disc holder, horns and a chainguard to match. Can't beat the stainless steel look

Yeah, shiny bits are nice! You can get one ready-made from Germany but it's a bit pricey http://www.bikefarmmv.de/EN/chain-guard/zeige_artikel.php?fid=201062. I reckon it would be very easy to make a simple one anyway with the right tools.

[IceCavern1011]

My new mirrors arrived today! I got them cheap on ebay item number 250209544727. I think they look really cool and I can't see many people in the UK having them. I used a couple of chocolate blocks to wire them in and a file and a knife to trim the ends down so they'd fit into the stronger stock mounts. I originally fitted them in the lower position and had brilliant visibility (I could see things directly behind me in both mirrors). I hope it's as good with them in the higher position. I've also noticed a bit more vibration than with the stock mirrors but they're still very usable.

There are a couple of threads started by other people that have info on these mirrors and the ex650 ones as replacements. They are here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,5467.0.html and here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,4950.0.html.


From the front:-


i have the same ones.i like em alot.did you get yours from ebay?

[SANGER_A2]

My new mirrors arrived today! I got them cheap on ebay item number 250209544727. I think they look really cool and I can't see many people in the UK having them. I used a couple of chocolate blocks to wire them in and a file and a knife to trim the ends down so they'd fit into the stronger stock mounts. I originally fitted them in the lower position and had brilliant visibility (I could see things directly behind me in both mirrors). I hope it's as good with them in the higher position. I've also noticed a bit more vibration than with the stock mirrors but they're still very usable.

There are a couple of threads started by other people that have info on these mirrors and the ex650 ones as replacements. They are here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,5467.0.html and here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,4950.0.html.


From the front:-

i have the same ones.i like em alot.did you get yours from ebay?

Yup. If you search on ebay for integrated mirrors in the US or UK you'll see lots of options.

[SANGER_A2]

I decided I wanted my GPZ to sound like a "real bike" so I have modified the stock exhaust to have a different note and be louder. It's nowhere near Harley loud and it only sounds a little bit dirty so I'm happy with it. It took quite a lot of tinkering to get it how I wanted as with the baffles completely removed it was too loud and poppy (not that i could completely remove one of the baffles anyway!

All of my inspiration and help came from here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,1721.0.html, here http://www.ex-500.com/index.php/topic,7122.0.html and someone here I can't remember who told me to buy a slide hammer (I can't remember who).

The first thread has loads of info but it also has gone off into loads of random side issues and is currently 13 pages long! I copied all the info and pictures from it that looked like they would be of any use and saved them so I didn't have to wade through loads of dross. It's attached to this post as a PDF file if anyone wants it.

Firstly I removed the cans from the bike and then drilled out the three rivets holding the end can off (this was pretty easy but you have to be careful the drill doesn't slip and mark the can.

Then I used an angle grinder to grind down quite a lot of metal until the outer end of the baffle was loose and could be wobbled around. I spent ages messing around with the first one trying to get it out and in the end it broke at either end when I pulled it out with pliers (after I had pulled out the fibreglass insulation separately. The proper way to get it out (which I did on the second) was to get a pair of locking pliers, then lock them to inner part of the baffle, then attach a slide hammer I bought for about £10 to the end of the locking pliers, then bang away on the slide hammer until the baffle just popped out in one piece. You can see the mangled baffle below:-


I was left with one baffle snapped off inside and one completely removed. Luckily I realised that it sounds waaay too loud with the baffle entirely removed so I chopped off the bottom end of the baffle with a hacksaw and shoved it back into the exhaust on the end of a long pole. This meant that exhausts were deeper and louder but not straight through as some people have.

This shows the remains of the broken baffle and the one that came out in one piece:-


This shows where I cut the good baffle to get the little piece to shove back into the can.


I then decided I wanted a bit more depth and volume so I drilled 4 10mm holes around the end can and then put the end cans on. You can see the holes here:-


You can see the right exhaust can here with the snapped off baffle end:-


You can see the left exhaust can here with the sawed off baffle end stuck back in:-


Here is a picture of the completed exhaust:-


I found that after doing this, my idle speed rose quite a bit - to around 1500 rpms at high engine temnperature after this mod. This is due to there being less resistance for the expelled gasses etc from the engine. This actually improved the reponse-time I got when twisting the throttle but it also meant that i had to buy petrol 30 miles sooner than I should have. It actually ran out completely at 210 miles when I normally fill up at 200 miles and hit the reserve level around 205 miles. I was lazy and just adjusted the single throttle stop knob under the carbs to bring it down again. I'm not sure yet if this has bring my miles per gallon down. It is probably running a bit lean and I will check the spark plugs in a few months. There are no flat spots or lowered performance however.


One of the things I did that I think will be of most use to other people was record the sound levels the different setups produced. I just used my phone placed just underneath the rear wheel with the microphone pointing up so it wouldn't be drowned out. I made it into two videos with text explaining each sound as it is played. They are linked to below:-

This video just shows the difference between my stock setup and the new setup:-
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cw9yGWBxjbY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cw9yGWBxjbY&rel=1</a>

This is a longer video that shows all the different options I tried and just for a laugh - the bike with no headers at all:-
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tKmBvenT6ro&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/tKmBvenT6ro&rel=1</a>

[Tommy69]

hey , thanks for all the audio clips , I did the straight through myself and have liked it, it's sound is better than stock but mellower than some.

[SANGER_A2]

hey , thanks for all the audio clips , I did the straight through myself and have liked it, it's sound is better than stock but mellower than some.

Yeah. What I liked about doing this was all the different ways you could alter the exhaust for taste. I wanted it in between stock and straight through, you like the straight through and tp555 wanted it even louder than just straight through so he drilled more holes.

And of course as we did it outselves, it's much more satisfying than just sticking on some sarachus! 

[SANGER_A2]

I had the belly pan off today to change the oil and filter so I thought I'd add some mesh to protect my poor headers. It's been done by people on this site from ages ago and I thought it was something quick and easy to do. I bought some cheap mesh that had 6mm gaps in it for about £4.50 for a metre square. I just used a pair wire-cutters to chop it to about 15mm larger than the hole and I used a tube of epoxy putty to stick it down with for a few quid so it was a nice cheap mod.

Here you can see it from the inside and how I stuck it down:-


A picture of the putty from the bottom:-


Here it is from the front before putting it on the bike:-


Here you can see it on the bike:-


And on the bike again from a bit further away:-



Later on, I'm probably going to add another layer of mesh behind it as I have loads left so the gaps are 3mm and it will stop smaller stones and stand out a bit more.

[mugwump]

I wish I wasn't so lazy and would make a real fender extender that would actually keep stuff off the engine. May be this winter

[SANGER_A2]

I wish I wasn't so lazy and would make a real fender extender that would actually keep stuff off the engine. May be this winter

Maybe buying a second front one and bondoing them together or buying the one designed for the pre-1994 bike and somehow attaching it would work. Might look a bit weird though!

[t0msmith]

Sanger, have you changed the radiator cover or painted the radiator? It looks pretty clean. Mine is corroding badly and has turned white!

[SANGER_A2]

Sanger, have you changed the radiator cover or painted the radiator? It looks pretty clean. Mine is corroding badly and has turned white!

It's 6 years old and the bike has done about 18000 miles. I always make sure I clean it really well with the car shampoo when I clean the bike so crap doesn't build up in there but other that nothing special.

[SANGER_A2]

Who needs a Concours? I've managed to pack my bike full of luggage. I'm planning a bike trip round the UK camping for a week in the school holidays (I'm a teacher) and I need quite a lot of space for tent & clothes etc. I'll explain each bit below, except the top box attached to the grab bar as I've already got a post on it.

The magnetic tank bag is actually from Lidl and is really good. Much better than my last bag as it's extendable, has backpack straps and also has a built in rain cover - as well as the magnetic base being removable so you can just have a map case on the tank if you want. I usually have a clock, my phone and sometimes a sat nav in the clear map pocket on top the bag. It can also hold loads when fully extended. I've had it for a few months and it's been well used and stood up well.

The panniers are Buffalo throw-over panniers that only cost me £30 new and have been great. I've used them a few times in the few months I've had them and they're very solidly secured with the straps over & under the seat and also the additional straps securing the bottoms to mounting points lower down. They also extend but they stick out way too far for comfort when extended. They also have built-in raincovers.

The kitbag I bought from an army surplus store for about £7 and sewed some straps onto it from the same place that cos about £1. These are attached to the grab-bar. I also use the spare bungees that came with the panniers and another I made up with excess rope from the top box mod to the bike and the top box itself. In the kitbag I can fit my cheapy tent, my massive sleeping bag and the inflatable mattress (it takes up less space than a bedroll). It's all in a binbag inside the kitbag and so will be waterproof.

So far all of these mods have been relatively cheap:-
Top Box - £20 ish
Top Box Fittings - £5 ish
Panniers - £30
Kit Bag etc - £8
Tank Bag - £17
Total - £80

The setup from the side:-


From the front:-


From the rear:-


I'm actually a bit worried about the kit bag and the pressure it is putting on the back of the bike above the rear light. Has anyone else strapped something like this on the bag and had positive/negative effects? I may buy the renntec rack to put my nice little top box on and swap the positions of the kitbag and the top box. It'll be more comfortable to relax against at traffic lights too!

[SANGER_A2]

I wanted it to be a bit more obvious to any cagers behind me when I'm braking - especially now I replaced the bulbs with LED bulbs - so I decided to add a bit more light to the bike. I thought about helmet lights but I already have added quite a bit of reflective stuff to it and they basically look pretty pants and usually cost a lot of money. I decided that adding something permanent to the bike would be a lot less hassle.

I bought an LED strip from ebay that cost about £8 inc postage. I glued this to the bottom of the number plate and made a hole for the wire just to the left of the LEDs. I ran the wire up behind the place and soldered it into the brake light connection. It looks really good at night but not as noticeable in the daylight. Pics below:-

From a bit of a distance:-


Close up:-


Lit up in the daylight:-


Not lit up in the dark:-


Lit up in the dark:-

[aenima]

Sanger_A2 or anyone else,
 
  I bought the mirrors with signals. When I hook them up with the original signals the mirror lights are very very faint(this is without the bike running....I actually didn't start the bike up with them both hooked up) what about the flasher relay wire (or whatever it is...I'm new to this...give me a break:)) Do I need to add resistors to the stock signals???   

Thanks!!

 

[Dubcity]

what is the putty for the mesh for

[SANGER_A2]

Sanger_A2 or anyone else,
 
  I bought the mirrors with signals. When I hook them up with the original signals the mirror lights are very very faint(this is without the bike running....I actually didn't start the bike up with them both hooked up) what about the flasher relay wire (or whatever it is...I'm new to this...give me a break:)) Do I need to add resistors to the stock signals???   

Thanks!!

 

The signals are weak anyway! They look good at night but aren't that good in the day. They're not good enough as replacements for signals - just additions!

[SANGER_A2]

what is the putty for the mesh for

To stick it on with. I stuck the putty to the belly pan, then stuck the mesh into the putty. I found that the mess liked to pull itself out of glue and the putty holds it well. I'm gonna do a second layer of mesh sometime and that will make it have holes half the size they are and also the putty will mix in the with stuff that's already there and hold it all more securely.

[aenima]

Sanger_A2 or anyone else,
 
  I bought the mirrors with signals. When I hook them up with the original signals the mirror lights are very very faint(this is without the bike running....I actually didn't start the bike up with them both hooked up) what about the flasher relay wire (or whatever it is...I'm new to this...give me a break:)) Do I need to add resistors to the stock signals???   

Thanks!!

 

The signals are weak anyway! They look good at night but aren't that good in the day. They're not good enough as replacements for signals - just additions!

Thanx for the ideas for the bike!! I really like the dash!