How do you know if an aftermarket kickstand works with the "kickstand down" engine shutoff feature? Does it need to have some sort of projection or specific shape on it? Or, does any stand that fits into the ZX-14R mounting "stirrup" for the kickstand automatically activate the shutoff feature just by being in the deployed position versus the retracted position?

I'm asking because the vendor of the aftermarket kickstand I ordered said it works with the OEM shutoff feature, but it looks to me like the OEM kickstand has a projection up near the pivot point and I can't see a projection in the photo of the kickstand I ordered.

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 2/24/2019 @ 3:33 PM *

The OEM has a small fork like bracket that rotates 90 deg when up and activates the switch. If what ever aftermarket "stuff" you bought does not plug n play with the OEM bike wont start unless you shit rig it for up always.

Do you ever look at your bike before you ask questions??

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cruderudy, yes, I DO look at the bike before I post. I looked long and hard at that OEM kickstand, in the condo garage, laying on the floor, using a utility light, and even then my cellphone camera with flash, and I simply could not see it well enough in the tight space and questionable lighting to understand how it works.

I saw the "forklike bracket", but I think that is separate from the kickstand itself, is it not? Does the OEM kickstand itself somehow engage that fork via a non-obvious pin or non-obvious projection, or simply by its shape, to pivot the fork up or down?

I also checked the service manual, which sheds absolutely zero light on this as well. It simply tells you to remove ONLY the kickstand itself by removing the bolt and nut that secure it to the bike, and to replace the nut with a rand new one when reinstalling. It says to not remove the safety switch. That's ALL it says basically. :(

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 2/24/2019 @ 4:49 PM *

the back of the oem kicker has a knob that slides into the fork bracket, if your aftermarket jobber has one it should work as long as its mounts in the same position

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Ah, thank-you. So, it is possible that the knob would not show in an eBay photo of a kickstand taken from the side of the kickstand that faces left on the bike, as this eBay photo was.

So, when I receive the kickstand, I'll look first thing for a knob or bump on the inside side of the kickstand. :)

If it's there, it sounds like the entire swap should be pretty simple:

- Put the bike on the center stand (I have the optional Kawasaki center stand on the bike)
- Put the kickstand in the "up" position so that the spring pressure is relaxed
- Removed the nut and bolt that the kickstand pivots on and so remove the kickstand
- Without disturbing the safety switch "fork", insert the new kickstand into the mounting stirrup
- Insert the bolt, apply blue Loctite to the exposed end of the bolt, and thread on the nut
- Torque the nut to 33 ft lb. (Sounds a bit high, but this is per the service manual)

Then, since Kawasaki warns against sitting on the bike with the STEEL OEM sidestand deployed, avoid sitting on the bike with the aftermarket ALUMINUM kickstand deployed! :)

Jim G

I saw the "forklike bracket", but I think that is separate from the kickstand itself, is it not? Does the OEM kickstand itself somehow engage that fork via a non-obvious pin or non-obvious projection, or simply by its shape, to pivot the fork up or down?

The fork thing is a part of the kickstand bracket. The ignition cut switch is also bolted to the bracket.

The OEM kickstand has a pin that slides in the fork ant that opens and closes the switch. My aftermarket side stand has a similar pin and it works the same as OEM.

I wouldn't suggest sitting on the bike with an aluminum side stand. Never tried it.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/25/2019 @ 3:09 PM *

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Thanks, Rook! I sent your photo to the vendor and asked him to verify that his kickstand has that pin.

Jim G

The vendor replied that there is no pin, but the kickstand apparently works despite that per customer reports. The reason why is interesting:

The kickstand arrived yesterday. It is true that it has no pin. However, it DOES have something better: a threaded hole, that has been pre-drilled and pre-threaded to accept a 6M - 1.0 bolt! This means I can simply thread in a 6M - 1.0 x 30mm or 6M - 1.0 x 35mm bolt, the 30mm or 35mm length being decided by seeing how much length is needed to get through the safety switch "fork" but not too far past it, throughout the range of motion of the kickstand and fork (Because the center of rotation of the fork and the kickstand are different, their movement arcs are different).

The kickstand itself looks fabulous. Great machining, great finish, and very robust looking despite it weighing only 0.7 lb (including a 6m bolt for the safety switch).

I'll try installing it tomorrow probably.

Jim G

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You may end up bypassing that switch anyway when it invariably shorts out due to road crud.

Mad

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I keep my bike pretty clean as I never deliberately go out in wet weather, so this might not show up as a problem on my ZX. :)

Jim G

"You may end up bypassing that switch anyway when it invariably shorts out due to road crud"...supposed to be cleaning the underside of things on your bike as well as the top stuff lol.If you oiled and cleaned your chain,you'd see this...;)

Ok, I THOUGHT I could simply remove the kickstand spring, and then unthread the kickstand nut and then the kickstand bolt, and I could slide the kickstand out of the safety switch fork and replace it with the new kickstand. But no, there is a catch.

It turns out that you cannot unthread the kickstand nut with the safety switch installed, because you cannot get a wrench OR socket onto that nut as long as the safety switch is on the bike.

So, I took a closer look at the service manual and have copied and pasted the relevant page (see image).

Note that it says that you have to remove "Bolt G", which apparently I guess releases the safety switch, before you can remove the kickstand nut and bolt.

I just want to make sure before I do so that nothing bad will happen! (No parts will sproing out into parts unknown, etc)

So, am I correct in thinking that what I should do is as follows:

- Remove the lower left (black)fairing section? (The service manual seems to say I need to do that. Can I just take out the lower fasteners and swing the fairing section outward far enough to get a socket and ratchet on Bolt "G" in the diagram,or will I have to take the entire piece off the bike?

- Start with the kickstand down so that the kickstand spring is "stretched"

- Place a few coins between spring coils

- Lift the kickstand to the "up" position, where the coins will now cause the spring to be partially extended and therefor easier to remove

- use a spring hook to remove the spring

- Take out Bolt G. Then the safety switch should come right off??

- Remove the kickstand nut "B"

- Remove the kickstand bolt "E"

- Grease up the pivot aresa of the new kickstand

- Slide the new kickstand into place

- Install kickstand bolt "E" and torque to 33 ft lb

- Install kickstand nut "B" and torque to 33 ft lb, while I still have access to this nut, before safety switch gets reinstalled

- Reinstall safety switch being careful to trap the protrusion on the new kickstand inside the safety switch fork

- Install "Bolt G" which willapaprently secure the safety switch all by itself ??

- Reinstall the kickstand spring using the coin trick again to make it easier

Done?? Or, is there another surprise awaiting?

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/2/2019 @ 8:03 PM *

Can I just take out the lower fasteners and swing the fairing section outward far enough to get a socket and ratchet on Bolt "G" in the diagram,or will I have to take the entire piece off the bike?

Take out the large bolts on the bottom. Then take out the three smaller ones atathetop edge of the lower fairing. Now the lower will swing out like a door. I would take it right off to avoid any chance it will fall 8 inches to the floor and get all scratched up. It's amazing how badly clear coat gets scratched if a fairing just tips over from leaning against the garage wall.

- Start with the kickstand down so that the kickstand spring is "stretched"
- Place a few coins between spring coils
- Lift the kickstand to the "up" position, where the coins will now cause the spring to be partially extended and therefor easier to remove
- use a spring hook to remove the spring

I like the coins idea. I just used a pair of pliers. A spring hook would be preferable but I don't have one of those.

The rest of your plan sounds good. I can't recall if I had to do anything with the switch bolt (G). I just know I followed the SM procedure and there were no surprises with my 08. I did not replace the nut. I seem to recall it had a special kind of thread. Self locking threads perhaps?

* Last updated by: Rook on 3/4/2019 @ 9:57 AM *

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Thanks, Rook! But:
"I did not replace the nut. I seem to recall it had a special kind of thread. Self locking threads perhaps?"

That nut is indeed special.The threads deform when it is torqued,a sort of mechanical version of Loctite. However, once they have deformed, and the nut is again taken off, they will no longer "lock". That's why you are suppsoed to replace it.

I suspect that you could probably replace the nut with a "normal" nut of the same size,but then you should use Loctite to provide the "locking" function.

Kawasaki may have done an overkill here, given that BOTH the bolt and the nut are individually threaded and torqued to 33 ft.lb. But they evidently wanted to make sure that the kickstand never falls off or even loosens just a bit, because:

1. If the sidestand falls off while you are riding, how do you keep the bike upright after you get off of it? Or, even if the side stand loosens just a bit, that makes the bike lean just a bit more, and that puts a bit more of the bike's weight onto the side stand, and that might be enough to bend the sidestand enough that it then collapses and lets the bike fall.

2. If the sidestand bends just enough, the safety switch won't function properly, and you might either not have the protection of the engine shutting off when the sidestad is down and you put the bike into gear, OR you simply cannot start the bike because the safety circuit thinks the sidestand is down.

A simple device begins to sound pretty complicated.

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/4/2019 @ 12:26 PM *

Jim.. I doubt that side stand will EVER bend,,I have watched guys lean teh entire rear of teh bike up in order to get the rear wheel off hte ground. I have a small locking stand that fits teh axle on the right side and provides lift to get the rear wheel off in order to lube chain easier.. I doubt that you could bend that kick stand without locking it into a vise and using a 10 foot extension to apply pressure :)

chrly: Despite your apaprent experiences with the strength of the side stand, Kawasaki does tell you somehwre in their manual that you should not even sit on the bike with the sidestand deployed. No kidding. I cannot remember exactly where I read that, but it was somewhere in the Kawasaki text.

Of course, they might just have a really risk averse product liability attorney. Reminds me of the wheel-equipped dehumidifier user manual I read a couple of years back. It said something like: Do not use the dehumidifier as a stepstool or ladder.

Seriously though, WHY did they have individual, different threads on BOTH the side stand bolt and the locknut. The bolt is actually a stepped bolt to enable that.

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/4/2019 @ 4:15 PM *

That nut is indeed special.The threads deform when it is torqued,a sort of mechanical version of Loctite. However, once they have deformed, and the nut is again taken off, they will no longer "lock". That's why you are suppsoed to replace it.

Thanks.

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Rook: Here is a photo that shows what makes the kick stand nut "special":

I got the new side stand mounted. It took me a while only because that safety switch, at least on my 2017 model ZX,DOES require "indexing". The ONE mounitng bolt is not enough to set its angle of course, so Kawasaki put a round protrusion on the switch that has to go into a hole in the side stand mounting casting. Unfortunately, the service manual never mentions the protrusion, AND you cannot SEE that protrusion from the "outside" of the bike. So, it was trail and error "feeling around", mostly error. :) But, I got it done.

Note also the new exhaust and the better positioning of the offset footpeg that the new exhaust enabled, I'll be posting about that and more soon.

Jim G

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