Hey there, Cool (Steve, right?). Thanks for posting that. I doubt very much I will ever be able to afford half of that on this bike. Maybe some bike in the future. LOL I've been working on this one for ten years and already doubled its cost by adding aftermarket parts. I think your list would also amount to the cost of buying a second bike..... and then there would still be BST rims, exhaust and suspension to spend on not to mention turbo. Oh well, who needs a second or third bike if you build a beast like that?

I'm sure I posted it before but here's a good thorough read of lightweight brake options for anyone who is interested.

http://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=2B248F81-1B78-59F6-02FDFFA22771430D&show=0

Rook: I just weighed the seat that I had the upholsterer lower by 1.5 inches. Before the lowering, it weighed 8.07 lb.

After the lowering, it weighs 6.61 lb.

So, the weight saving is 1.46 lb !!

That's way more saving than I would have expected! I guess foam is heavier than I thought.

Jim G

Yeah I would have guessed the weight of the foam would amount to almost nothing. I was pretty surprised at the weight of the three foam pads in the lower fairings though. It actually was a worthwhile weightless mod to remove them.

I will lower mine as far as I can go and totally remove foam from the passengers seat. I don't know if it makes sense to cut the seat since it keeps dust off of the ECU. I'll have to think that over a bit. Perhaps a piece of styrofoam under the seat cowl could keep out the dust.

The styrofoam would have to be VERY well "fitted", as you get a lot of dirt pushed in at high speeds!

Plus, the wind pressure on the styrofoam would be very significant. Don't forget that the seat base is:
- Plastic
- Solid
- Held in place by 2 long locking "bolts"

Jim G

I meant cut the riders seat off and replace it with foam inside the seat cowl. That should block out as much or more dirt than the seat. The seat doesn't fit all that tight to the frame + you already have several large holes in the mudflap for rear brake fluid downspout and gaps along subframe.

Rook, you were right too about looking for weight savings on the bar ends. The OEM bar ends on my 2017 ZX-14R weigh 1.40 lb!

A pair of Shogun slippery UHMW slider bar ends weighs either 0.15 lb (per Amazon.ca) or 0.25 lb (per Shogun SHIPPING weight). Since the Shogun weight includes the packaging materials for shipping, I am inclined to believe the Amazon.ca weight of 0.15 lb. for the actual pair of parts.

This is a massive 1.25 lb weight saving by simply replacing the bar ends.

I realize that they Shogun slider bar ends being so light will not dampen vibration as much as the OEM bar ends, but my ZX-14R see,s incredibly smooth, and all the road tests confirm the bike's smoothness, so I am willing to take the chance. I ordered a pair of the Shoguns.

Jim G

I have not noticed any more vibes with lightweight bar ends. I don't even have them on the busa and it's fine.

I run without bar end weights and also have noticed no real difference in vibes,, In fact bar vibrations are very minimal.

The thing I like about the Shogun bar end sliders is that in addition to being so light weight, the provide some protection to the bike if the bike gets tipped over.

Jim G

Rook: Th4 Shogun bar end sliders arrived today and I weighed and then installed them.

They weigh a total, including the bolts, of just 0.19 lb!

The OEM bar ends weigh 1.40 lb, so the weight saving is an incredible 1.21 lb!

The Shogun sliders may be light weight but they are specifically engineered to SLIDE and abrade, thus providing some measure of protection to the bike.

I regard this as one of those unexpectedly effective weight reductions via a very obscure component of the bike!

Jim G

I regard this as one of those unexpectedly effective weight reductions via a very obscure component of the bike!

I understand your desire to reduce weight but those OEM bar ends are the weight they are for a very specific reason.

Unlike changing mufflers where there is a substantial weight reduction at no related cost, there is a compromise on lightening bar ends.

I admit it is not a major deal killer but see below...

Vibration Damping
All internal combustion engines create vibration. Some more than others, but they all do. You’ll feel the most vibration coming out of single and twin cylinder engines. Four cylinder engines, by contrast, are quite smooth, though you might notice high frequency buzzing at higher engine speeds in some cases. Generally speaking, the more cylinders you have, the smoother your engine will feel. Engines, of course, are mounted to a rigid frame. A swiveling fork is attached to that frame, and your handlebars are somehow attached to that fork. Without getting too scientific, the engine’s vibration travels up through the frame and into the handlebars, which then experience what is known as “resonant frequency.” In a nutshell, bar ends help to isolate, or at least minimize the frequency as it is transferred up through the engine. They do this because they are weighted, but we are talking ounces/grams, so there’s no need to worry about any detriment to your ability to steer smoothly. Trust their design, and all will be well.

* Last updated by: yannih on 3/15/2019 @ 5:43 PM *

Yannih: You are of course correct in why the vibration dampening is there, BUT before getting these Shogun bar ends /sliders, I first checked with Rook who has been running without the OEM dampening bar ends for quite a while and has not experienced any vibration issues. if he had reported any issues, I would not have done the mod.

By the way, this is the third bike that I have removed OEM bar ends from within the past year. One of the other bikes now runs a CARBON FIBER handlebar with just plastic caps in th ends. No issues.

I AM going to test the mod asap, but right now we have salt on our roads still, left over from a horrible few weeks where we actually NEEDED salt on our roads because of snow falling during record level cold temperatures. I saw on our family car the incredible layering of the corrosive salt and brine residues with just normal post-storm driving. A ride right now coats the bike with salt residue. I'm waiting for a good rainfall to rinse away the salt!

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/15/2019 @ 7:48 PM *

Yup, I have aluminum bar ends on the 14 and no bar ends on the busa. I haven't noticed any more vibration without than with.

That's a nice weightless, Jim. I plan to go with shorter bars some day and eliminate the control pods. I don't think the bar ends will even touch if the bike does go down.

* Last updated by: Rook on 3/20/2019 @ 11:25 AM *

Rook: I recently installed the used Helibars risers that I bought from another member. The Helibars risers themselves weigh 0.47 lb TOTAL for the pair. So, you would expect a weight iNCREASE, right? Wrong!

The total weight for all 4 of the OEM clip-on steel bolts was 1.08 lb.
Today, the required longer (50mm) Titanium bolts I ordered arrived! Their weight = 0.11 lb for all 4. (No kidding)
So the net change = in going from the OEM bolts to the Titanium bolts = - 0.97 Lb

So, in installing the Helibar risers, my net Weight change is a DEcrease = - 0.50 lb!

Someone, who does NOT need the risers, could easily take 0.97 lb off the bike by replacing the 4 clip-on mounting bolts with Titanium ones. I bought a package of "uxcell 5 Pcs M8x50mm Thread Hex Socket Drive Cap Head Titanium Screw" (Amazon only had them as 1, 2, or 5 bolt kits) on Amazon.ca for $18.41 Canadian = $13.80 US.

This is the kind of "weight adjustment" mini mod that I like! :)

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/22/2019 @ 2:22 PM *

Someone, who does NOT need the risers, could easily take 0.97 lb off the bike by replacing the 4 clip-on mounting bolts with Titanium ones.

WOW over pound for the 4 clipon bolts??? My experience with Ti is that it is about half the weight of steel but maybe they have some kind of super steel in those clipon bolts.

I was thinking of going with aluminum on those which is risky but I will have to try those Uxcell Tis.

Pro-Bolt lists aluminum M8 x 60 socket caps as 1.22 oz so for four, that is only .54 oz lighter than your Ti bolts....of course they are 10mm longer so chop them down and they are maybe only .8 oz lighter than your Ti but not a real safe choice for the clipons.

Pro-Bolt only goes up to 45mm in an M8 socket cap and four of those are 1.72 oz. Four one hundreths oz lighter than yours but they cost $10.38 each plus shipping...and I don't know if they would be long enough for my setup.

DAmn, I gotta start looking into bolts on Amazon after spending over a thou on Pro-Bolts!

Thanks for the tip!

Do you know what length the OEM clipon bolts are? I will need one clipon with stock length and the other with longer bolts to fasten my steering damper bracket.

Rook, the Helibar risers are 20mm thick which is what necessitated the longer 50mm bolts (The bolts must pass through the Helibar risers before getting to the clip-ons and then threading into the triple). 50mm minus 20mm = 30mm, so you will need 30mm bolts to replace the OEM bolts.

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/23/2019 @ 8:10 AM *

Thanks. No luck on Amazon except some outrageously priced ones like Pro-Bolts but at least with Pr-Bolt you can get a anodized finish. Looks like the 50mm are gone now too. I'll keep my eyes open for these deals in the future. Gotta love that uxcell.

Jim, BRO!!!! I gotta call BS on you for this:

The total weight for all 4 of the OEM clip-on steel bolts was 1.08 lb.

Over one pound for 4 bolts??? WTH are they made of?? My OEM front Caliper bolts were 6 oz for all four!!

That 1.08 lb figure has got to be an error. Still a good mod to go with Ti though especially for $13.

Rook, I'll try to find the OEM bolts (hope I kept them) and re-weigh them in cas I somehow made an error.

Jim G

* Last updated by: JimGnitecki on 3/24/2019 @ 11:12 AM *

Don't sweat it, man....I'll get to those in time. Thanks for the Ebay tip. I'll be watching out for inexpensive Ti bolts from now on.

It actually works fine if you paint the head of a non-anodized bolt. VHT Flame Proof is the best gold. VHT Also makes some nice transparent colors that look very much like anodizing.

* Last updated by: Rook on 3/24/2019 @ 2:11 PM *

Rook: you are right - somehow I made a big error on recording the weight of the OEM bolts. I re-weighed everything. Here are the actual facts:

The 4 OEM clip-on bolts on my Gen 2 ZX-14R weigh 0.16 lb total.

The 4 temporary LONGER steel bolts (50mm long) that I used with the Helibar risers weigh 0.20 lb total.

The 4 Titanium 50mm bolts from Uxcell weigh 0.11 lb.

You need to compare the LONGER 50mm steel bolts to the longer 50mm Titanium bolts. The Titanium bolts weigh 0.11 / 0.20 = 55% of what the steel bolts weigh, which sounds reasonable.

Sorry for the serious error!

Jim G

Rook: I was looking at the OEM parts diagram for the handlebar area, and found that the bolts that hold the clip-ons onto the triple are 8mm x 35, NOT 8mm x 30.

Evidently, Helibars did not think a full 20mm extra was needed, so they specified 8mm x 50mm for their riser kit which adds 20mm of height. I noted when installing the 50mm bolts that the tightening torque started when about 3/4 inch of bolt was still showing above the riser mounts, so there is 3/4 inch of engagement when using 50mm bolts with the 20mm high riser blocks. So,if you do NOT have the riser blocks installed, 50 - 20 = 30mm should be sufficient.

Kawasaki chose to use 35mm AND RED LOCTITE, probably for liability reduction reasons (Hey, these are the bolts that hold the bars that steer the bike). Helibars went for less engagement than OEM.

So, it sounds like you could use either 8mm x 30 or 8mm x 35 and be fine.

Jim G

Rook, I spent a few hours going through the online parts lists for the ZX-14R, looking specifically for bolts that are long and/or large diameter and asily accessible without doing a ton of disassembly. The idea was I would maybe replace them with Titanium bolts, if the total weight reduction was large enough to make it worthwhile.The result was disappointing. Here is what I cam up with:

To make the math easy, I expressed each set of bolts on any one line of the table as "8mm bolt equivalents". That is basically how mmuch material there is within that one-line set of bolts if compared to 8mm bolts. The units are "mm of 8mm bolt".

The formula for that calculation is:
8mm equivalent mm = no. of bolts x bolt length in mm x (diameter of bolt squared / diameter of 8mm bolt squared)

The yellow table on the right hand side chows the weight of steel versus titanium. Note that Titanium = 0.48 of the weight of steel.

Note that there are 47 bolts here, and these are the largest bolts on the bike outside of bolts that are difficult to access or that I don't want to fool with (e.g. engine mounting bolts).

Note that the tOTAL potential weight reduction if I spent the time, money, and shop labour (because I a not allowed to do work on the motorcycle in the condo underground garage), I'd take off only a grand total of 0.73 lb!

And these are the "low hanging fruit". Every other bolt is either smaller in weight or difficult or costly to access to change.

Note though that an owner can get 1/3 of that 0.73 lb by going Titanium on the front brake rotors, the rear brake rotor, and the upper and lower bolts that secure the subframe to the mainframe. I imaging you have already done that.

Jim G

About 50% lighter is what I have found with Ti bolts. I't's not a real practical mod in terms of $/oz but I do it anyway.

Note though that an owner can get 1/3 of that 0.73 lb by going Titanium on the front brake rotors, the rear brake rotor, and the upper and lower bolts that secure the subframe to the mainframe. I imaging you have already done that.

Yes. I used Ti on the rotors. I plan to get the tail frame bolts someday but tried without success already to loosen them. This take a special tor-X bit although they look like an ordinary hex. It stated to stretch when I attempted to remove one. Those are in tight.