Dzus Fasteners Install
Dzus fasteners are quarter turn bolts for body panels. They are designed to be easily removed for frequent maintenance or for fast trackside repairs.
Dzus fasteners come in a variety of styles including D ring, hex key and slotted heads. They also come in differnt finishes and in different lengths to accommodate various thicknesses of body panels.
For the ZX-14, there are many fasteners and body panels so removal is time consuming even with Dzus fasteners. The fasteners that thread into the frame would have no simple means of installing the necessary anchor for the fastener. Dzus Fasteners are also much heavier than the OEM fairing fasteners. Still, they work well for replacing the small fasteners between the top fairing and the side and also for the fasteners that connect the side to the lower.
Dzuss fasteners can be very expensive. The cheapest that I was able to find online were at KuveyGirl. Order 14mm working length for OEM body panels on the ZX-14. The fasteners come in sets of four, six or ten.
Tools:
silicone spray lube
dremel
Sharpie marker
dremel grinding disk.
safety goggles
grinding stone
scribing tool
grinding bit
120 grit sand paper
pliers
colored marker or paint
1. Remove ram air covers, Formans, Side Fairings and Lowers (SEE FAIRINGS REMOVAL).
2. Lube well nuts with a drop of silicone spray lube. If the well nuts do not pull out easily through the front, push the rubber flanged end of the well nut through the hole to the back of the the fairing. Remove all 12 well nuts from the side fairings and the lowers.
3. Slide anchor clips onto the top edge of the side fairing so that each matches up
with one of the three fastener holes. You will notice that the back two holes on the left and right side fairings line up well with the clips. No modification is necessary, but for a perfect fit, use a dremel to grind away a small amount of metal from the bottom edge of the clip so that it will slide downward a tiny bit more allowing the clip and the fairing holes to lock together.
If the bottom edge of the clip (the edge below the stamped writing) is ground away a small amount, this will allow the arched flange above the clip hole to catch in the fairing hole. The clip is meant to lock in place as such and also by the bottom edge resting against the ledge of the fairing as shown in the top photo.
You will also notice that the front side fairing hole does not match up with the clip hole because the clip cannot be slid down far enough. One corner of the clip needs to be ground off.
4. Trace a line with a Sharpie marker to mark the angle of the fairing ledge to the anchor clip.
Trim this off with a dremmel tool grinding disk. Be sure to wear safety goggles.
Smooth the edge with a grinding stone.
5. Position the anchor clip so that the hole in the clip matches up with the hole in the fairing. You will see that the holes will only line up if the clip is placed over the raised portion of the front tab on the fairing. Trace a guideline along the edge of the clip with a scribing tool to mark the portion of the raised area that will need to be ground away.
Tip: Position the two locking teeth on the clip so that they are parallel to the seam in the adjoining fairings. The D-ring is oriented so that it folds perpendicular to the locking teeth.
6. Use a dremel grinding bit to remove the necessary raised portion of the tab. Use 120 grit sand paper to smooth out the ground area.
7. The front clip must be further modified so that it will accept the 14mm Dzus fastener through the 15mm of fairing the fastener must pass through at the front hole. Squeeze the center portion of the clip with a pliers. The clip must be bent so that the hole with the locking teeth is brought closer to the front of the clip
The left clip shows the minimum amount the clip must be bent to permit a 14mm fastener to engage with it while passing through the thick material at the front of the side fairing. The right clip is unmodified.
8. Slide the anchor clip onto the fairing tab. Use a colored marker or paint to color the bottom of the clip. There is a bit of a gap between the top fairing and the side fairing that the clip may be visible through.
9. Install both side fairings as normal. Insert the Dzus fastener through the holes in the top fairing (the tip of the fastener fits very tight in the outer hole and needs to be twisted a bit while you push it through the top fairing). Turn the fastener clockwise until you feel it catch, then turn a quarter turn until the fastener stops. Turn a final few degrees until you feel the fastener lock. The front fastener will be very tight turning into the anchor clip. The D-ring is more than strong enough to turn the fastener but a straight slot screwdriver may also be used.
10. Fold the D-rings to the side. If any of the D-rings do not lay flat, it is because they are contacting the fairing before they are fully folded over. Use a vise grips and the shaft of a screwdriver to bend the sides of the D-ring so that they curve away from the fairings when folded over.
The d-rings on the right side of the top fairing seem to contact the fairing at an odd angle. The front one was extreme and the D-ring was not able to be folded over completely. It required bending. The Dzus fasteners on the left side top fairing all folded flush to the fairings.
11. The clips lock into the holes of the lowers perfectly. No modifications to fairings or clips are necessary. Install the lowers as usual and install Dzus fasteners as described in step 9.
OEM fasteners with washers and well nuts.
Installing 12 Dzus fasteners amounts to a net weight gain of 3.8 oz.
* Last updated by: Rook on 12/25/2016 @ 8:35 PM *