The following is a list, with photos, of modifications I've made to my 1986 ZG1000 Concours. Some of them such a the Rifle Windscreen system are plainly evident in several photos and are not listed separately. No particular order to these.
A piece of plastic formed to fit the right vent, several inches long to get the heat out away from my right knee. You can also see the stainless steel hex screws and galvanized neoprene washers for the fairing.
A view of the Emgo mirror from the seat. Barely visible is the left "fisheye" mirror. Also visible are radar detector, switches for the Kriss headlight modulator and grip heater and the light sensor (white patch) for the Kriss modulator. Check out the mirror write up for more
I got the LifeBrites(click here for one web page, there are others out there) that flash about five times then go steady, and an LED light bar from JCW. I've noticed a marked difference on the distance people give me when following. Also, not shown is the Xenon strobe light mounted inside the tail light housing. It only fires when decelerating (mercury switch) and strobes about once each second. That along with the LifeBrites has given me a bit more breathing room!
A small bungee net tied to the old floppy straps. I cut the straps and tied each
of the four ends to the corners of the bungee net. It helps keep stuff in place
a little better.
This thing helps with the stock seat for comfort, Aerostich wet crotch syndrome as well as a slightly cooler ride during hot weather. I cut my stock seat foam down and inch or so because the seating position was bad for my back. The bead cover has a firm feel to it, but moving around on it from time to time relieves butt burn.
Lower fairing removed, bike on carousel to ease maintenance, air horns clearly visible under headlight. NOJ fork guards visible on forks.
A front view of my bike, you can make out the Rifle screen, radio antenna, air horns, and mirrors from this shot.
A shot from the rear showing lights and reflective red tape on the bags as well
as COG stickers and such. Barely visible are the two round fisheye mirrors mounted
to the windscreen corners. These are great for checking traffic in the other
lanes before turning. Pappy's Barn is in the background. This is where Zorba
the Geek sleeps and get his periodic maintenance.
This item is a no longer available. I think its a Lockhart item, been so long now, its been on there about eight years. Yeah, yeah, I know, the screws are turning purple, I'll get to them one of these days! You can also see one the angled tire valves I put on last year. Makes checking tire pressure a lot easier. Some day I'll have to pull that black wrap off my SS brake lines. Couldn't find any clear stuff. Had to cover them with something to keep the braid from scratching the paint.
This is also referenced on the mirror write up page
Here is a shot of my headers wrapped in Thermo Tech exhaust wrap. I used this
to reduce heat from the engine but it had the added effect of a slight boost
in HP. Had to pull them off to do this. I used the 2 inch wrap, tied the end
off with SS wire and clamps on both ends, then sprayed them with Thermo Tech
silver heat paint. While I had the headers off I used my Dremel Moto Tool to
clean up the welds inside the header ports and even them out. They were terrible,
all scraggy and not smooth at all. I suppose smoothing them out helped a little
also. Seven years now and the wrap is still in good shape.
I adapted a NEP throttle lock to fit. I shaped a small piece of metal to bolt to the 10mm mirror mount, and pop riveted the NEP to the metal piece after shaping it to fit the switch housing.
I used some plastic from an old printer cover and some SS Acorn nuts, screws, brackets and a few knobs to come up with lower air scoops. Basically they have three positions: one is straight ahead for normal riding, second as a scoop for hot weather and the third as a deflector for cold/rainy weather. Easily adjustable while riding.
This is how I stopped my bags from flopping. Drill a 1/4" inch hole through the rubber bumper, use a wing nut and screw with some Loctite® to keep it from vibrating loose. Saves wear and tear on things inside the bag and keeps from straining the latches.
After shopping around decided to make my own rack from a piece of 1/4" aluminum I had lying around the shop. Patterned after some I've seen, it's 12" inches by 9" inches and more squarish than some I've seen. I used the original screws but was leery of clamping it down on the body plastic. I needed something to space the rack above the plastic but still be able to lock it down tight to the frame. I searched all through my junk bucket but nothing looked like it would work. In a flash of brilliance I discovered that .44 Magnum cases cut down and drilled out for the screw shoulders would be perfect. I cut them long just enough to clear the plastic by 1/8" inch at the front and 1/4" inch at the rear and use some foam from a mouse pad the put slight pressure on the plastic. I countersunk the holes for the screws to hold the aluminum tight against the shoulders of the .44 Magnum cases.
Had a set of Russell SS lines on for about five years and decided to replace all the lines with new SS lines (Aeroquip® -3AN). The parts were posted a few years ago on the COG listserver. Contributor unknown. Here is my own writeup of how I did mine, rather long -15 July 2002
PARTS
-3 AN to 10mm Banjo (straight) $10.95 ea, Summit p/n AER-FCM3091
-3 AN to 10mm Banjo (17 deg angled) $12.39 ea, Summit p/n AER-FCM3092
-3 AN Hose $35.95, 10ft length Summit p/n AER-FCC0310
PROCEDURE
I bought three of each connector to replace lines to all three calipers, front
and rear. I removed the junction block on the front of
the fork that the two front calipers ran up to but kept the cable loop to
run the lines and speedo cable through as in the stock setup. This junction
pipe then had one line up to the master cylinder. I used the double 10mm bolt
from the junction pipe on the master cylinder and ran
two direct lines down to the calipers.
This eliminated several connections and gave the brakes a much better feel.
I already had SS lines (Russell) on the front but they were like the stock lines,
two lines to the junction pipe, and then one line up to the master cylinder
and that one was a bit tight because of the Gen Mar risers.
I also replaced the stock rear line with a new SS line. The parts are all Aeroquip and really nice. You have to wrap the SS braid with masking tape then use a hack saw to cut it. Fine tooth new blade. This keeps the braid from fraying. Its a bitch if it frays, you'll have a tough time getting the compression nut over the braid before you start the assembly with out using masking tape during the cut. Be careful, the SS braid is hard and will puncture your fingers in a second.
Make sure you measure the front lines from the calipers to the master cylinder
with the forks extended, jack up the bike under the engine while on center stand.
I gave myself an extra couple of inches just to be sure. The 17 degree angles
ends go on the calipers, the straight end on the master cylinders.
I covered the lines with 5/16" inch ID vinyl tubing from my home bulding supply to keep the braid from chewing up paint, wires, etc. It is rough. Make one end then slide the vinyl tube over BEFORE taking off the masking tape to make the other end.
Shortly after getting my Concours, I installed the air horns which I pulled
off my old Suzuki 450. I mounted the air comressor under the right fairing,
clamped to the fairing stay (frame) The horn trumpets are attached to a piece
of 1/8" inch aluminum I bent and shaped to hold the horns and mount to the two
screws under the headlight. I pulled the piece of plastic from under the headlight.
I have the realy mounted to the fairing stay as well. The trigger for the relay
is the stock horn wire, I just tapped into it. I ran a separate 12 volt fused
(20Amp) line to the battery from the compressor. Grounded the relay and compressor
to the same point. WARNING- don't try this if you have stock springs. The first
time I hit the front brakes hard, the front fender whacked the horns. Luckily
they were mounted with RTV and no damage resulted. I pumped up the fork pressure
until I could get aftermarket springs (Progressive). Both horns work, just a slight tap on the button gets the stock horn, hold it down for a second and the air horns wail. Gets the cagers attention and small animals too. Local inspection guys told me they were illegal on motorcycles. Go figure! So, I remove them once a year, two screws-pop of the compressor hose-pull the fuse. Takes five minutes to reinstall.
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