Bike Modifications - Repairs.

There is a legal size requirement with regards to number plates which is basically controlled by the font, (Charles Wright) it's size and the line spacing. There are also various categories of number plate covering all ranges of vehicle but the main two are for cars and motorcycles. The law states that the number plate should be displayed on the rear of the vehicle, it should be easy to read and conform to the UK standard. The lettering should be black on a yellow background. The background should be reflex-reflecting while the lettering should be solid black. The lettering size for the character should be 64mm tall, 44mm wide.
Motorcycles registered after September 2001 must use a two-line number plate, one-line plates are illegal for all ages of motorcycle.
Using this as a guide I trimmed my number plate to leave a 12mm outer border, (this gave me a bit of leeway with regards to the law) but more to the point it got rid of the free advert for Laguna Motorcycles at the bottom of the plate.

Motorcycle Plate Sizes:

Character height 64mm	Character stroke 10mm	Picture showing the number plate before it has had it's sides and advert trimmed away. Number Plate Prior To Trimming.
Character width 44mm	Space between groups 30mm
Space between characters 10mm	Top, side & bottom margin 11mm
Space between vertical lines 13mm	Black on yellow lettering

One of the optional extras that I really liked the look of was the Sub Cowling or Belly Pan as it is also referred to on occasion. I liked the idea of breaking up all the silver on the bike, (I still prefer the black frames) and as I like this Power Blue colour anyway I thought it would look pretty good. Not getting much change from £200 I thought it a bit pricey but like I say I liked it so what the hell.
Fitting it was so simple it was untrue, four bolts are removed from the bottom of the bike, (I did left hand and right hand sides separately) to house the left hand and right hand bracket, some rubber grommets and spacers are added to the Sub Cowling then the Sub Cowling is fitted to the brackets. Simple!

Use this link for an excellent more detailed explanation of how to fit this optional extra.

Other Views:

Official Yamaha optional extra Sub Cowling left hand view, (when seated on the bike). Sub Cowling Left Hand View.

Official Yamaha optional extra Sub Cowling right hand view, (when seated on the bike). Sub Cowling Right Hand View.

The Evotech Crash Bobbins are designed to help to protect the components of the bike that could get damaged in the event of an accident. Not designed to eliminate damage from a high speed accident it could still help to save certain parts of the bike from major damage thus making any repairs cheaper. Should the bike topple over for any reason the crash bobbins should be very effective at preventing damage to any "sticky outy" bits. The "Bobbins" are available for fitting to various parts of the frame and there are numerous designs that also fit to the wheel spindle ends by means of a bolt passing through the hollow wheel spindles.

In The Kit:

Evotech Crash Bobbin. This is the main component that is designed to take all the impact in the event of an accident. Evotech Crash Bobbin.

Evotech Crash Bobbin Spacer. This component is designed to project the Bobbin away from the bike at the fixing point. Spacer.

Evotech Crash Bobbin Washer. This component is designed to project the Bobbins inner face when fitted with the bolt. Washer.

Evotech Crash Bobbin Bolt. This component is used to assemble all the components using the existing threaded hole on the bike. Bolt.

Use this link for a more detailed explanation of how to fit the Evotech Crash Bobbins.

Having damaged one of the Mole covers on the front fairing I found a place that did supposed paint colour matching. The company would put the paint into an aerosol can for you so I decided to give them a go to see if I could repair the damaged Mole myself.
After filling sanding and spraying with filler primer I finally managed to get the damaged Mole looking pretty good. I even replaced one of the securing tabs that had snapped off making a new one out of an old CD case and gluing it on, (the plastic was the same thickness).
It wasn't until I put the Mole back on the bike that the colour difference became blatantly obvious. I have since found out that these "Mole" units can be bought separately from Yamaha dealers after all, (not in pairs as I was originally informed) so that is the course of action I ended up taking, (£55 for a single side), I should have done this in the first place as the paint & lacquer cost £35 plus the amount of time preparing the Mole was also wasted. At least I know better next time!
Fitting the new Mole is the reverse procedure for removing it not forgetting the protective rubber strip that protects the light lens.

Quick Guide To Repair Stages:

Having damaged the original Yamaha windshield with my little off road excursion this is by way of repair rather than a modification although I was contemplating changing the windshield for one with a different airflow profile anyway so damaging the original forced my hand a little bit.
To replace the original windshield with a genuine Yamaha one of the same design as the original would have cost me £134. I wanted to change the airflow around the windshield anyway and the "Double Bubble" profile of the Powerbronze windshield would do just that. The light tinted windshield, (also what I wanted rather than clear or a very dark tint) was on special offer with a saving of £10 from the original price of £49.50, add £8 for postage and compared to an original Yamaha windshield I made a saving of £85.50.
With regards to the original damaged windshield I managed to rub the scratches out with very fine wet and dry paper and even though it is no longer clear, (more of a "brushed" finish) it is still good for a spare should I need it as the function has not been affected by the scratches. I see no reason why this cannot be spray painted in a solid colour if so desired or maybe even polished back to clear.

Other Pictures:

This picture shows the front view of the replacement Powerbronze "Double Bubble" Windshield fitted to the bike. Powerbronze Windshield.

This picture shows the original Yamaha windshield with scratch damage. The picture of the scratches are a bit unclear due to the nature of reflection so I have outlined the damaged areas in red! Original Shield Scratch Damage.

This picture shows the original Yamaha windshield after the scratches have been rubbed out using fine wet and dry paper. The windshield is perfectly good for functional use as a spare should it be required. There is also no reason that I can see that the windshield could not be spray painted with a solid colour if so desired. Original Shield Brushed Look.

Once again this is a repair rather than a modification, in fact it is more of a cover up than a repair but what the hell. I managed to put a scrape on the rim of the wheel that did not look to pretty. I had the wheel checked for run out and it was well within the limits given in the handbook so I opted to make it look a bit better rather than get it repaired or replaced. All I did was made sure the scuff grooves were clean then layered silver touch up paint into the grooves to build it back up somewhere near to it's original profile. The wheels are painted anyway so I could not see any problems from doing this. The only trouble I had was finding a colour match in a touch up paint.
The nearest colour match that I found was a Ford car colour "Moondust Silver" costing around £5 for the paint and lacquer. It is not quite the same colour but not far off and good enough to protect the wheel scuff bare metal exposure from corrosion!

Other Pictures:

This picture shows the area of the wheel that has been damaged, probably by running the kerb or similar incident. Wheel Rim Scuff.

Moondust Silver touch up paint kit, (coloured paint and lacquer) cost about £5 from Ford dealership. The coloured paint pen lid houses a small wire brush for cleaning out the scuff ridges prior to applying the paint. Moondust Silver Touch up Paint.

This picture shows the area of the wheel that has been touched up and filled in with layers of the Moondust Silver "touch up" paint. Painted Rim Scuff.

The Optimate 4 battery charger that I purchased, (see the Bike Accessories Extras page for more information) came with an option lead, (TM-71) that has two battery terminals, (positive terminal is fused) and a block connector. The block connector end has a water resistant rubber cap seal to protect the electrical contacts when it is not in use.
The idea is to fit the lead on to the battery terminals on the motorbike as a permanent fitting and place the block connector end in a convenient location so the Optimate 4 battery charger can be connected directly to the battery without having to remove the battery from the motorbike.
I was originally going to mount it somewhere under the seat but this proved impossible as the leads where not long enough to run it from the battery location to a suitable fixing point .
In the end I opted to run the lead through the frame towards the front of the motorbike then secured the end of the lead by means of a some cable ties to the front "Stay". As this does not turn with the steering it was not going to run the risk of chaffing the wires. The waterproof end block connector was then passed into a gap in the front fairing that is reasonably protected from the elements.

Cable Connector Proposed Layout:

Optimate Charger Bike Battery Connector. Proposed layout for cable and block connector for when it is in use with the charger. Cable ties to secure cable to front Stay. Connector shown in proposed visible position when in use.

Optimate Charger Bike Battery Connector. Proposed layout for cable and block connector for when it is not in use with the charger. Block connector placed in a relatively shielded place from the elements. Connector shown in proposed hidden position when not in use.

Use this link for more information and layout pictures.

The throttle cables on the Yamaha FZ6 Fazer S2 are routed in such a way that they do not get caught up or snagged on other parts of the bike causing improper function of the throttle which could be potentially dangerous. This means the cables have to be routed through a slotted bracket to keep them tidy at the handlebar steering section of the bike.
My friend and I discovered that the outer plastic cable was wearing away and revealing the inner steel part of the cable which is not good and possibly an MOT failure. Initially we thought it was caused by the movement of the front suspension but on investigation it was found to be caused by steering movement.
During the course of riding the bike there could be a lot of steering movement from left to right and this causes the throttle cables to move around within the slotted bracket chaffing the plastic outer sleeving.
Our solution to help prevent this wear was to put some 4mm bore "Spiral Binding Loom Tidy" sleeving around the outside where the plastic throttle cable sleeving was wearing through within the movement in the bracket from full lock left to right, (as shown in the pictures below) the idea being that this would be a sacrificial part that could be replaced when it wore away to much thus saving the throttle cable outer plastic sleeving.

Steering Lock Left To Right:

This is how the throttle cables lay in the bracket when the steering on the bike is on full lock to steer left. Movement within the bracket showing full lock to the left.

This is how the throttle cables lay in the bracket when the steering on the bike is on full lock to steer right. Movement within the bracket showing full lock to the right.

Use this link for more information and layout pictures.

Yamaha give the FZ6 Fazer S2 a nice pair of headlights which in Europe are both on in "dipped beam" mode with a single "high beam" on the right hand side, (from the perspective of sitting on the bike). So what do they do for the British market, single "dipped beam" for the left hand light, single "high beam" for the right hand light, why is anyone's guess. Personally I think two headlights is safer than one from a visibility and illumination point of view. This simple modification enables the running of both headlights on dipped beam as it should be.
Basically all that has been done for the British market by Yamaha is leave out a single wire and a couple of connectors from the wiring loom, all you have to do is put them back so to speak. The electrical circuit is still powered so it is a simple case of identifying the correct pin connector in the terminal block, (found in a rubber compartment in front of the battery tray when it is moved out of the way). You then run a wire from the correct block connector terminal with a modified spade connector to the twin filament headlight bulb terminal block in the headlight.

Headlight Terminal Blocks:

The top of the block connector at the headlight bulb end flips up to reveal the place where the connector for the new loom wire needs to go. Note it will only fit in one way round due to the nature of the cut out to the right. Block Connector Headlight end.

Hidden away in a rubber boot is the block connector that houses all the terminals for the lighting circuit. This is found in front of the battery compartment. Note the airbox and battery compartment need to be removed to reveal the rubber boot. Block Connector Battery End.

Use this link for more information and layout pictures.

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