When I installed the R&G Racing radiator and downpipe guards on my Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE, I was pleased with how neatly they fitted. There was one detail I wanted to revisit. The downpipe guard shares the two lower fairing bolts, and the way it mounts adds an extra step both when taking the side panels off and when putting them back on.
From the factory, a cross-bracket spans the gap between the side panels at the bottom. It has two welded nuts, one for each of the long lower fairing bolts. The panels have several fasteners farther up, and those two bolts are all that hold them to the bracket. With the R&G guard fitted, the same bolts still thread through the welded nuts, and their protruding ends carry the guard’s lower mounting tabs. A washer and a second nut on each bolt secure the guard. To remove the fairings, I first had to undo those extra nuts from underneath before I could back out the bolts. Once the panels were back on, I had to reach underneath again to refit the washers and nuts.
I cut the two welded nuts off the Kawasaki bracket, leaving a plain bolt hole at each end.
I then fitted a rivet nut into each of the guard’s lower mounting holes.
The guard now provides the threads for the original bolts. Each bolt passes through the fairing and the cross-bracket and screws straight into the rivet nut on the guard.
With everything back together, the difference is easy to miss. I appreciate it whenever I need to get behind the bodywork. The two lower bolts come straight out, and when the panels go back on, tightening those same bolts also secures the guard. Taking the fairings off and putting them back on is as quick as it was before I fitted the guard.
