I am usually pretty sharp but I'll be damned if I cant get my fairings off to install my new headers. I have read and looked on Youtube, and looked at the Manual... and I am missing something.

I have the 3 screws removed from my top fairings around the gauges and they feel loose and move around but CANNOT get them out and I don't want to break anything I think if i can get them out I can get everything else off.

If anyone has done this correct me if I am wrong, I am regurgitating info and want to make sure I have it right.

1. remove the plastic (black) by the gauges
2. remove the Foreman Grills
3. remove the lowers

I read Rooks guide, for those of you familiar with him but his guide is for an older model and doesn't really help me from what I read from it.

Thanks!

You are on the right track. Yes those three bolts in each of the dash panels are first.

But Right on the insider most section of each dash panel, (closest to the rider, on each side of the tank cover), are two very brittle little tabs that are very hard to get out of the tank pads slots they are in without breaking. Those come upward, and snap out of the slot in the tank cover. And when you do pop them up and out, do so as gently as you possibly can. (see the 6:25 mark of the video link for where these are, but I chose not to snip em off with pliers, as this guy suggests!)

Once you get that snapped out, then the front ends of these fairing pieces come inward, towards the guages in order for their outter most tabs to slide out from under the side fairing edge they are underneath.

Once you get the dash/upper fairings out, the tank pad is next, and that ba**tard ALSO has some very brittle grommet knobs that are so easy to bust off if you are not ultra aware of them and how to get them apart.

But first things first; your dash panels..

This will help you some as for the order of part removal and where the screws are. But this don't tell you where everything is, best I can remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iw8JSVZ-H0

Its all like a very brittle puzzle, so read up as much as you can on all the different pieces before pulling or pushing in any direction.
The first three pieces in order are:

1 Dash panels (Brittle tabs on each side of the tank pad in tight slots)
2 Tank Pad (has two very brittle grommet tabs that have knobs from the big piece (the mid fairing) that are easy as HELL to break off)
3 Foreman Grills (rear parts snaps out of grommets then once that's free and clear, the front comes gently back towards the rear)

Hope this helps. Be careful, and don't tug on anything you are unsure of.

* Last updated by: ZX14MAN64 on 4/6/2013 @ 9:28 PM *

Thanks for the help!

I also was pointed to a Brock's doc that helped a lot. I will post the link later. Got all my plastics off WOOT. now the fun can begin. Lol

Good deal. If you get all the pieces apart without breaking anything you certianly did better than I did the first time I did it.

Getting those middle head bolts torqued are a bit tough as they are hard to get to without the right tools, but that's really the only snag in getting the exhaust on. But getting the head bolts tightened, make sure you are careful not to bugger up your radiator fins in the process, then the rest of it goes on real easy with springs.

Post a photo or two when you are done, if you can.

And a link to that Brock's doc on fairing removal would be awesome!!!

Here is the link. It and the help from you guys made an extremely frustrating situation workable.

http://www.brocksperformance.com/Instructions/ZX14/996434.pdf

I have my old stuff off and am in the process of reinstalling the Akrapovic headers.

Assist:
Fairing removal instructions...

Kofla

Riding My Own Biography
2010 ZX-14 MotoVlog

VERY good Kofla....thanks;)

Awesome! Thanks!

Thanks Kofla, I was still in a hurry to get everything back together :-)

A great video has been posted by Brock's covering fairing removal and full exhaust installation on a 2012 ZX14R. It complements the written instructions (also from Brock's) posted earlier by Kofla.

The video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40oTkAb2zCE&feature=player_embedded

THANKS for the link 74Z1. The first 5 minutes of the video will really help out when the air filter needs to be removed!!

When you yank those grills out you'll swear you are going to break it, and when they do come you'll swear even more you broke it, but don't worry that's just what they do. Just make sure you've pulled outward enough to get it away from the two bosses you'll see on the inside.