Ok, I thought I'd share something that I learned about saddle bags...
We all know how easy the orange locking jaw snaps off... and the only way to fix this is to order another entire lock system.
A few things... the left and right are interchangeable... so when I was on eBay I found a brand new right one for $120... of course, I needed the left.
Isn't that always the case... lol Brand new from Kawi they quoted me $325!!!!
So, I saw it included a new key and lock. Bummer, I thought, now I need to carry 2 keys.
Well, the new lock came and the key and tumbler were separate. That's how new ones come from Kawasaki.
I was about to install the new tumbler into the lock when I decided to take my time (rare case, right?) and analyze how it's made.
By looking at the tumbler, I realized the very last tumbler on the keylock is the one that holds the entire tumbler in the lock. And that if I could get the old tumbler out of the old
lock, I could re-install it into the new lockset and retain using the single original key.
So I tore the old unit apart....
Once you get the plastic cover off, you have to bend down a large piece of metal... to get to the key set. It's very soft and easy to do...
Then grab the keyset with your pliers and snap it off...
Once you snap it off, turn it over and you will see the bottom of the tumbler.
Take a small flat blade screwdriver and push the bottom tumbler in while pushing the lockset out of the lock assembly. This is where humans need 3 hands... it took me 10 min to do this.
Once you have this original tumbler out, the next step is CRITICAL... stop and look very carefully at the lock hole that the tumbler goes into....
There is one side of the hole that has a taper and a wider slot for the tumbler to go in... if you force it into the lock hole the wrong way you will mess up the whole thing.
Now if you put a right side lock into a left side bag or vice versa, here's what will happen. The locks won't be on the same end of the bags... to me, I didn't care.
Hope this helps some of you guys on here...
PS THE ONLY reason I came back on here was due to Maxtog helping me greatly, and I wanted to hang with him and some of the other guys that welcomed me. If other users plan on being ugly,
I'll will simply ask a mod to block them from my posts.
To Maxtog, the ZX-14 tank fit perfectly, as did the ZX-14 seat. The ZX-14 tail also fits with just a tad of trimming once I removed the passenger grab handles. Thanks to you and I am customizing my bike to work for me and my riding style. Can't wait for the CopperDawg Sport Screen to arrive.