Hoping to get a sticky out of this post. I have seen a lot of threads asking a lot of questions about the installation of the MC Enterprises Canyon cages. I thought I would share my experience, and also sum-up a lot of the information I've seen in other threads to try to make it a little more clear and concise all in one place. I also like to help people learn how to figure things out for themselves because a lot of times problems have a simple answer, and I firmly believe the better educated people are about how things work, and reasons behind why things are the way they are, the better experience in this world for everyone.
This is for a 2010+ (Gen 2) Concours 14.
As always, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR BROKEN/ DAMGED PARTS IF THEY BREAK, OR IF YOU USE LESS THAN TOP-QUALITY TOOLS! This is just a guideline to share my experience, which was fairly problem free.
Because the engine is a stressed part of the frame, and the center stand is attached to the engine, it's best to put the bike up on the center stand before you start. This will help alleviate as much stress as possible on the motor mount points, and make your life much easier.
The first issue I would like to address is the rear (Extra long) motor mount bolt. I've seen a lot of posts in my searching asking about alignment, thread usage, etc. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of this, so I will try to explain as best possible.
When you remove the hollow factory long bolt at the back of the engine (by removing the 17mm socket nut on the left side just below the tire/ load data sticker see in instructions) you'll notice that at the opposite end (right side of the bike now...) there is a place for an allen wrench. DO NOT TURN THIS (Unless you are dropping the engine etc) That allen head turns the entire motor mount bolt (Cause it's all one piece). As you remove the factory bolt, you'll notice a hex portion just below the bolt-head. This hex-portion goes into a piece that holds the motor and the frame tightly together to factory spec. If you were to turn the rear motor mount bolt, you would change the tension/ space between the motor and the frame. With the motor being a stressed part of the frame on this bike, any space in there can lead to frame flex, and crash. Being too tight and you'll start breaking expensive parts that your wife will have a canary about paying for. This is why you don't want to turn the rear bolt. rather, just slide it out.
Now looking at the bolt that MCE included in the kit, you'll notice that it too has a hex portion part-way down the bolt shaft, at the head end (yeah yeah get your 13 year old minds out of the gutter....). Just like the factory bolt, this serves the same purpose. That hex portion needs to be lined up so it properly slides into the hex part of the motor mount so the bolt properly protrudes the other end. If you need to do so, put it through (Right to left) without the crash cages and look to see how everything lines up. It's pretty simple once you see it yourself.
After you have followed the rest of the instructions, and are ready to put the nut on the left side, there's a few things to note. First make sure that the bolt is indeed protruding at least 5/8 inch (Like the instructions say). Then the sleeve that fits over the bolt needs to be installed. Look at both ends. You'll notice one is completely flat, and the other is machined about 1/2 inch deep. The machined part goes towards the outside. This is so that the special nut can grip the threads deep inside the sleeve. Because of how the nut is designed, (From my understanding from research, MCE PLEASE Correct me if I'm wrong) it does not need to have all of the threads contacting the bolt threads. Mine has about 1/4 inch of threads unused. (Note, you may have to put slight pressure on the right side cage to make sure it's fully seated against the frame, and the bolt properly pushed through as well. May be beneficial to have a buddy help you do this, then bring you a beer afterwards, although the actual help is not absolutely necessary.)
Now onto the front motor mounts. I've seen a whole slew of bad things said about these. With proper care and tools, they're not a problem.
First off, skip harbor freight, home depot, sears, etc. Buy snap-on. (Or equivilant) Period. (Craftsman is not snap-on quality. It's made in china, same as harbor freight) Anything else and you risk breaking it. Also, don't use a ball-head hex tool. That can snap off inside the bolt-head and cause you even more headache. For a normal home project, made in china I would say is fine, but there's a lot at stake here, and potentially over $1,000 in damage. You can afford a $15 socket for this (or however much they cost, My father in law was a machinist, so he had a set or 4 of top-quality tools for me to use).
The tool that's most important to be high quality is the allen socket. Make sure it's a good solid fit. It will still twist a tiny bit inside the bolt while removing, but the effect will be less. Impact grade is best. Pair this up with a 1/2" drive breaker bar, and a 1/2" drive 6-8" extension and you should be set.
A lot of people have mentioned using heat to loosen the Kawasaki lock-tite when removing the front bolts. I advise against using a torch or heat gun as these are not easily controlled as to where the heat goes (it can go more places than you actually want it to go.) Instead, you can warm the engine up to operating temp (optional), and use a sacrificial screwdriver tip heated up red hot, and touch the bolt head. A soldering iron also works for this. It may take a while if you don't have the engine nice and warm first. (Don't burn yourself, it hurts...)
FOR (Insert phrase of choice here) SAKE! DO NOT FORGET THE BASIC RULE OF RIGHTY-TIGHTY LEFTY-LOOSEY THAT YOU LEARNED AS A PRESCHOOLER!!! If you forget this, you WILL be breaking important things in really expensive parts, and your wife won't like the bill.
Use a nice long cheater on your breaker bar (I used a 4' piece of square tubing) and gently apply even pressure from the mid-end of your cheater. DO NOT impact or jolt it (IE: Hammer, air gun, etc). This will encourage breaking important stuff in expensive parts (IE: Bolt in motor mount). It may let out a 'pop' as the lock-tite breaks free. After that you can just use the breaker bar by itself. It will feel like your damaging something initially. (It may help to have a friend watching the bolt/ hex socket to make sure you're not doing too much damage to the bolt, although some twisting in the bolt head will occur. Hard metal tool, vs less hard metal bolt head, LOTS of torque, something's gotta give.)
As you get closer to getting the bolt out (As it gets easier; the threads still need to be catching tho. If they're not, you risk damaging expensive parts.), turn it back to the right a bit (This time with a slight jolt) to free the hex-head from the socket-cap bolt, then continue to remove the bolt.
After the bolt is removed, take a can of air (Or air compressor if you own one like me) and blow the loose thread-locker out. Clean off the bolt threads too. Your best option next is to use a Tap and tap-handle, but if you don't have one, I will give an alternative.
VERY CAREFULLY Run a long tap (Cannot verify the thread pitch at this time) through the motor mount. You want to be extra sure that you DO NOT SEE ANY METAL SHAVINGS. If you do, stop, back up, and even more carefully start over. You risk messing the threads up in your really expensive parts and having to explain that to your wife.
If you don't feel like spending money on a tap and die set, (Or if you're too lazy to go to the shed to get one of the 5 sets you own like me) you can clean off the factory bolt and VERY CAREFULLY thread it partially back in and out, each time blowing the loose thread locker out with compressed air. that should get it clean enough.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY HARD RESISTANCE (a little is normal due to the thread locker) DO NOT! DO NOT! DO NOT! FORCE IT!!!! Don't force anything on this step. If you do, the hard metal bolt can possibly dig into the soft metal threads on the motor mount and destroy the threads, causing thousands of dollars in damage for you to explain to your wife. The best way to install these (or at least get them started) is by hand (What I did is use a ratchet extension as a screwdriver to help get past the fairing, I did not remove the plastic. too lazy when I was working in the cold.) Unless you're a big green guy that has some serious anger management issues, you're not going to cross-thread the bolt and damage the threads.
After you have everything assembled, it's a good idea to go through and apply thread-locker accordingly, and frequently check the bolts for tightness to make sure nothing comes loose when it's not supposed to (Like the MCE instructions say to...)
I think I covered everything that I've seen brought up, or that I think could pose an issue for people. Feel free to mention anything else or ask any other questions and I will try to update this post (or maybe a mod can after the edit button goes away for me?) I really hope this helps. Other than that, the instructions are very straight forward, clear, and easy to understand so good job MCE!
Also a side note: I love my wife with everything I've got. For some reason, she just doesn't like paying lots of money for a stupid mistake...