Help with case guard mounting bolts (pic)

I won some "C"-shape case guards for the KZ650 off ebay, but the guy didn't want to send bolts because he needed the engine in frame still.

The guards match up perfectly to the 4 front engine mount bolts, but the bolts are too short. I'm having a lot of trouble sourcing longer bolts.

Question 1: Have you found longer Metric 10mm bolts with the small 13mm head?

Question 2: Is a threaded rod a suitable, mechanically sound alternative? I personally do not think so.

Picture of one of the old bolts, which I need to be about 10mm longer...

The first set of case guards I put on a 650 way back in 1978 used a rod instead of the two separate bolts, so that's an option, but not preferred. I got bolts at Lowes years ago that were exact, but the nuts I already had so I don't know there. A good hardware store should have these though.

del

I got a new, heavier threaded rod for the top mount (the rod came with the case savers).
For the bottom mount, I used the exisitng bolt, screwed into the "oval shaped" nut behind the frame. The mount bolt was long enough with the case saver installed, so I used it.

I had to use SAE bolts to mount the 3-point guards on my 650 B2. I can't recall the diameter, but it is a hair smaller, I wasn't going to worry about it. I have 21K miles on them now and now ill effects.

JMKZHI wrote:

You could use 3/8" bolts instead of metric.

When installing the case guards on my bike, I went to the fastener supply co. (not a hardware store), but their 10mm metric bolts had large heads which wouldn't fit into the engine, so I had to get the SAEs instead.

Also, please not that I've heard tell that the 2-pt guards have a tendency to fold when the bike goes down. Just an FYI. JMK.

...

Thanks JMK, I just picked up some 3/8" x2",3",4" bolts w/locknuts. Will send post pic of install.

BTW, yes I am aware the 2-point ones bend on impact, but I will consider them to have done their job and paid for the $20 they cost.

del

Hard to imagine it would be hard to find these in a decent hardware store. Maybe they've got obsolete over time. Like I said, lowes had any length 10mm bolt with 13mm heads, but this was about 10 yrs ago. You can always get bigger head 10mm bolts and grind the head smaller. The head will never be seen anyway. I hate sae bolts being used in place of metric myself. Part of the reason I never liked case guards at all was because every time I'd buy a pair, the mounting bolts were junk, a hodgepodge of fine/coarse thread sae/metric, sometimes 1" too long, sometimes not long enough, but always subpar. The one and only 2 point case guards I used bent over in a 10mph spill and somehow lined up just perfectly with a oil journal plug. I went riding away and pumped all the oil onto the street and had to abandon the bike and walk 10 miles home.

del

I also would have preferred to find metric bolts, but they just don't seem to exist around here.

I took JMK's advice and got 3/8" x 2", 3", 4" bolts with locking nuts. While installing them I figured that these bolts of course don't carry the weight of the engine, the frame does, so that they are slightly smaller doesn't matter because they're just holding the engine against the mounts on the frame.

I'm not thrilled with the look they add to the bike, but as you see below, I'm not one to care much about the look of my bike - most people just see the Kawasaki tank or a red blur going past them. They won't notice the rusting shocks or the geeky case guards.

Anyways, thanks again, KZRiders!

I used 3/8ths stainless allen heads to mount mine. any good hardware store should have them also used stainless self locker nuts

I don't like the dorky look of case guards but they would have saved me some money I guess. Been fixed since accident but still won't put any on.