Floorboards

Gadzooks Mike · 08-31-2007, 08:51 AM

I've been obsessing about floorboards nearly as long as I've had my little GZ, and yesterday I finally did something about it. I had gone down to the local dealer - they sell both Honda and Suzuki - to see if they had anything close to fitting a GZ that wouldn't take much modification. I came home with a pair of passenger floorboards for a VL800 Intruder. The Suzuki part number is 99950-70278.

The bracket, however, is too wide to fit where the peg fits, and the bracket must be shaved off.

I removed the floorboard from the bracket (2 bolts on the bottom) and used a bench grinder to shave down the bracket so it would fit the peg mounting. Then I repainted the now shiney portion of the bracket so it matched the black of the rest of the bracket. Here's a comparison of one finished bracket and one original.

Reattach the board to the bracket. I used a dab of LockTite to make sure nothing vibrates loose.

The pegs are easy to remove. There's a circlip at the bottom of the mounting bracket that must be removed (don't lose it!) and then you remove the small peg which runs through the bracket. Remove the peg and mount the board using the original mounting peg and circlip.

Now there wasn't enough room between the front of the board and the shifter for me to stick my toe in to shift. (Honey? Can I have a heel/toe shifter for my birthday?) I fixed this by raising slightly the shifter. There's a small bolt to remove, then pull the clamp off, arrange it where it needs to be, and slide it back on. You can check it before you put the bolt back. I couldn't find a good pointer, so I'm using an orange paint stick as a pointer to it.

Now there's room enough.

Right now, these boards do NOT tilt up like the original pegs do. The bottom of the bracket is square and not rounded. However, it would be easy to make them tilt up by simply griding the bottom corners round and taking a bit off the top to give some clearance. I will probably do this later. I also didn't take any clearance measurements, and apologize for that. I'll take care of that as well in a later post.

Yes, they're comfortable!! Just wish I had that heel/toe shifter....

**jonathan180iq** · 08-31-2007, 12:52 PM

Nice write-up. How is ground clearance?

Gadzooks Mike · 08-31-2007, 03:05 PM

Thanks, Jonathan! You take better pictures than I do, though.

Anyway, the bike, when level upright in riding position, has about 7 1/2" clearance between road and the back "drag nut" (see the last picture, back and bottom of the floorboard) of the floorboard. Leaning over, I can go much more than 45 degrees before the pedal touches, and I believe at that point, there wouldn't be any tire under me anymore anyway. One thing to note is that the floorboards stick out about 2 inches LESS than the stock pegs. This is not due to the mount, just the fact that the floorboards are about 2 inches more narrow than the pegs, if that makes sense. That's why there's so much clearance when leaning the bike over. I had planned to shave off the corners that fit inside the mounting bracket so that the pedal would fold up if hit, but I don't think it's necessary.

**jonathan180iq** · 08-31-2007, 03:36 PM

That pretty cool, man.
I like how your write-up follows more of a "guide" approach. :2tup:

Listen, while you were down there, did you happen to brainstorm any ideas of how one could move their pegs (or floorboards) forward to increase legroom?

I've been thinking about gaining maybe an inch or two up front to stretch my legs out a little more.

Let me know,
Jonathan

Gadzooks Mike · 08-31-2007, 04:13 PM

I did try to think about how to move out the controls a bit, but didn't come up with anything. Didn't give a thought about moving the pegs, though, sorry. You are a bit taller than I am, though, and I could see where you might want a couple extra inches for your legs. Before you do that, though, find somebody with some floorboards. You may find that they're comfortable enough that you don't need the room. I was amazed at how many foot positions are provided with these small boards. Now I need to start saving for me new seat.

davidc83 · 09-01-2007, 10:34 PM

Hey Mike,
You need to start selling this mod. I bet there would be a few people out there who would buy them :-). Some of us dont have bench grinders and are not very good at doing these types of mods :-(

later

Gadzooks Mike · 09-02-2007, 01:39 AM

Sell them? No way! But if you get down this way again and you want some, we'll install them for something to do.

Besides, I'm still not happy with the shifter. It's too far up and now needs to be pulled back instead of up. Had to find a new way to shift. I really need to figure out how to build a heel shifter add-on. Got any ideas?

Badbob · 09-02-2007, 05:48 AM

My suggestion: Get a shifter from another bike thats a close fit and have it resplined. (I think thats what its called.) A machine shop should be able to do this for you. You might even be able to find one that fits.

Gadzooks Mike · 09-02-2007, 10:58 AM

I'm beginning to believe that there's nothing similar to a GZ-250. EVERYTHING requires modification. And when you can find a part (16T sprocket) it's then discontinued. I don't understand.

Gadzooks Mike · 09-02-2007, 01:12 PM

I promised that I'd show you all how far it leaned over before the floorboards touched the ground. After much musclebuilding (yeah, right) and some luck with the camera, here it is.

I think this does a decent job of illustrating how much clearance you have with these things. Much more than the stock pegs!

08-31-2007, 08:51 AM	#1
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	Floorboards I've been obsessing about floorboards nearly as long as I've had my little GZ, and yesterday I finally did something about it. I had gone down to the local dealer - they sell both Honda and Suzuki - to see if they had anything close to fitting a GZ that wouldn't take much modification. I came home with a pair of passenger floorboards for a VL800 Intruder. The Suzuki part number is 99950-70278. The bracket, however, is too wide to fit where the peg fits, and the bracket must be shaved off. I removed the floorboard from the bracket (2 bolts on the bottom) and used a bench grinder to shave down the bracket so it would fit the peg mounting. Then I repainted the now shiney portion of the bracket so it matched the black of the rest of the bracket. Here's a comparison of one finished bracket and one original. Reattach the board to the bracket. I used a dab of LockTite to make sure nothing vibrates loose. The pegs are easy to remove. There's a circlip at the bottom of the mounting bracket that must be removed (don't lose it!) and then you remove the small peg which runs through the bracket. Remove the peg and mount the board using the original mounting peg and circlip. Now there wasn't enough room between the front of the board and the shifter for me to stick my toe in to shift. (Honey? Can I have a heel/toe shifter for my birthday?) I fixed this by raising slightly the shifter. There's a small bolt to remove, then pull the clamp off, arrange it where it needs to be, and slide it back on. You can check it before you put the bolt back. I couldn't find a good pointer, so I'm using an orange paint stick as a pointer to it. Now there's room enough. Right now, these boards do NOT tilt up like the original pegs do. The bottom of the bracket is square and not rounded. However, it would be easy to make them tilt up by simply griding the bottom corners round and taking a bit off the top to give some clearance. I will probably do this later. I also didn't take any clearance measurements, and apologize for that. I'll take care of that as well in a later post. Yes, they're comfortable!! Just wish I had that heel/toe shifter.... Login or Register to Remove Ads
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08-31-2007, 03:05 PM	#3
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	Thanks, Jonathan! You take better pictures than I do, though. Anyway, the bike, when level upright in riding position, has about 7 1/2" clearance between road and the back "drag nut" (see the last picture, back and bottom of the floorboard) of the floorboard. Leaning over, I can go much more than 45 degrees before the pedal touches, and I believe at that point, there wouldn't be any tire under me anymore anyway. One thing to note is that the floorboards stick out about 2 inches LESS than the stock pegs. This is not due to the mount, just the fact that the floorboards are about 2 inches more narrow than the pegs, if that makes sense. That's why there's so much clearance when leaning the bike over. I had planned to shave off the corners that fit inside the mounting bracket so that the pedal would fold up if hit, but I don't think it's necessary. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

08-31-2007, 04:13 PM	#5
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	I did try to think about how to move out the controls a bit, but didn't come up with anything. Didn't give a thought about moving the pegs, though, sorry. You are a bit taller than I am, though, and I could see where you might want a couple extra inches for your legs. Before you do that, though, find somebody with some floorboards. You may find that they're comfortable enough that you don't need the room. I was amazed at how many foot positions are provided with these small boards. Now I need to start saving for me new seat. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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09-02-2007, 05:48 AM	#8
Badbob Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tallahassee FL Posts: 945	My suggestion: Get a shifter from another bike thats a close fit and have it resplined. (I think thats what its called.) A machine shop should be able to do this for you. You might even be able to find one that fits. __________________ My GZ250 Blog Facebook Pinterest Google+ Tumblr YouTube Lumber Jocks
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08-31-2007, 12:52 PM	#2
jonathan180iq Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dalton, GA Posts: 3,996	Nice write-up. How is ground clearance?
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08-31-2007, 03:36 PM	#4
jonathan180iq Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dalton, GA Posts: 3,996	That pretty cool, man. I like how your write-up follows more of a "guide" approach. :2tup: Listen, while you were down there, did you happen to brainstorm any ideas of how one could move their pegs (or floorboards) forward to increase legroom? I've been thinking about gaining maybe an inch or two up front to stretch my legs out a little more. Let me know, Jonathan
	0

09-01-2007, 10:34 PM	#6
davidc83 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 184	Hey Mike, You need to start selling this mod. I bet there would be a few people out there who would buy them :-). Some of us dont have bench grinders and are not very good at doing these types of mods :-( later
	0

09-02-2007, 01:39 AM	#7
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	Sell them? No way! But if you get down this way again and you want some, we'll install them for something to do. Besides, I'm still not happy with the shifter. It's too far up and now needs to be pulled back instead of up. Had to find a new way to shift. I really need to figure out how to build a heel shifter add-on. Got any ideas?
	0

09-02-2007, 10:58 AM	#9
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	I'm beginning to believe that there's nothing similar to a GZ-250. EVERYTHING requires modification. And when you can find a part (16T sprocket) it's then discontinued. I don't understand.
	0

09-02-2007, 01:12 PM	#10
Gadzooks Mike Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 162	I promised that I'd show you all how far it leaned over before the floorboards touched the ground. After much musclebuilding (yeah, right) and some luck with the camera, here it is. I think this does a decent job of illustrating how much clearance you have with these things. Much more than the stock pegs!
	0