HOW-TO: Remove the Kickstand from your YZF-R3
An easy mod that will reduce the weight of your bike by approximately 3 pounds. This is one of the first modifications that you will want to do if you plan on converting your bike to a track-only machine.
You will need to have a bike stand or wheel chock to do this work. Removal of the front sprocket cover and the bodywork (i.e. left fairing) will also be required.
Removal of the kickstand is not simply a mechanical operation, you will have to bypass the kickstand switch by either buying a bypass connector or cutting 2 wires and connecting them securely together. If you don’t feel comfortable with splicing or soldering wires. You can look at the Spears Enterprise website and get the connector here.
Before you start the removal process, make sure you have some spacer washers that will be needed to properly re-install the engine mounting bolt. You will see that I used 4 of them in the video, but if you have some thicker spacers, you might be able to do it with 2 spacers only. Norton-Motorsports has a kit that can be purchased to simplify that process, and it also comes with a bracket that can be used to hold your lower aftermarket fairings. Details here.
This is a very easy modification; however, like any other mods, make sure you test everything before going back on the race track.
Marco Landry
Geek during the day, wine and cigar aficionado in the evening. You can find me on a race track in the summer time and wrenching on motorcycles during the winter months.
