Kawasaki vs. Kijima Gaiters

[White Dog_imp]

I now have the Kawasaki OEM gaiters and offer the following comparison of measurements. In summary, the Kijima gaiters are larger, longer and looser fitting than the Kawasaki ones. The looseness of the Kijima gaiters at the bottom is a plus, as any water that gets into the gaiters will fall out much easier than the tighter-fitting Kawasaki. Stylewise, IMO the Kawasaki "look better on the CB1100 and look more "authentic to the cycle." Both of these gaiters are fully enclosed and require removing of forks to install. Plus, rubber will stretch but does not shrink.

Belllows Dia. Kawa 65mm Kijima 85mm
Gaiters Top Kawa 39mm Kijima 41mm
Gaiters Btm Kawa 59mm Kijima 65mm
Gaiters Lgth Kawa 180mm Kijima 210mm

CB1100 Fork Dia. = 41mm
CB1100 Fork Seal top dia. = 62mm

1" = 25.4mm

[White Dog_imp]

I spent some time this afternoon, removing the Kijima gaiters and installing the Kawasaki ones. The Kawas look sooo much better. The bottom of the gaiters are practically the same diameter of the fork seal covers so the gaiters look like they came with the cycle. The Ferret has an excellent tutorial on the "How To" section of this forum. I didn't see the torque setting for the fender bolts but I'm sure they are in the service manual. I'll check that later.

I took a look at my disc pads while I had the calipers in hand. Still have plenty of life--almost 5K miles now.

[the Ferret]

I agree, the Kawasaki gaiters just look like they belong on the bike