Bent my stock shift lever near the base weld. It broke when I tried to bend it back. Searched for replacement options. Went with the MSR 34-2176, SF-6413. It is aluminum, which will likely break before bending far, but it's light, fits/functions just like stock lever and it looks good. At $26 shipped, it's about half the cost of the stock steel lever. I got two, so I can carry a spare. It even comes with the pinch bolt, for which the steelership probably charges about $4.

 

Weld your old one back together and you will have three

 

As long as it breaks before the shift shaft ....

That's the plus of the "cheesy" bendable steel one, it's a safety

 

I'm mildly concerned about the shift shaft. Is breaking it really that common? I have an '09, so I'm somewhat concerned about the shift star. It survived the spill that bent the stock lever. If it goes, it gets upgraded. Anyone use a brake lever saver on the shift lever? I've seen that option listed in product descriptions. I do plan to weld the OEM lever back together, but the replacement was fast and easy. I ordered it late Tuesday night and it arrived to me in Milwaukee from CA today.

 

https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...e-snake-30324/
I made up some lever savers.

Gum, you should check out the Bucky DS ride in Madison, or the ........... ride in the Kettle Morraine area. I believe both happen this fall still. I know the bucky is in Sept or Oct.
Dan

 

Well done, dan888. That's exactly what I had in mind. I plan to ride the KMSR Field and Forest DS on Sunday, October 20. Registration wasn't yet open as of 2 days ago. I wanted to also ride the Bucky the following Saturday, but that's Halloween weekend, I have small kids, the younger of which turns 7 that weekend, and I'll be out of town during the week on business between the two events. I'm in Milwaukee. Are you in the area?

 

haha Yeah 7yrs old is Prime Time for Halloween, you don't want to skip out on that.

I have not done the KMSR ride ( I dont know why) and have only done the first two buckys.
I am a member of the Forrest City Riders and our Leaf River DS ride has been on the same weekend as the Bucky for a few years now. Our ride is Sat. Oct 27th, and I think the Bucky this year is on Saturday the 26th. Both great rides , but I think the Leaf River DS we put on is more technical, so it depends on what you want. A lot of guys do both.
I'm relatively close to you , I'm in Rockford. I get up that way sometime , in fact I was just mountain biking with some buddies at Kettle Moraine Saturday. Did 24 miles and it Kicked my butt.

 

I run a Banshee shifter with a welded on folding tip. Banshee shifter is longer and seems to work better with moto boots.

 

The shift lever for the Honda XR650L also fits and is a bit longer. I have one on the bike now.

 

I also use a brake snake on the stock shifter. Made a template off a new stock shifter bend I posted here somewhere if you want to straighten one out.