I went looking for after market pegs soon after buying the bike. I wound up with Fastway pegs because that’s what was available. They are much better than the stock pegs. About a year later I heard of both Powerpegz and Pivotpegz. Both pivot, the difference that one had a return spring and the other didn’t. I prefer the no return spring version and went looking. Couldn’t find any at that time. That was OK. The Fastway pegs were doing the job.
It didn’t look like I was going to change pegs as Powerpegz, for whatever reason, stopped making or selling pegs and Pivotpegz still include a centering spring. Fast forward to Aug 2008. Someone on AdvRider.com posts a message stating that an ebay seller was unloading a bunch of Powerpegz for a reasonable buy-it-now-including-shipping price. I ordered a set.
Powerpegz in the package
pegs, bushings installed, and springs
This is what arrived. The second pictures shows the opened package. Minimal installation instructions were on the back. The package included new cotter pins for the pivot pin; the R12GS uses an E-clip. The instructions did not mention that the bushings can be reversed to lower the pegs.
Pivot pin removed
Pivot pin fits
First thing I did was remove one of the pivot pins from the bike and make sure that it fit the new pegs. No problems. I removed the pin from the left side which meant I also had to remove the shift lever to make room to slide the pin out of the frame.
Tools to remove the bushing
Bushing in low position
I used some brass tubing (scrap from the junk pile) to support the pegs while tapping the bushing with a pin-punch to remove it from the peg. It did not take much force to get the job done. I then installed the bushing on the other side of the peg by tapping on it with the hammer. The net result is to lower the peg by about 1/2 inch, the length of the shoulder on the bushing.
Left peg installed
Full forward pivot
Full rear pivot
Left peg installed (note spring position: only one of the springs will fit), full forward pivot, and full rear pivot.
Right peg installed
Fastway pegs, cleaned, ready for sale
I installed the right peg, the gear-shift lever on the left, and the got on the bike to see how the new pegs feel. I think I’m going to find these quite comfortable. I cleaned the Fastway pegs and put them away. Once I’ve some miles on the new pegs and I’m sure I like them I’ll put the old pegs up for sale. [Update: they were sold.]