i believe that they are hard anodized. i also believe that they are removable (they unscrew, there's a tool for sale on ebay i've seen) so could be re-anodized. when i've had quotes for anodizing they've been cheap.

somebody will hopefully confirm what i say, or come on here and rubbish it.

Sorry to be the one to rubbish this but my understanding is that the blue inserts are bonded in and removal should NOT be attempted.

I think the change was done because a number of sellers would not leave feedback until the buyer had left positive feedback. This meant that as a buyer, if you left negative feedback you were pretty sure to get negative feedback yourself. Result was that feedback for the seller wasn't a true reflection of their performance. Some sellers stated this in their advert, which at least was honest, but still put me off a bit.

sorry to hijack but is it not possible to split the caliper in any way? Last I looked it seemed almost like you need some sort of magical yamaha tool to fit inside the bluespots on the outside.

A year or so ago on here some well respected guy said on no account try to remove those blue plug things. I can't remember why not but I wouldn't try it if I were you. (If you do please let us know the result  )
You can split the rear caliper but unfortunately Yamaha don't sell a replacement seal that goes between the two halves. However from this site I believe a Suzuki seal part no. 6910734200 does the job. Never used it myself.

With my normal steady riding I get 60 m.p.g.. With more spirited riding I have had it drop to 55 m.p.g., but with advancing years (me rather than the bike) this doesn't seem to happen quite so often these days.
 From a full tank to the gauge showing between empty and 1/4 (and the low fuel warning light coming on) this gives me a range of 200 miles. FZS600 2001 model.
I did push it to 225 miles the other day by which time the gauge was nearly on empty.
I've never managed to get more than 17 litres in at fill up, so maybe "Fazerider" is braver than me when it comes to running low on fuel  .
Probably of no great interest, but there is 1.5 ltrs of fuel in the bottom of the tank that can't be used. On my bike with 5 ltrs of usable fuel in the tank the gauge shows just under 1/4. That's with the bike level and stationary, so maybe a bit different when on the move and the fuel is jiggling about.

Hard luck, that's just what you don't want to happen  .
You could try a stud extractor, the type with a tapered left hand helix. To hold and turn the extractor you would probably need to use the type of tap wrench with a chuck.
Otherwise I guess you will have to remove the cylinder head to get at it for some delicate drilling.
Good luck.

here is a photo I hope

Great picture presentation but sad looking engine  .
 I may be wrong on this but I seem to remember that after 2001 the generator has a slightly higher output and a different plug on the end of the wires. The higher output is no problem but some slight modification to the wire connection point may be required.

Definately standard gearing , am I the only one then who forgets if hes in top or not and have to look at the tacho and speedo, 5k on the tacho is 60 mph and say, 6k on the tacho is 70 mph in top gear.  One of these days I'll end up in a ditch.

Many is the time when I've been in top and gone for another gear. Usually happens after toddling along in a 40 zone and then joining the motorway. After being at low revs for a while it then feels like the engine is reving to much for the speed.
 A couple of times I have gone the other way and found myself happily cruising down the motorway in 5th gear for a mile or two before realising it.

Totally agree with all the Captain's comments. 10 tooth drop on back sprocket is way too much. You would probably have problems with chain rubbing on the swinging arm as well.
It would make 4th gear not much different to existing 6th gear with standard sprockets. Put another way, in top gear you would have approx 15 mph per 1000 revs instead of 12 mph per 1000 revs.

Sorry to hear about your nephew. I'm not a medical expert and the following is just what I gleaned after I had an accident that involved a frame and a bone graft.
I'm guessing the cage you mention is an Ilizarov frame, (a series of metal rings holding wires which pass through the bone and hold things in place while they heal), or similar. The biggest problem with these is the risk of infection, but this is usually kept in check by antibiotic. The frame does a good job but it is a great feeling when you finally get rid of it. In my case it was after four and a half months but it can be much longer depending on the bone healing time.
With the bone graft they usually take bits of bone that you can be spare from somewhere else on your body. In my case the sticking out bony bit on the side of my hip which I think is the normal place to harvest it from. Bone from your own body is best as it is less likely to be rejected. After a bone graft there is a tense period of several weeks hoping it all starts to knit together and form fresh bone. It usually does, but if not they can have another go. Being a non smoker will help.
In my case the bone graft was on the femur and they only did that after the lower part of the leg had healed and the Ilizarov frame removed.
My experience is from eight years ago and no doubt things have moved on a bit since then. There were guys and galls in hospital who, like me, thought it was last chance saloon, but as far as I know they all made reasonable recoveries thanks to the skill of all concerned.
Good luck to the nephew.
 

It looks to me like your bike has higher gearing than standard. (Assuming this is your FZS600 and obviously top gear). The standard sprockets, as said before, are indeed 15 front and 48 rear. A larger front and/or a smaller back sprocket would give higher gearing. i.e. lower revs for a given speed.
On my FZS600 with standard gearing I think the revs are just over 6000.

The 'air-flow is needed' argument is also false: If you take a stationary FZS600 and run the engine for 30 minutes guess what happens .... The radiator fan starts!!  
 

And the fan draws in air to cool the water!