I've had a Powerbronze hugger on my CB since day 1, and I think it looks best-of-all, plus the colour - with gold mesh insert - matches my black and gold bike. However, I've suffered 3 mounting frame failures (more on that in a separate post), so it was time for an alternative. I came across RSR Moto via an internet search; their hugger looked aesthetic; and the price was reasonable (GBP84.70 incl shipping = CDN$156) - so after a delay of a month or so while they were out of stock, I fired off an order. Transit was under a week, and I quickly was admiring the first piece of CF bling that I've ever bought: lovely... and light, too: just 125 grams vs 740 gms for the PB.
IMG_6456M by Don Serl, on Flickr
There were 3 issues to deal with:
1. the right hand bolt hole was just a touch too tight to accept an M6 bolt, so a quick application of rat-tail file was necessary,
2. the inner lobe of the left hand side interfered with the base of my Ohlins shock ( see photo ), but a quick application of Dremel goodness put that right,
IMG_6461-R1M by Don Serl, on Flickr
and 3. the hugger came with no hardware! In fairness, no claim was made on the site that hardware was supplied, but, really, if you supply something to attach to a motorcycle, and that attachment is not straight-forward and does not rely on re-using OEM parts, the 'old retailer' in me says decent customer service requires YOU ( the supplier) to solve the problem, not the push off the problem onto your customer. By contrast, here are the fittings that come with a Powerbronze hugger:
IMG_6469M by Don Serl, on Flickr
The problem is not insurmountable, but the complication is that the hugger ( ANY hugger ) sits on top of the swingarm, while the bolt hole on the CB lies at a lower level, so a spacer is required. It needs to be about 12mm in length, about 15mm in diameter, and be drilled with a 6.5mm hole to accept the M6 bolt. Luckily I had an old one from an earlier PB installation, which was twice this length, so I simply hacksawed it in half, cleaned up the ends, and I was ready to go.
Well, almost... My previous experience with plastic parts on my motorcycles has shown me that, doing 25k-30k kms per year as I typically do, ANY and ALL 'solid' fittings wear out. So, some sort of rubber washer or bushing was necessary. I didn't have anything appropriate lying around the basement, so at first I was just going cobble together something suitable from an old inner tube - really, this would work fine! - but a tour of a few hardware stores last Saturday unearthed a variety of rubber bits, examples of many of which now occupy space in my 'bits-box' in case of future need.
IMG_6478M by Don Serl, on Flickr
The final required parts list is:
2 spacers - approx 15mm o.d. 12mm long with 6.5mm hole
4 rubber washers about 15mm diameter x about 1mm thick, for above and below the hugger (it's pretty easy to open the central hole out to whatever is needed, so original sizing is not critical...)
2 washers approx 15mm diameter.
2 : M6 x 25mm hex bolts
Here we are, after a quick coat of black paint:
IMG_6484M by Don Serl, on Flickr
Installing anything under something else in the confined space of the corners of the swingarm is ridiculously frustrating, and there's the risk of dropping a wee bit and losing it, so I stuck the rubber washers to the spacers with a drop of crazy glue before engaging in the curse-fest.
IMG_6489M by Don Serl, on Flickr
A couple trial fits indicated that it was VERY hard to get correct alignment, and you wouldn't want to strip the bolt-hole in the alu swingarm, would you, so I took it VERY slowly and carefully. It seemed easiest to get the left side attached with an extra long 'dummy' bolt, then get the right side partially threaded; then the dummy bolt came out very carefully and the 'real' bolt went in. Snug 'er down (gently) and you're done.
Not to bad, in the end. Fits well, quality seems excellent, lines blend well with the bike. I might pull it off and paint it black to match the rest of the bike, or I might just continue to show off the CF...
IMG_6499M by Don Serl, on Flickr