The last of my recent Projekt D purchases included a Carbon Fibre Hugger for the rear wheel. This is another one of those ounce of prevention may be better than a future cure as I didn’t like that the rear suspension and rectifier are in the debris arc from the rear tyre.
Experience:Tools required:- 4mm Allen Wrench
- 5mm Allen Wrench
- 6mm Allen Wrench
- 8mm Allen Wrench
- 10mm spanner/wrench & socket
- 12mm spanner/wrench
- 14mm spanner/wrench
Instructions:- Before you get started remove the panniers from the bike and rest the hugger over the rear tyre in its rough position. Do this just to get an eyeball sense of how it is all going to come together later. Do be careful, you don’t want to scratch your new farkle.
- Next prepare the hugger for install by attaching the brackets. It can be a little confusing as to what goes where but simply from the rear of the bike - little bracket on the left, big bracket on the right, both brackets mounted on the OUTSIDE of the guard. Only lightly do up the bolts at this point as you will want the flexibility to adjust later.
- Now, whether you like it or not, if you are running the stock exhaust you have to remove it. Not the whole thing, but the muffler and midpipe have to come off. Aftermarket exhausts might be a different story. You need to remove the exhaust to access the bolt in the pivot point of the swingarm. Do this by first loosening the clamp where the midpipe connects to the header pipe, next remove the mounting bolt that is located near the brake pedal, and last remove the bolt from the bracket at the pillion footrest. Gently twist and pull the exhaust free of the header pipe and rest it somewhere nice and padded.
- At this point you could be forgiven for firing up the bike just to hear the Connie sans can. Not that I would ever advocate such a thing but… Who am I kidding, it sounds FREAKIN’ AWESOME!
- Back to the install. Next you need to loosen but do not remove the left and right top pivot bolts on the swing arm. These bolts are what the hugger will mount to and you only need to push them back so they are flush with the pivot arm EDIT #1: You don't neccassarily have to push both back. EDIT #2: some have concerns that the nuts don't have enough thread once the hugger is installed, you can order a slightly longer bolt from Kawasaki part #92153-1944. If you are on your own you can do this by pushing down on the rear rack and lightly bouncing the rear wheel on the ground while pushing back on the bolt, this will take just enough weight off the linkages to easily shift the bolt. Also remove the bolt that holds the brake line to the swingarm.
- OPTIONAL – on my bike, and others, the hugger rubs up against a driveshaft mount which makes an intolerable squeaking sound (see pic below). To combat this I put a dab of moly grease over the spot and the rubbing stopped. If you want to take your chances and mount it without grease go ahead, it is easy to slip some in there later if you need to. You can also mod the hugger by cutting it with a dremel to clear the area.
- Alright, you’re halfway there. What you want to do now is to mount the hugger in place. Put it in position and push the swingarm bolts back into place - EDIT #3: Projekt D recomend the use of Loctite, do up the nuts just finger snug at this point. Insert the long bolt that came with the kit in place of the one that holds the brake lines – don’t go commando on this or you will start flexing the bracket, it’s a nyloc nut so you just need to give it a decent snug and you’re good.
- Now is the step that takes the longest, getting the hugger square and lined up to your preference. There is a bit of movement forward and back, as well as twist side to side. Get the hugger to the point where you are happy with it backwards/forwards on the wheel. Make sure to spin the wheel regularly to ensure clearance. Once happy do up the swingarm bolts to 44ft/lbs. Next when you look at the hugger from the rear you might see it more left than right, or vice versa, twist the hugger back and forth as needed until it is sitting centrally over the tyre. Tighten up the bolts on the hugger itself, double check your positioning, give the wheel one last spin, and you should be good to go.
- The last step is to reinstall the muffler. Start by gently putting it onto the header pipe and then loosely put the bolt in to hold it at the rear pillion peg. Now install the bolt by the brake pedal. Make sure everything is lined up properly and tighten the brake pedal bolt, then header bolt, then rear footpeg bolt. CAUTION be wary of over-tightening the header bolt, it won’t take much to strip the thread (apologies I don’t have a workshop manual so don’t know torque figures).
You should now be finished, looking sharp and ready to go for a ride with your new farkle!
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