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Bandit 400 Hugger Installation on a GS500

Started by ShowBizWolf, January 25, 2017, 09:44:23 AM

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ShowBizWolf

Over the years of being on this forum, I have seen the topic of huggers come up from time to time. The Wiki section does have some good information... included in that is mention of how the OEM Bandit 400 hugger can be modified to fit our GS's... but it is lacking in pics and more detail.
http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearHugger

I wanted one so I got one... watched on eBay for a cheap used one and finally got one for about $63 shipped to me from the UK. As I made the modifications to it, I took pictures to show how I did it. It should also be noted that I have a bigger than stock rear tire on my GS. The size is 140/80 and as a result, I didn't see the cosmetic need to trim any of the plastic that goes over the tire itself.




First thing I wanted to show is how to get the hugger over the tire and where it needs to be for testing the fit. Tilting it to the right and pushing it so the chain guard part went as far towards the front of the bike as it could go was the easiest. This would probably be easier if you're running the stock size rear tire.


Then it got kinda hung up on the front most part of the stock fender... so I pulled on it carefully until it popped free.


Once it was sitting down as far as it could, I marked on the hugger what I thought had to be cut and trimmed first. This is on the brake side of course.


This is why it needs trimmed.


So I cut this out and sanded the edges a bit.


Almost there but not yet.


Gotta trim some more.


Cut that part out and this is what it looked like. This is all the trimming I had to do on that side.


Fits much better now.


A picture of where the hugger was sitting on this side... to the inside of the brake line.


And another picture of fitment.


At this point I was able to hold the hugger like this and check to see the alignment and spacing over the tire. It was as close to perfect as I ever hoped to get so I grabbed my silver sharpie and marked where the hole was gonna have to be drilled.


Drilled it, attached it with one of the stock chain guard screws minus the washer and here's a pic of the spacing over the chain.


Checked the back part of the chain guard portion of the hugger and it was off. Bah...


BUT here's what it was looking like over the tire so I was getting there!


Loosened the front screw so I could get the plastic up over and then behind the swing arm bracket to mark the hole...


...and in doing so saw that it lined up the chain guard portion a lot better.


So I drilled the hole and wound in the second stock chain guard screw (again without the washer) and thought ok well this is an easy fix for the alignment but it looks eh...


...decided to remove the screw, paint the bracket black, put the screw back in and see how that looks.


Passable for now!


And finally the other side. When originally reading the Wiki I was thinking there had to be a better way on this side to attach rather than just zip ties... but honestly, it's the easiest and best solution I could think of as well. Two towards the front.


The rear zip tie. Had it in a few different spots but after wiggling and messing with the hugger to see if it would bounce around, hit the tire, etc, this spot proved to be the best.


I'm not sure if it was because of the age of the hugger or what but the rear most tip of the chain guard was a bit curved and I didn't like how it wasn't sitting perfectly centered over the chain. It was too far towards the outside of the bike. After thinking about it for a few days, I decided that a well-placed aluminum rivet was the best way to pull the chain guard to where I wanted it. I used a bungee to hold it in place while I drilled the hole. Will be extra strong too because under the plastic is the metal brace.


Rivet in. This is before I painted it black to blend it in like the other factory ones below it.


Nowwwww it's too far the other way lol BUT that's OK because I wanted to have the rear-most stock chain guard bracket on the inside of the hugger anyway.


This is the alignment after putting the hugger on the outside of the rear-most stock chain guard bracket. I feel much better about this because the hole in the hugger is not threaded... the one in the chain guard bracket is.


Time to address the stock hugger holes that aren't being used. I bought some of these plastic buttons and used the Dremel to trim them. The front-most one probably could go without being trimmed because the chain is above it... but I wanted to be safe. The rear-most one needs trimmed because the bolts that hold the sprocket on would end up hitting it as the rear wheel spins.


Before pushing the plastic buttons into the stock holes, I put a bit of black Shoe Goo (an awesome product for repairing skate shoes!!) on them so they would be more secure. I'm sure you can use black silicone or some other kind of glue you have layin' around. And ta-da... done! Looks much better with the stock chain guard bracket behind the hugger and the buttons covering up the stock Bandit holes.


Hope this helps anyone looking to install a hugger on their GS500!

Edited to fix broken picture links! Also, I want to add that I weigh ~150lbs with gear and when taking a passenger (roughly 100lbs), I found that the stock shock isn't adequate enough to keep the tail of the bike from hitting the hugger when going over bigger bumps. I have since swapped out the stock shock for a 2010 Yamaha R6 shock.

Updated picture:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

SirHansford

  *high five*  Way to go Biz :)   Good job! Great mod idea.  Awesome price, especially considering where it shipped from.

ShowBizWolf

:High five: !! Thanks SirHansford! Glad you enjoy. I couldn't agree more with the price. A new one costs about $126 or more so this here was a steal. It was quite filthy when it arrived, I will admit that... but nothing a little bit of elbow grease didn't remedy.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

ShowBizWolf

Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

the_63

'99 GS500ex (sookie)

cbrfxr67

this is sweetness and applause to show for sending me the link.  bump for anyone else who'd like this look
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

ShowBizWolf

Wow I can't believe it's been over a year already since I did this!

I noticed the first time I took a passenger with me after I did the hugger install, (stock shock set to preload 4) the stock inner rear fender would make contact with the hugger when going over bumps (passenger weight was about 150lbs). I didn't try turning up the preload on the stock shock... I went directly for the R6 shock swap since it was on my to-do list anyway.

Also, I'd like to note that I am interested to try this hugger with the stock size rear tire sometime instead of the larger 140/80. I've had to slightly adjust the hugger at times, making sure the zip ties hold it up high enough off the tire. It's not a huge issue, but it did get kinda noisy lol.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

gregjet

Showbizwolf,
Why do you want the smaller tyre? If it is for the clearance, you could go to a 140/70 which has a 14mm smaller radius than the 140/80 and 7mm taller than a stock 130/70. It is also a lot lighter. The 140/70 should make your speedo read almost correct as well ( ie less optimistic)
My opinion is that the contact patch on a 140/70 or 150/60 is closer to the right size for this bikes power and weight. The 150/60 requires mods of the brake arm and the chain can run the side of the tyre during decelleration unless you make a guide.  Some VERY good tyres available in both those sizes.

ShowBizWolf

Hiya greg!
I was hoping to obtain a bit more clearance between the hugger and the tire itself. The hugger seems to shift a bit sometimes (which is understandable) and it ends up making contact with the tire. I noticed when I removed the hugger at one point for something... I flipped it over and saw the marks.

Thank you very much for that information! I will certainly keep it in mind when it's time to replace the tire.
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

gregjet

I can't see how you attached the right hand side. An aluminium strap from the front brake anchor bolt would stiffen it IF it needs it.
You could also slot the rear and rear attachment holes and rotate the hugger around the front bolts a little to get a bit more top underneath clearence for the time being.
I am a BIG fan of huggers ESPECIALLY on air cooled bikes. Besides the usual function of keeping the grunge of stuff, they have a huge positive benefit on the airflow THROUGH the bike that helps the cooling. That was their original function on race bikes as at high speeds the top of the tyre pumps air forward without it.

ShowBizWolf

Good ideas!! And the additional information about the multiple functions of a hugger are a really nice addition to the thread :cheers:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

the_63

I have finally taken the plunge myself. Yesterday I removed my swingarm and shock absorber and so far have fitted my new black swingarm, R6 shock and I'm testing the hugger. At an impasse at the moment though, need an angle grinder to modify the new swingarm because the shock hits, but all the hire places are closed today. This has been so useful though!  :thumb:

Chris
O0
'99 GS500ex (sookie)

ShowBizWolf

That's awesome Chris!! I'm gonna beat cbrfxr to it though... we need pics! :icon_mrgreen: Gonna update Sookie's thread?
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

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