TRIKbodywork
hugger for the GSX-R750F/G/H ('85 to '87)
John of TRIKbodywork has developed a rear hugger for the slabbie
750's which also makes the swingarm look like a beefed-up carbon
fibre unit... very TRIK indeed! Right on time (not because I
want to show off but because it's rain season), two days before
Street or Track, my rear hugger arrived, and it took me just
a few hours to fit.
To be able to test-fit it I released the exhaust bolts at the
cylinder-head to be able to lower the exhaust.
The right side of the hugger protuded from the underside of
the swingarm so I removed 5mm from the edge.
Left side
Right side
John advised me to use "rivet-nuts"
to mount the hugger to the swingarm, but "Blubber"
pointed me to the fact that M6 rivet-nuts require a 10mm hole
to be drilled in the swingarm and advised me to tap M6 holes
into the swingarm and see if those will hold.
I tie-rapped the hugger into place and drilled 2mm holes trough
the hugger and swingarm, removed the hugger, drilled 5mm holes
in the swingarm and tapped them M6, then drilled 6mm holes in
the hugger (carefully!).
Drillerd 5mm holes and tapped
them M6
To be able to tighten the bolts up
I glued nylon washers to the inside of the hugger using transparent
silicone.
Washers glued to the inside
of the hugger
Nylon washer
Finishing touches included painting
the ends of the swingarm and the mounting bolts matt-black to
make it look like the swingarm is one-piece carbon.
Ends of the swingarm painted
black
The aluminum mounting bolts
get their share too.
Finished right side
Finished left side
The hugger fits perfectly but there
are two small concerns...
- The hugger has an integrated chainguard that runs very close
to the chain. It was impossible to fit it with my usual 48T
chainwheel and even with the standard 43T i'm expecting the
chain to slap against the hugger under heavy engine-braking.
John told me there will be a new version of the hugger on
which will solve this minor problem... minor because you can
allways cut away sections of the hugger to increase clearance.
- I have very little clearance between the exhaust and the
hugger, the hanger may hit the hugger under full compression
of the suspension, but that's different on every bike.
On the other hand I was expecting problems with my CBR600
rear caliper hitting the hugger or the fat rear tyre not having
enough clearance but there was none of those...
Clearance between the exhaust
and hugger
It looks fanstastic and more importantly
it keeps the dirt and moisture away from the shock and electrics.
A future modification I'm planning is to extend the hugger using
a rubber flap so it completely protects the shock and linkage.
