hugger question

[steadysteve]

I have just bought a 2010 1200gs fitted with an ilmberger carbon hugger. One of the mounting points is on the inside of the torque arm. Due to the thickness of the hugger the nut is only able to screw halfway on to the bolt. It is tight.
Anybody else noticed this and can anyone advise if this should have a different bolt in it, maybe it should have been supplied with the hugger for example?

Also, does the gs have a hugger as standard or just the lump of plastic mounted on the final drive?

I am reluctant to remove the hugger if it should have one to protect the suspension unit etc but not happy with the mounting issue.

Thanks.

 

[kevingambrell]

Keep the hugger, the amount of crap that gets plastered over the shock and back of the gearbox is staggering. Fit a longer bolt or stud.
No hugger as stock.

 

[comberjohn]

Exactly the same set up on my 2010 when I bought it. I always assumed that the hugger came with a longer bolt which the PO had lost. Obviously not.
Throw it away and get a Machine Art Mudsling. Much neater job.
Also, I got rid of the lump of plastic, affectionally known as the 'spade' and fitted an alloy, Cymarc rear fender extender between the number plate and holder.
Whole back end looks much cleaner and less mud where it shouldn't be.
Incidentally, if you decide to keep the spade, take it off and clean underneath it now and again. That was the only place corrosion and paint lifting was on my final drive.
Nippy Norman do a blanking kit for where the spade was mounted. Not too expensive, unusually for them.

 

[steadysteve]

Exactly the same set up on my 2010 when I bought it. I always assumed that the hugger came with a longer bolt which the PO had lost. Obviously not.
Throw it away and get a Machine Art Mudsling. Much neater job.
Also, I got rid of the lump of plastic, affectionally known as the 'spade' and fitted an alloy, Cymarc rear fender extender between the number plate and holder.
Whole back end looks much cleaner and less mud where it shouldn't be.
Incidentally, if you decide to keep the spade, take it off and clean underneath it now and again. That was the only place corrosion and paint lifting was on my final drive.
Nippy Norman do a blanking kit for where the spade was mounted. Not too expensive, unusually for them.

Thanks for that, worth knowing its not just mine, still going to take it off though as that nut is too critical to be halfway on, unless I can get a longer one from bmw.
Already got the rear extender, not cymarc though.
Top tip re the corrosion thanks
NN has a few things cheaper than the others, the 4 feeler guages for doing valve clearances for example and the sat nav cable to plug in under the headstock, ten quid and seven quid iirc.

 

[comberjohn]

Forgot to mention. The ilmberger hugger on mine was for the non ESA model and drove me mad clanking against the ESA unit on bumpy roads!

 

[steadysteve]

Will keep an ear out for that. Just had another look at it and it appears to have a thick nylon washer between the hugger and nut which might be the cause of the problem.

Maiden voyage this morning....

 

[comberjohn]

Mine didn't have a nylon washer but the slight movement kept loosening the nut.
Think a longer bolt is the only permanent fix.

 

[Bendy toy]

I had an Ilmberger for a while. It look fine but did all of F all to keep the back end of the bike clean. The low pressure area around the rear shock sucks crap thrown off the hugger and throws it forwards. Some lands on the rear shock. The remainder lands on riders boots. If you have the TUV shovel fitted to the back wheel the problem is even worse.

I believe the only way a hugger will work is when its long enough to more or less cover the wheel like a push bike tyre does. The Britten 1000 showed it would not have to look horrible.

The Machine Art Mudsling does a much better job than the hugger. For a while I tried both. When I took off the hugger there was no difference. Without the Mudsling the bike was always filthy.

 

[steadysteve]

Thanks for the info Bendy-re-fitted the shovel yesterday, going to order a bolt to cure the hugger issue and then see how I get on with the bike in general. The bike is bloody brilliant just a big change after 5 years on an RT. Negatives are the wind blast and noise, the pluses are the flickability and its a damn sight easier to shunt around between the cars on the drive.
Will soon have to make a decision which one to keep- 11 year old RT with 19k miles, or 6 year old GS with 81k miles
Cheers

 

[Bendy toy]

A Givi AF-330 solves the wind blast issue. In rain the other day mine was so good my visor was steaming up. I had to stop and drop the screen angle to get enough airflow.

 

[stanley]

IME : Mudsling Max= road filth all over back of legs, exhaust, etc.
Puig hugger= much better.
Removed spade= filth on luggage, pillion's back, and the back of me when I didn't have a pillion!

Verdict= Puig hugger + spade. I extended the front of the Puig with a bit of rubber to fully protect shock. Win, win.

Bike used with, without luggage; with/without pillion.

I don't buy into the low pressure theory.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Bendy toy]

I agree that simply removing the TUV shovel will throw grit mud and anything else right over the top case. I fitted a simple aluminium plate fender extender and all that stopped.

Cant comment on the Puig Hugger but the Ilmberger was pretty useless for stopping the dirt. As a test I gaffa taped some plastic between the hugger and the shovel - filled that gap. Obviously it looked rough but it was THE most effective at stopping the dirt. It's why I believe a longer hugger is the best option. It would not be a fashion item so don't expect anyone to to provide one. But saying that, the TUV shoved is also as ugly as an ugly stick.

My experience with the Mudsling and fender extender below number plate has been a much cleaner bike.