Rear Hugger Bolts Loosening

[bullet 311]

Forget fitting any sort of Hugger to your bike, as said it makes very little difference to stopping the muck.
Treat yourself to the Mudsling. NO bolts to remove/replace and more effective ( in my opinion) and keeps a lot of crap off your rear suspension.
Shop around for price, the cheap version does the same job as the expensive one.

 

[roamer]

Over the years the mudsling and infill panels have been the best result by far, and doesn't add unsprung weight, and cheap copies are out there,
I have used ilmberger huggers and currently have one on my r 9 t because a mudsling wont fit with a piggyback shock,
I dont bother with the rear shovel/guard as it didnt stop the spray,
It uses the drive housing bolts and never had issues over many years and miles,
Using brake and suspension mountings for additional loads is a concern ,
Maybe the mounting issue of the puig huggers is showing up because the cheaper ones are gaining popularity by numbers,
Regarding bolt quality, I have had a few wunderlich ones that appear to be made of toffee and stretching at well under specified torque,
By the look of it those affected are vigilant and will monitor the situation, Stay Safe,

 

[malcopopolo]

There was kind chap on here who listed BMW spec bolts for fitting the hugger.

I have mudsling and hugger - I do not like the shovel on the rear. Like to see the tyre

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

I am now paranoid that my bike is going to implode following fitment of a Puig hugger. I've checked bolts for tightness after rides and they haven't shifted yet... I'm more inclined to think that they'll be quality bolts than I would if I'd bought a Chinese copy from Ebay.

How many people regularly check the paralever bolt and brake caliper bolts without the hugger fitted? I can't imagine the additional length of the bolts makes a huge difference to whether they'll loosen or not. They're torques to the same settings as the original BMW bolts.

I will keep checking them after every ride (which takes approx 30 seconds) until I'm confident they're not going anywhere, and then make it a weekly check thing alongside levels and tyres.

I'm not convinced how much good the hugger does but fortunately I have exactly the same bike without a hugger to use as a direct comparison.

| did have a plastic hugger fitted to an earlier bike - 1150GS - that I found out was loose while on a trip in Germany. From memory that was a replacement for the crudcatcher that was fixed only to final drive.

 

[Mr Bean]

I am now paranoid that my bike is going to implode following fitment of a Puig hugger.

The only reason I removed the Puig hugger was to turn it in to cash - it seemed to do fcuk all and came with the bike when I bought it.

Tightness of screws was never an issue.

 

[bosnjo]

I have chinese hugger and BMW spec bolts torqued at Puig recommendation. Funny, isn't it?
However, I believe that Puig (or other good brand) sels their hugger with good bolts. The bolts that came with my chinese hugger are narrower. It may be just by few micrometers but for sure it's enough for them to work their way out of the thread.
No threadlock would help. I've thrown them away as soon as they arrived. My hugger is rock solid with bolts I purchased from european manufacturer, following BMW spec, as I mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[Ambry1200]

Colinf, Sorry to start an old post again but how did you get on with your hugger ? Did the high tensile bolts and and Locktite work ?I too have a Chinese hugger and found that the smaller bolt at the back was missing after 2 rides. Not sure if I forgot to tighten it as the rear splash guard was also loose. Having fitted another bolt I noticed that only the calliper has a thread and not the wheel flange that it first passes through is that correct ? Also it feels like 24nm of torque would strip said thread. The bigger bolt was fine and has a nyloc nut also.
Maybe I should just bin and go for the Mudslinger as suggested by fizzer !

 

[malcopopolo]

You will not go wrong if you fit the same spec bolts as the original BMW specified.

 

[bosnjo]

I wrote few posts back in this thread:

"Well, I'm waiting for the chinese one to arrive. Will see how things go with it but I also ordered 12.9 grade bolts M10 (M10x75) and M8 (M8x35) so at least they will not be a part of possible problem. Will loctite them with blue loctite."

I installed those bolts in January and they still hold tight. No problems at all. The bolts that come with chinese hugger are not good as they are narrower and will get loose.

 

[Ambry1200]

Thanks for you responses.
New bolts ordered as suggested and loctite will be used. My previous hugger was the Powerbronze one which never came loose from the calliper mounts but after 3 fibreglass repairs it was time for it to go.Didn’t like the way it rubbed on the swinging arm especially over heavy bumps, but it did keep the worst of the crud off the bike.
Anyway I’ll see how this one fairs if no good it will be changed for the mudsling.

 

[bosnjo]

I have Mudsling and the Hugger installed.

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

I fitted my Puig hugger about 1,000 miles ago. It came with encapsulated loctite on the main bolt through the Paralever arm. I torqued it up to specified torque and marked it with permanent marker so any movement would be immediately obvious. I also put a ratchet and socket in the top box in case it came loose away from home.

It hasn't moved, but no doubt when I take the ratchet and socket out of the topbox and put them back in the garage, the bolt will immediately work its way loose...

The hugger does reduce the amount of crap on the rear of the bike (I ride with my nephew who has the same bike but without the hugger, so can make a direct comparison). But it's only a reduction and after a while it catches up with the 'naked' bike. I like the look of it though, so I'll leave it on there for the time being.

 

[Ambry1200]

That sounds like good advice. The hugger which I have has a brass bush and a plastic sleeve on the larger paralever hole. However the smaller hole which bolts to the calliper is just a hole with no sleeve, is there something missing? Can someone confirm that this is correct please ?

 

[bosnjo]

Mine is the same

 

[Ambry1200]

Ok cheers

 

[bosnjo]

Well, the big bolt on mine has just found its way out of the thread. I was coming home this evening and heard strange "clonk" on every road imperfection, coming from the rear. When I parked the bike in my garage, there it was. The bolt was completely out, hanging just by the bit. I don't know how it didn't come off completely.
But, I'm not giving up just yet, as I like my hugger. So, instead of M10x75 bolt of excellent quality I have installed, I'm going to order M10x90 of the same quality and put nylock security nut on the other end. I already checked and there is more then enough space for the bolt to come out on the other end after I tight it well, so I can install the nut. Will see...

 

[Fagin]

Well, the big bolt on mine has just found its way out of the thread. I was coming home this evening and heard strange "clonk" on every road imperfection, coming from the rear. When I parked the bike in my garage, there it was. The bolt was completely out, hanging just by the bit. I don't know how it didn't come off completely.
But, I'm not giving up just yet, as I like my hugger. So, instead of M10x75 bolt of excellent quality I have installed, I'm going to order M10x90 of the same quality and put nylock security nut on the other end. I already checked and there is more then enough space for the bolt to come out on the other end after I tight it well, so I can install the nut. Will see...

This is so strange, my large M10 bolt holding my Chinese hugger on did exactly the same this last weekend after a couple of hundred miles or so of spirited riding. Just ordered a marine grade stainless M10 x 100mm cap head bolt and will secure it with a washer and Nyloc, fingers crossed.

 

[Mr Bean]

This is so strange, my large M10 bolt holding my Chinese hugger on did exactly the same this last weekend after a couple of hundred miles or so of spirited riding. Just ordered a marine grade stainless M10 x 100mm cap head bolt and will secure it with a washer and Nyloc, fingers crossed.

Is there a reason why Machineart Moto and Puig items cost more than knock off items from China?

 

[Hartley]

Colin.
As you’ve decided to stick with the hugger, once you’ve fitted the new bolts and torqued with loctite I’d suggest marking the bolts with a paint pen. You’ll see very quickly if they are loosening without physically checking they’re tight and probably “braking” the loctite in the process.

 

[sven]

Is there a reason why Machineart Moto and Puig items cost more than knock off items from China?

The aluminium mounting bracket on my genuine Puig hugger broke on tour in Europe. It was a very poor quality porous casting.