Chrome Grill Installation

[spete-o]

Quote from Seapup:
Yo spete-o, I love you new radiator grille... Will you please post pix over on the "M109R Pictures and Videos" board and give us your comments on quality (fit & finish) and ease of installation? Also, I assume this goes over the OEM grille... is it insulated to prevent buzzing?

This was a fairly simple mod to do. This how to thread will probably be tougher than the actual mod was.
Basically we're taking the OEM grill off, fastening chrome grill to OEM, and reinstalling the OEM grill.

Our manuel will lead you to believe that you have to take the tank off, remove radiator shrouds ect. ( which is what you need to do to do most radiator work), But to get the grill off all you have to do is
-remove tank bolt and lift it up enough to put a towel or something under it . Then slide the tank back and to the right just a bit. This will expose the phillips head screw in the left rad. shroud. Remove both fasteners at the neck. And the plastic tab in the bottom. Now the shroud cover is fasten only by a couple of rubber washer connections like you find on most of the body covers. Just pull forward to release first one, then lift up and you should be holding half a radiator shroud in your hands.
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/c/1/f/c1fde9df52851952d99f146a23f304750_large.jpg

Now it's time to remove the grill. It is fastened to the rad. with a 4mm bolt at the top and it clips on to each side of the rad. Unscrew and unclip and you should look like this.
http://image1.frappr.com/pix1/i/20070204/0/0/c/00c8533f415b546c3e177ff1575d41a90_large.jpg

Now its time to fit chrome grill over OEM. New grill has a tab on each side of the M109R logo that the OEM slips into. I needed to adjust the angle of the tabs to allow it to fit properly.
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/0/9/6/09655443b9abc458ae757f73c1e23d6d0_large.jpg
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/a/f/9/af9925cbfb9503d8f1c9947123ae02330_large.jpg

The new grill comes with a screw and plastic washer for fastening to top. It's best to drill a pilot hole. you'll see in the pic I have 2 holes. This was trial and error for me. The first hole I drilled was too far back and the angle of the grill and the shroud were off. Keep the hole towards the front edge of the OEM grill.
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/b/8/0/b808dd1e4023f5d3f6027dd6113463050_large.jpg
http://image1.frappr.com/pix1/i/20070204/f/4/3/f43316b328ded86ffb1ad6720bda89420_large.jpg

You may want to clean the radiator and other parts you can't get to with the covers on.

Now we're ready to finish the job. When reinstalling the grill, you'll want to clip the right side first since that cover is on. Then line up the bolt holes and clip the left side in. Tighten bolt. Put the parts back on in the reverse order they came off and you're done. Sorry I don't have any reassembly pics. Batterys died.
This is the finished mod.
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/6/f/6/6f6ef10811fe5684cb2ba2776045d6b60_large.jpg
http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20070204/c/7/8/c78fdd6b73db775470236e57a9e7e0a70_large.jpg

I bought this piece from the guy on ebay. It's a quality product that IMO adds a nice touch to the rad. and I think it may help keep the rad. cleaner too. :bigthumbsup:
Hope this helps anyone doing this mod.
Pete

[hosea135]

Thanks, every little bit helps.

[Moonbaby]

LOL.. ummm umm i dunno if i should say it or not... but i have the same grill cover... and it only takes approx 5 min to install..... this was WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more than you ever needed to do...

[seapup]

Thanks for the write-up Spete-o! Looks great and sounds like an easy installation. I'm going to order one! :bigthumbsup: :doorag: :super:

[Junco]

You save us a lot of work, thanks. :bigthumbsup:

[JUtah]

LOL.. ummm umm i dunno if i should say it or not... but i have the same grill cover... and it only takes approx 5 min to install..... this was WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more than you ever needed to do...


Care to Elaborate? Also... how about a link to where you guys found these on ebay?

[bcarmichael1]

I like the look it really add a nice touch to your bike.

[spete-o]

Care to Elaborate? Also... how about a link to where you guys found these on ebay?

Yea, elaborate. Maybe it took him longer to read the post than it would to do the mod. :joke:

Here is the link to E-bay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-M109R-M109-CHROME-Radiator-Cover-2006-2007-WOW_W0QQitemZ270091030317QQihZ017QQcategoryZ35583Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[JUtah]

Thanks for the link!
How's the quality?? I worry about it holding up as that area takes a beating from all the junk thrown up by the front tire

[spete-o]

Its a nice solid cover. Heavy gauge aluminum with a great chrome finish. It should stand up well.
Also, check that link i gave you. They now have 2 models. One has M109R cut into the bottom, and one with 1800 cut in. i'd hate for you to get the wrong one.

[snowpr]

looks great!!!! :bigthumbsup: :super:little on the high cost side...... as per the how to step.....If someone don't want to read.....just look at the pics....

[EAGLEFAN67]

I agree...it's a nice piece , got mine 2 weeks ago ...when I get my bike back....oh boy !

[Bruno]

Fellow 109ers, I have these on e-bay most of the time, but they normally sell out quickly. PM me if you want one and I will get you one. We are soon going to have one with a plain bottom as well. This is a very unique accessory and the quality is very, very good. Of all of the ones we have sold so far, I have only had to replace one so far.

[2006moy]

LOL.. ummm umm i dunno if i should say it or not... but i have the same grill cover... and it only takes approx 5 min to install..... this was WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more than you ever needed to do...


Id like to know how to do this as easy as 5 minutes also im considering this mod as well :bigthumbsup:

[Bruno]

We are doing a small design change to the Rad Covers: It has come to our attention that the tabs on the bottom of the covers are not bent enough to just "Slide" over the stock plastic radiator covers and have to be bent to fit properly. They are now being formed to the proper angle before chroming so that they do not have to be bent by the customer. This will aid in the isntallation process.

If anyone has any questions on the install process, feel free to PM me.

[Tube Tone 68]

Looks great on the black 109. :bigthumbsup:

[Joshua_109]

Looks great, but a little to pricey for me right now. Spent too much money on the 280 and new led signals all the way around and debeavering! But looks awesome! :bigthumbsup:

[aerobolt]

While I had to consult with Bruno to figure out the install on mine. Once I bent the bottom tabs at the correct angle it went right on the bottom of the stock plastic grill and then all you do is screw in the self tapping screw at the top into the stock plastic grill and you are finished. You do not have to remove any body parts and the install truly is a 5 min job.