M109 Rider Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Engine guard install

71K views 174 replies 97 participants last post by  HyperPete 
#1 ·
Well I'll give this a shot, hopefully it will be of help to some of you out. The instructions that came with the guards are pretty good, but the pictures are terrible. I'm only going to highlight the things that I thought would have been nice to have known before starting.

First on step #3 in the instructions I decided that I did not want the tank to be sitting on the plastic side covers when I slide it back so I removed the covers. It is only one extra bolt, 4mm allen head at the bottom of the covers. Both side are pretty much the same with the exception of the seat lock, but the cable comes off easy.


After sliding the tank back you can see the phillips screw. Once the clip, the 2 4mm screws and the 2 phillips screws are removed the covers have to be popped apart, they have small tabs that go into the top of the radiator cowl.


Removing the radiator cowl took more force than I was expecting, I would recommend covering the rear of the front fender with something soft just in case the cowl hits the fender. Also while pulling on the top of the cowl mine split at the top, it looks like it was made to do that, but the instructions make no mention of it.


The hooks on the bottom of the cowl attach to the forward control mounts. I put an old blanket underneath to lay the cowl down on to slide it on without scratching it.



I used some medium strength thread lock (blue) on the bolts, might be a little overkill, but I feel better knowing that I did it.
Right lower bolt is the hex head bolt and washer.


Upper bolt is the shorter of the two 10mm bolts, washer and nut.


Right side installed, now on to the left.


Put the jack and block of wood on the front part of the engine mount only, it is what needs to be supported, not the lower part. I tried it first under both parts of the mount, but was unable to get the bolt started.


I would test fit the left upper before putting the wedge on, I had to use a round file on the hole to deburr it so the guard would go in.
Left top gets the 8mm bolt and the wedge, no washer.


Left lower gets the final bolt, 10x70mm, washer and spacer. The spacer goes between the control mount and the guard.


Left Installed.


Make sure to torque the bolts and put it all back together.



Now if it was just a little warmer I would love to go for a ride, it was about 34 degrees outside when I installed these so hopefully I do not end up with a cold. Even if I do it was worth every minute and I would do it all over again. I must say that I love my 9, but I think they should have done something to make it easier to check the coolant level, there has to be an easier way than removing half of the bike. And I thought checking the oil level was going to be bad. But despite it all she is worth it and I will enjoy every mile.

Ray

P.S. Lamonster I hope this isn't to long of a post, if it is please let me know. Just thought I would try to help provide some info to those who asked.
 
See less See more
14
#2 ·
Hi Renegade,

First off all, that is a really good explanation of the assembly. Now I have 2 questions for you:

1. are these the original case guards from Suzuki?

2. could you send me a picture showing your bike from the front? The reason is, that I would like to see, how wide these bars are.

my e-mail is: gsack@arcor.de

Thanks in advance

Petman
 
#6 ·
NIce work on the how to!! Thanks!!
 
#9 ·
I installed my engine guards last week. The left upper bolt when tightened would go through the frame and press up on a coolant hose. We cut the last 3 threads or so, re-installed and it was not touching the hose. And they do look great. I don't know why Suzuki would have such a long bolt in the kit. :dontknow:
Just want to save other people from coolant leaks. :bigthumbsup:
 
#10 ·
:super: technical post and illustration! :bigthumbsup:

Wondering if footpegs can be mounted on them for for extended trips ?

UNO 9
 
G
#12 ·
rynosback said:
I installed my engine guards last week. The left upper bolt when tightened would go through the frame and press up on a coolant hose. We cut the last 3 threads or so, re-installed and it was not touching the hose. And they do like great. I don't know why Suzuki would have such a long bolt in the kit. :dontknow:
Just want to save other people from coolant leaks. :bigthumbsup:
I just installed the left side guard and the top bolt was only slightly protruding. Instead of cutting the bolt, I got a rubber door stop that was laying in may garage and cut a piece off the end. One side of it had a nice recess that slipped over the protruding bolt and rested snugly against the coolant hose. Just another suggestion if anyone else has the same problem.

 
#14 ·
Just finished installing mine last night, Thanks for the great step by step.

I'm with the other 2 guys and cut about 3 threads down off of the top left bolt. I don't know why they would make it protrude into your rad hose, and I don't want to find out one day by having it rub a hole through the hose.

I never did figure out how to take the neck piece off that goes around the steering column.

I'm glad I finally put these on before the next riding season, they have only been sitting in a box since Sept..... Only 2 more months til I can get back on the road!
 
#15 ·
I just tried to put my on, but I can't seem to get my radiator shrowd off. It feels pretty loose at the top, but the bottom seems to be hanging on to something, and I didn't dare to yank on it to much.

Any tips here? (I did remove the upper steer shrowd and remove the screw in the upper part of the radiator shrowd). The instructions say to lean it forward and pull from the bottom, but it didn't seem to want to work like that.
 
#16 ·
Brim Reaper said:
I just tried to put my on, but I can't seem to get my radiator shrowd off. It feels pretty loose at the top, but the bottom seems to be hanging on to something, and I didn't dare to yank on it to much.

Any tips here? (I did remove the upper steer shrowd and remove the screw in the upper part of the radiator shrowd). The instructions say to lean it forward and pull from the bottom, but it didn't seem to want to work like that.
There are a couple push pins in the bottom, you have to look under the bike to see them. If I remember correctly, only one has the center pin, the other is just a large headed pin that you pry out.

The side covers themselves have a slot on each side that sits around parts of the frame. If you tilt the covers forward a bit you can see them, just half round tabs that wrap around the round frame. They just pull off, and you need to engage them first to get the side covers on if you remove them completely.
 
#18 ·
Once I got over my fear of breaking something when trying to remove the shrowd, I'd say the job should really only take about 1 hr or less. If you are taking the shrowd off for the first time and you don't have anyone around that has done it before, it may take longer (like me) as you try to figure out how it comes apart. Mine was really difficult to separate at the top.
 
#19 ·
pa_renegade said:
I must say that I love my 9, but I think they should have done something to make it easier to check the coolant level,
Ray
Great Post Ray, thanks for the how-to. I'll be doing this soon. I realize this thread is old but I was wondering if you found the coolant check/fill area on the left side of your bike yet? The filler CAN be accessed with a little dexterity and a hosed funnel. I bought 1 at Walmart.
 
#20 ·
pa_renegade said:
Make sure to torque the bolts and put it all back together.
My guards are on the front doorstep waiting for me to off of work.

Does anyone know what the factory torque specs are for the engine mount bolt that is being removed? What about the other three bolts?

Thanks in advance...
 
#22 ·
Wow, you did WAY more than me when I installed mine. I moved everything just enough to get to the bolts and it was on.. 15 minutes max..

P.S. I thought the bars were uneven looking from the front with the spacer between the frame and right side bar. So I put the spacer outside of the bar flange.

GREAT tutorial though... :bigthumbsup:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top