[Straycat]

Hi Guys, I got my M109R last spring with 7,000km on it, and Im at 10,000km now. In the last 500km or so I noticed more engine vibration under load/ acceleration (~3500 rpm or so), so figured the soft front engine mounts were on need of a change. (per my learnings here on the forum).

Now, I dont know how hard it was ridden before I got it, but I dont beat on any of my bikes. Id also say that that gap between the trans/engine covers on the left side of the bike that I'd heard about as a "tell tale sign", was a perfect gap, no misalignment at all. However, I elected to do the upgrade anyway and bought the harder Suzuki rear mounts.

Not too bad of a job overall, did it by myself in 4 hours or so, I could easily shave an hour off that time now that I have done it once.

The original Front mounts were indeed F'd, so I'd say heed the good advice from forum members and do this mod !! if you have more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) its worth a shot, and isnt that hard to do yourself. There are "how-to's on this forum and on Youtube that will help you along the way.

 

[jobbyjim]

Hi Guys, I got my M109R last spring with 7,000km on it, and Im at 10,000km now. In the last 500km or so I noticed more engine vibration under load/ acceleration (~3500 rpm or so), so figured the soft front engine mounts were on need of a change. (per my learnings here on the forum).

Now, I dont know how hard it was ridden before I got it, but I dont beat on any of my bikes. Id also say that that gap between the trans/engine covers on the left side of the bike that I'd heard about as a "tell tale sign", was a perfect gap, no misalignment at all. However, I elected to do the upgrade anyway and bought the harder Suzuki rear mounts.

Not too bad of a job overall, did it by myself in 4 hours or so, I could easily shave an hour off that time now that I have done it once.

The original Front mounts were indeed F'd, so I'd say heed the good advice from forum members and do this mod !! if you have more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) its worth a shot, and isnt that hard to do yourself. There are "how-to's on this forum and on Youtube that will help you along the way.

Did mine last week as well but elected to use the aftermarket harder urethane mounts. My 9 has 12K miles on it. The original factory ones were toast. The job went easier than expected.

 

[Straycat]

I tried 4 or 5 times to get the aftermarket urathane items from Billydump/palamino Mfg. For weeks and weeks I tried and I got no reply. ( I wanted to pay via PayPal). Eventually the person responded (Tracy) saying they'd get back to me the next week when they had some made up and they would send me a PayPal invoice.....they never did. Very disappointing indeed, so I got tired of chasing them and I bought the Suzuki ones instead.

 

[StitchsLoft]

I had them done before mine left dealership and they said even with barley 6000 miles they were pretty worn on the front, rear were not bad...

 

[JUDAH-9]

I tried 4 or 5 times to get the aftermarket urathane items from Billydump/palamino Mfg. For weeks and weeks I tried and I got no reply. ( I wanted to pay via PayPal). Eventually the person responded (Tracy) saying they'd get back to me the next week when they had some made up and they would send me a PayPal invoice.....they never did. Very disappointing indeed, absolutely terrible customer service experience, so I got tired of chasing them and I bought the Suzuki ones instead.

I figured if it was that hard to make contact and get a commitment to send me a bill, the chances of me actually getting the product were slim.

I don't need to be spending my money at a business that 1) Cannot be bothered to reply to a customer enquiry and 2) fails to honour a commitment once they do decide to reply. I guess they didnt need the business that badly.

Things are not usually like that with Tracy and Billydump/Palamino Mfg. They had been very good about getting orders processed, and products/components shipped within a very reasonable time. Perhaps they are actually in a bind right now, with being able to provide certain products, due to the extreme drawdown in production of just about everything in our country, as a result of the affects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It has literally slown down just about every industry in the United States. I'm glad however, you were able to at least acquire some replacements. Did the Suzuki brand Motor Mounts fix the shaking/vibration problem you were having? If so, that's great, because that profuse-shaking is extremely annoying.

 

[jobbyjim]

Things are not usually like that with Tracy and Billydump/Palamino Mfg. They had been very good about getting orders processed, and products/components shipped within a very reasonable time. Perhaps they are actually in a bind right now, with being able to provide certain products, due to the extreme drawdown in production of just about everything in our country, as a result of the affects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It has literally slown down just about every industry in the United States. I'm glad however, you were able to at least acquire some replacements. Did the Suzuki brand Motor Mounts fix the shaking/vibration problem you were having? If so, that's great, because that profuse-shaking is extremely annoying.

Mine came from BillyDump in a few days after I ordered them (about 10 days ago). Better than turnaround at Partzilla...just sayin'.

 

[JUDAH-9]

Mine came from BillyDump in a few days after I ordered them (about 10 days ago). Better than turnaround at Partzilla...just sayin'.

Thanks for chiming in Bro. I will be ordering a couple of sets in the not-so-distant-future, to change out both the front and rear upper mounts on my 14' model. Thank God, I already have the BillyDump Motor Mounts on my 07' and 08' models. I truly believe they were having some problems with getting products in stock.

 

[Straycat]

Things are not usually like that with Tracy and Billydump/Palamino Mfg. They had been very good about getting orders processed, and products/components shipped within a very reasonable time. Perhaps they are actually in a bind right now, with being able to provide certain products, due to the extreme drawdown in production of just about everything in our country, as a result of the affects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It has literally slown down just about every industry in the United States. I'm glad however, you were able to at least acquire some replacements. Did the Suzuki brand Motor Mounts fix the shaking/vibration problem you were having? If so, that's great, because that profuse-shaking is extremely annoying.

Tracy did say "Im sorry you were disappointed" when I emailed him about my experience -- I felt it important to let him know what I had experienced. He basically just said I fell through the cracks, and he is a one man show dealing with high demand.

Any way, I cant ride my 9 yet. We are still in the depths of a Canadian winter here, I have 3 ft of snow on the ground and that means no riding till May most likely.

 

[cbxer55]

I'm still rolling on the factory installed mounts at 37,300+ and 15 years owning it. Not intending to change them. Bike doesn't bother me when I ride it, doesn't put my hands to sleep like my B-King does. So nope, not touching them.

 

[JUDAH-9]

Tracy did say "Im sorry you were disappointed" when I emailed him about my experience -- I felt it important to let him know what I had experienced. He basically just said I fell through the cracks, and he is a one man show dealing with high demand.

Any way, I cant ride my 9 yet. We are still in the depths of a Canadian winter here, I have 3 ft of snow on the ground and that means no riding till May most likely.

Since you have quite a bit of time on your hands until you'll be able to ride again, have you considered purchasing the far superior BillyDump Polyurethane Motor Mounts anyway, and sending those OEM Mounts back for a refund. Having had the experience of the difference in the two, the BillyDump Mounts are definitely worth making the change. I was skeptical at first, But, once I had my mounts swapped out by upgraded to the BillyDump Mounts, and took the bike out for a test ride, I could immediately feel/sense a huge improvement in how smooth the ride of my bike had become. The was literally NO visible or excessive vibration, and it's been absolutely wonderful since the upgraded BillyDump Mounts were installed.

 

[jobbyjim]

I'm still rolling on the factory installed mounts at 37,300+ and 17 years owning it. Not intending to change them. Bike doesn't bother me when I ride it, doesn't put my hands to sleep like my B-King does. So nope, not touching them.

17 years, so it isn't an M109R. Given the torque of the M109R, you are comparing apples to oranges.

 

[cbxer55]

17 years, so it isn't an M109R. Given the torque of the M109R, you are comparing apples to oranges.

What are you talking about. My bike is a 2006 M109R. Sorry, should be 15 years. I was thinking of my Lightning that I've owned 17 years.

 

[thevili]

17 years, so it isn't an M109R. Given the torque of the M109R, you are comparing apples to oranges.

Obviously his "17 yrs" missprint, was his overeagrenes to brag about his silver 2006
M109R he lost years count. Every second post of his, says how troubleless his 9 is.
So don´t mind him... Through-out he repeatedly drove nuts several of us... Keep smiling... :joke:

 

[JUDAH-9]

🥤🍿🍿🍿🥤

 

[jobbyjim]

I was amazed how poor mine were at 12K miles. I have driven a whole lot of bikes in my +50 years of riding, some extremely fast ones but none with the torque my 9 has. That is a big chunk of metal ratcheting up and down with throttle. It chews the stock ones up in short order. This forum is invaluable to learning about the deficiencies inherent to this model (clutch push pin, tube nut, dry as a bone driveshaft splines, etc.) that I knew nothing about when I bought it as the 3rd owner. The front motor mounts premature wearing out is a fact. If the information is out there and voiced by more than a few I tend to find merit with it. Some people ignore it-their choice. If I can make a lasting improvement without breaking the bank, I do it. In this case, if nothing more I learned something about the bike I pilot +100mph on a semi-frequent basis. Don't think I have been too far wrong with this approach in my 50 years but hey, everyone is different.

 

[Straycat]

Since you have quite a bit of time on your hands until you'll be able to ride again, have you considered purchasing the far superior BillyDump Polyurethane Motor Mounts anyway, and sending those OEM Mounts back for a refund. Having had the experience of the difference in the two, the BillyDump Mounts are definitely worth making the change. I was skeptical at first, But, once I had my mounts swapped out by upgraded to the BillyDump Mounts, and took the bike out for a test ride, I could immediately feel/sense a huge improvement in how smooth the ride of my bike had become. The was literally NO visible or excessive vibration, and it's been absolutely wonderful since the upgraded BillyDump Mounts were installed.

I had done the engine mount change to the new harder OEM mounts prior to the initial post above, so I cannot take the OEM mounts back.

If these ones wear out in another 10,000 km. I may consider the BillyDump ones again at that time.

 

[Straycat]

Actually, I may even contact billydump/Tracy again and see if he wants to give it a second try. Im all about second chances and happy to let bygones be bygones. Ill email Tracy and see if he wants to give it another go.

 

[JUDAH-9]

Actually, I may even contact billydump/Tracy again and see if he wants to give it a second try. Im all about second chances and happy to let bygones be bygones. Ill email Tracy and see if he wants to give it another go.

I'm glad you made that decision Straycat. I think things will work out much better this time around.😊👍🏽

 

[Straycat]

I'm glad you made that decision Straycat. I think things will work out much better this time around.😊👍🏽

Yep, life is too short to hold onto hard feelings. I emailed Tracy earlier this evening, so hopefully I will hear back from him.

 

[JUDAH-9]

Yep, life is too short to hold onto hard feelings. I emailed Tracy earlier this evening, so hopefully I will hear back from him.

Yes Sir! 😁👊🏽💥✋🏽💥👊🏽😁