Weekend farkling

[OverHillAndDale]

Weather is in the sunny south is taking a definite turn for the worse, so riding this weekend is unlikely. The good news: 1 bumpskid, 1 Baja Ron anti-sway bar, 1 missing belt guard. Sometimes farkling is (almost) as much fun as riding.

 

[Chupaca]

Sadly.....

you will have to wait for the fruits of your labor...the bar will impress you. Happy farkeling..:yes::yes:take your time....:thumbup:

 

[ursamajor35126]

Weather is in the sunny south is taking a definite turn for the worse, so riding this weekend is unlikely. The good news: 1 bumpskid, 1 Baja Ron anti-sway bar, 1 missing belt guard. Sometimes farkling is (almost) as much fun as riding.

Need any help? Already have the bump skid but need to learn how to do bar and belt guard. Not busy Saturday. Call me if you need me.

 

[OverHillAndDale]

1st dissappointment

Well, the parts came yesterday and I could hardly sleep anticipating installing them. That was before I was told we need to visit an uncle, go see my granddaughter, etc. (Of course, if I can't work on the bike nothing I'd rather do than see my granddaughter.)

I had a short time this morning to work, so I decided to start with the sway bar. I got the bike up on ramps, them I opened the package to get started. The parts all look very high quality.

So I started reading the instructions. They say don't get started unless you can achieve 22" - 24" of clearance for the step of removing the old sway bar and fitting in the new one. :yikes: My ramps only give me about 17". I don't think my hydraulic jack, jack stands, etc. will let me achieve that.

As major as this project is I'm going to put it on hold until I figure out a solution. I don't want to disassemble and find out I just can't finish. I'm open to suggestions on getting the front end up higher.

 

[OverHillAndDale]

Farkling frustration

I fear I might be a farkling failure. When I couldn't install the sway bar due to being unable to raise the front of the bike enough to give me 22' of clearance, I moved on to the missing belt guard. Nice product, well designed and put together, simple to install - goes on with an adhesive strip.

All you have to do to get started is remove an existing plastic belt guard held on with two bolts and backing nuts - what could be simple? So, I attached the correct torque drive to my drill, and discovered the backing nut spun with the bolt. I tried to reach back to the bolt - I could barely touch one and have yet to find the other with my fingers. I couldn't get a wrench on the nut and my fingers weren't strong enough to keep it from spinning.

So, I put the belt guard aside and began on farkle #3, the bumpskid. Nice product, simple to install, good instructions. I had barely gotten the old skid plate off (very beaten up and I don't remember ever scraping the bottom!), when my wife came home and the non-bike activities begin.

Apparently, I'm getting to old for this or the farkling fairies aren't helping me today. It's been a day of farkling failures so far. Maybe tomorrow....

 

[stormtrooper]

Weather is in the sunny south is taking a definite turn for the worse, so riding this weekend is unlikely. The good news: 1 bumpskid, 1 Baja Ron anti-sway bar, 1 missing belt guard.

You forgot to add the beer :cheers: and pizza :thumbup: Sorry on the bad news on your farkling.I just did the sway bar and bumpskid.Yes Spyder has to go up really high to get that sway bar out and back in.Bumpskid easier but still needs to get the Spyder in the air for drill access to do the drilling.

 

[OverHillAndDale]

You forgot to add the beer :cheers: and pizza :thumbup: Sorry on the bad news on your farkling.I just did the sway bar and bumpskid.Yes Spyder has to go up really high to get that sway bar out and back in.Bumpskid easier but still needs to get the Spyder in the air for drill access to do the drilling.

That might help. Many of my farklings would never have been completed without 2 beers (my limit), a cigar and 3 slices of pepperoni/sausage/mushroom thin crust.

 

[Cruzr Joe]

I hope that you got the Metal Helm Links when you ordered the new bar, the plastic BRP links leave a lot to be desired.


Cruzr Joe

 

[OverHillAndDale]

1 out of 3

Yes, I got the metal links ... if I can just get the front up high enough.

I got an hour or so this afternoon and finished the bumpskid. Simple, good looking, and very functional. I'll have to wait a week or so to get to the rest. Thanks for all the encouragement.

 

[MyEleanor]

I encountered the same issue with the sway bar except you actually read all the directions first. I had the bar disconnected and new links already on before I needed to lift the front of my Spyder. I borrowed a floor jack from a neighbor, put a small piece of wood between it and the center spar of the Spyder and lifted until I could get the old bar out. Then quickly positioned the new bar and lowered the Spyder back onto the ramps. Then reconnected and was done.

 

[OverHillAndDale]

2 out of 3

This weekend I installed the Baja Ron Sway bar. Many thanks to UrsaMajor for the several hours he gave helping me get it installed. I haven't had much opportunity to try it yet, but even driving around the block I could feel it was different.

My hats off to those of you who finished this project in a hour or two. By the time I set up the ramps, got the bike on them, removed the tupperware, figured out the instructions (complete but not really clear), and removed and replaced several of the nuts and bolts in impossibly tight areas we spent 4+ hours. Nothing was difficult but getting wrenches in those tiny areas, taking everything apart an putting it back together was time consuming for UrsaMajor and me.

Down to the "Missing Belt Guard". Maybe next weekend.

 

[ursamajor35126]

This weekend I installed the Baja Ron Sway bar. Many thanks to UrsaMajor for the several hours he gave helping me get it installed. I haven't had much opportunity to try it yet, but even driving around the block I could feel it was different.

My hats off to those of you who finished this project in a hour or two. By the time I set up the ramps, got the bike on them, removed the tupperware, figured out the instructions (complete but not really clear), and removed and replaced several of the nuts and bolts in impossibly tight areas we spent 4+ hours. Nothing was difficult but getting wrenches in those tiny areas, taking everything apart an putting it back together was time consuming for UrsaMajor and me.

Down to the "Missing Belt Guard". Maybe next weekend.

Only two Geezers can turn a 1.5 hour job into 3.5+ hours and have parts left over...:yikes: Oh well we learned a lot and had fun. Thanks Dale.

 

[robtdonna]

"All you have to do to get started is remove an existing plastic belt guard held on with two bolts and backing nuts - what could be simple? So, I attached the correct torque drive to my drill, and discovered the backing nut spun with the bolt. I tried to reach back to the bolt - I could barely touch one and have yet to find the other with my fingers. I couldn't get a wrench on the nut and my fingers weren't strong enough to keep it from spinning."
IF I remember correctly I had the same issue, I was able to come in from the opposite side with a 10mm socket and extension on the nut.

 

[JayBros]

IF I remember correctly I had the same issue, I was able to come in from the opposite side with a 10mm socket and extension on the nut.

I used an offset 10 mm box end wrench and found that orienting the wrench with the handle facing forward or aft as appropriate made the job very easy. Fortunately Spyderpops solves the re-installation problem with the clip on nuts.

 

[ARtraveler]

Busy, busy, busy. Still working up the energy to get down on the floor and install my KOTT grills. Going to have the dealer install the bumpskid for me as I cannot lift the :spyder2: and don't like drilling holes near the radiator hoses--even though the instructions are very good for the install.

 

[Dubld]

KOTT grilles

I installed the KOTT grilles from Spyderpops today. I really like the look. Big shout out to Spyderpops. The grilles are high quality and the shipping was really fast. Now, I need to get the bumpskid and BajaRon sway bar. I would have my dealer install those, as I have no way of lifting my Spyder.