Sand on Wrong Side of Hugger

[Fuzzy]

After riding in rain with 670CC I noticed a significant accumulation of sand on top of my hugger.

 

[johnakay]

this is what I've been saying all the long regarding these huggers,they do NOT work.
I put a flap behind that.....

 

[SergeantChuck]

Spray goes everywhere and it carries sand with it. It billows like a cloud. I'm not so sure anything could can completely stop road debris from getting in those locations. I see the hugger primarily working against the larger stuff. JMHO

 

[ray]

Need a fender like this to be effective

 

[Fuzzy]

I understand hugger wrapped further around the tire would help. I also know that it gets less dirt here than without the hugger. To hit the shock it has to bounce off something else as apposed to direct high speed line off tire.

The pile of sand was new to me after 16,000 miles though.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I also know that it gets less dirt here than without the hugger.

My rear tire area actually looks cleaner than yours. All jokes aside. I'm sure it helps but seeing your photo is just one more reason why I won't invest. We all determine how much risk we'll accept and this is one area I'm willing to take the risk.

 

[ld_rider]

this is what I've been saying all the long regarding these huggers,they do NOT work.

I have been wondering about their effectiveness myself. When I look at a hugger and the direction the rear wheel spins, it seems to me a hugger is pretty useless. However, if the rear wheel was spinning backwards all the time, I think current hugger design would work great ;-)

What am I misunderstanding here?

 

[Big Thump]

this is what I've been saying all the long regarding these huggers,they do NOT work.
I put a flap behind that.....

Thanks for the post Fuzzy.
It appears you are correct about the hugger Johnakay! Is there a picture on here somewhere of the flap you installed?

 

[Fuzzy]

Here is a close up of my hugger with side bag off. The black line shows the direction material can be trhown on a tangent of the tire past the hugger but no direct line to the shock. It will bounce off the underside and get some material in the area of the shock. The red line shows potential direction thrown straight from the tire at the shock. My shock does stay cleaner with the hugger and I have no intention of removing it.

 

[Cyclerosis]

An observation I made when installing PR3's on my bike, is that the tread pattern on the front tire is the reverse of the tread pattern of the rear tire, when mounted according to the rotational direction of the arrows. The pattern on the front tire 'appears' to be designed to channel water from the outside edges of the tire to the center, while the rear tire pattern 'appears' to be designed to channel water from the center to the outside edges. I wonder if the pattern is also creating a perfect vortex for sand to accumulate on the hugger. Did you notice this build-up of sand when you had the stock tires mounted?

 

[bigjeff]

stay out of the sand....

 

[Fuzzy]

I have never noticed it with stock, 8000 miles on PR3 or 4000 miles on PR4. One difference is location and wet. Not much sand where I live, just red clay. Also if it hadn't been wet it would not have picked up and accumulated the same. At least I think not. I had ridden the area before. I was riding wihtout my side bags on left back at the campground which also makes a difference.

 

[dduelin]

I agree a rubber flap hung from the flat area to the left of the rear brake reservoir would seem to work better at keeping the shock and that entire area cleaner. Mine seems to......I've never had that kind of accumulation of dirt and sand on top of the swing arm but I may not have ridden in the same conditions you did although I've seen my share of wet and or muddy roads. My flap hangs below the crossmember of the swing arm.

This picture barely shows the rubber flap in the bottom left hand corner. It has a triangular yellow reflective sticker on it. Looking in the Mods sub forum should reveal other pics. I only installed it after seeing other owners post pics of theirs. Mine is a Honda Elite 80 scooter rear mud flap. It was the right width and height plus I had one lying around

I don't like the shock huggers or anything that tends to trap or hold moisture in hard to get to areas.

 

[NCer]

Huggers are not for protection from the dirt...... well, it's not it's primary purpose as far as I know....
It's designed to keep the tire warm, is it not?

 

[dduelin]

Huggers are not for protection from the dirt...... well, it's not it's primary purpose as far as I know....
It's designed to keep the tire warm, is it not?

HaHa that's a good one.

 

[L.B.S.]

The original design of huggers was for GP road racing aerodynamics.

Some of the first race bikes with huggers didn't even have the shock oriented in the "usual" spot we've come to pretty much take for granted, and they definitely weren't for road spray protection to try and help keep the bike cleaner.

Over time they have morphed a bit here and there to be anything from standard style aesthetics commonly expected (like beaks on ADV style bikes) and via aftermarket sources, if not an actual attempt at mimicking the front fender's actual purpose, a token nod to some function of such, without causing a fashion faux pas of being too "old guy". (think enclosed chains)

 

[bikerguy]

Heres a better solution, a flap with a shock R&G boot on the shock.

 

[ziggie]

Or just don't worry about the shock,if dirty spray it off.if it can't Handel a little dirt I will let mother Honda know about it.

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