Motor Mount

How much trouble is it to replace the front lower motor mount on an 02" RK?

Hey Ringo,

It’s not too difficult. I had to do it several times on my 98 because there was a batch of bad ones a few years ago and they would break after about a year.

First remove the two nuts for the regulator. They should be half inch and the regulator is sitting on studs. Pull the regulator off and let in hang to the side.

Next are the two bolts that hold the mount in to the frame and the one center bolt for the engine. They are all 9/16 on top and 5/8 on the bottom, pretty sure. All three should come out with no binding and the engine won’t move as long as you don’t remove the stabilizers links. Next, you have to lift the engine to get the mount out. I bought a aluminum car jack from Napa years ago. It is a small one, only 1.5 tons, low prifile, and it works great for stuff on the bike. Stick it under the engine and jack it up carefully until you can get the mount out and put in the new mount. Be careful you don’t pinch wires on top of the engine against the frame.

Stick the three bolts back in and slowly lower the engine while keeping the mount as centered as possible. The bolts should not bind when the engine is completely resting on the mount. I usually can do this while the bike is still on the kick stand too.

Also, mine doesn’t have a HD oil cooler so if yours does then that may get in the way. Can’t help you there.

Hope this helps.
T

You know, I went out and looked at my bike after I wrote this to make sure I didn't miss anything. The one thing that you end up having to do is loosen the bracket that bolts to the engine. You will need to do this to gain that small fraction of an inch that finally allows you to pull the rubber mount out. You can pull the bracket out altogether but it is not necessary. That is the only other thing I should have said earlier.

HRK you are right too. My jack actually has a rubber pad.

Also remove the lower stabilizer link bolt from the frame side but don't change the length of the linkage. It helps allow the engine to lift up a little bit further and won't effect the alignment as long as you don't change it.