Phazer tunnel protector thickness issues...

[jgustman]

Found out the hard way that studs will hit with a 3/4" tunnel protector when bottoming out at the rear of the tunnel. The guy I bought it from had installed some home made aluminum protectors along with 48 studs with actual stud height of approx. 1.1 inches. After careful measuring, the protectors are about .040" too short when you account for track lug deflection and stud height when bottoming out... I also noticed the tunnel had been slightly dented where the end of the protector stops just in front of the rear tunnel curved tail section.... This tells me the suspension will bottom far enough to put a lot of pressure on the protectors,,, enough to dent the tunnel. I was going to install taller/thicker tunnel protectors but this will compound the issue of denting the tunnel if bottoming out hard in the tail section... Not really happy about this. He should have installed the protectors to come further back into the curved section and possibly prevented denting the tunnel, but doesn't prevent the stress the tunnel is taking when bottoming out occasionally if you run tunnel protectors. Bad design flaw or don't worry and add the thicker protectors? I have some off a 2001 Sx-R that are just shy of an inch thick that would work...but will add even more stress if it bottoms out. Ideally, the sled shock should prevent hard bottoming but any hard landings or g-out bumps are inevitably going to happen.

 

[Pattygillz]

I made my own protectors from some scrap 1" x 0.06" aluminum square tubing. I bent the ends using some 1/2" steel rod as a bending guide and a set of vice jaws. Just bend and check the fit until they match the curve of the back of the tunnel. I was able to make a couple sets and have them anodized for about a quarter of what new ones cost and they should last much longer. I've bottomed out a few times and they are holding up pretty well.

 

[jgustman]

I just installed short pieces of the plastic protectors at the rear, but those would be ideal. I made some home made torsion spring spacers out off a 2" plastic pipe coupler in hopes of increasing rate and bring the spring closer to the bottoming stopper on the rail to limit suspension travel a bit to keep the track from bottoming out in the tunnel, still doesn't stop soon enough. If you take a jack and raise the rear of the track then compress the suspension to mimick a tail landing or wheelie you can see the track bottom in the tunnel with at least 1-1/2" left before the spring will bottom on the rail stopper/bumper, gotta make you wonder WTF was Yamaha thinking, puts a ton of stress on the rear off the tunnel and you don't actually have the advertised 16" of suspension travel either. I suspect is doesn't hit the tunnel if the front is compressed at the same time due to a decrease in the rail angle. If you never have a tail landing or wheelie then it's not an issue, but what fun is that? Not an issue to me anymore, sold the sled to a friend and she will never ride it hard enough to be an issue.