Return to Lower Air Chaps page

(Engine Guard Part # 990A0-75037 for VL800/C50 Note: Suzuki has recently changed the design of the engine guards and assigned a new part number ending in 73 not 37, this guard will require drilling additional holes to match the holding clamps to the guard. Contact us to receive a free kit of additional pads and hardware to allow the installation if you have this version of the guard.)

The parts bag contains four stainless steel cushioned clamps and ten #10 stainless steel Nylock nuts (two spares) which are used to clamp the assembled deflector plates to the engine guards right beside the radiator.  Make sure the straight section of the engine guard is clean and free of any oil or grease before beginning to install the Lower Air Chaps deflector plates.

Remove the clamps from the parts bag and position them on the engine guards approximately 6 inches apart on the straight section of the engine guards with the top clamp 1 1/2 inches down from the curved section of the guard . Make sure the short tab end is pointing toward the engine and the longer tab pointing away from the engine. You may have to shape the clamp slightly to have it fit snuggly on to the engine guard.

The right side is shown in the photo. The same procedure is used for each side.

Bring the appropriate deflector plate up to the clamps with the screw ends pointing toward the back of the bike. You may have to move the clamps by jiggling them along the engine guard until the holes in the tabs line up with the mounting screws on the deflector plate.  Insert the screws into the lower clamp tabs and thread one of the Nylock nuts on to each of the screws.  Reach under the bottom of the deflector and make sure it is aligned with the bottom of the radiator cover as shown in the picture to the right. Adjust the position of the upper clamp and  thread nuts onto the upper clamp screws.

As you tighten the top and then the bottom nuts on the outside end of the clamps (away from the engine) pull the deflector plate Urethane friction pads against the radiator cover. Use a screw driver to prevent the head of the screw from rotating. The clamping nut on the fender washers can come loose if you do not do this and the Neoprene fender washers will not grip the deflector plate properly.

Once the outboard nuts have been tightened down on the upper and lower clamps, check again that the Urethane pads on deflector plate are against the radiator cover. Now tighten the inner nuts a little at a time alternating between the upper and lower nuts. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN. There should be 2 to 3 threads showing of the inner screws when the deflector plate is firmly held in place. Over tightening will cause severe stress on the deflector plate and could result in a fracture if it is hit by a substantial piece of road debris. The Urethane pads should be firmly pressing against the radiator cover and the deflector plate.

The photos below show  how the right side deflector plate looks when it has been properly installed.

The left side deflector plate is installed using the same procedure. It is important that the deflector plates line up with the bottom of the radiator cover if you are going to install the Middle Air Chaps deflector plate set. The shape and size of these parts have been selected to prevent interference when the front fork is turned full lock to either side. However, there are variations in each bike which may cause the Middle and Lower deflector plates to touch at full lock. In that case the Lower deflector plates should be lowered on the engine guard by loosening the both sets of Nylock nuts and moving the clamps down on the engine guard.  This will  lower the deflector plate to provide additional clearance between the Lower and Middle deflector plates at full lock. Use the same procedure as above to retighten the Lower deflector plates hardware.

This completes the installation of the Lower  Air Chaps deflector plates.

Return to top