After upgrading my suspension with the Progressive monotubes in front and 444 shocks in the rear the "hinge" in the center of the bike where the transmission, swingarm and frame meet became all that more apparent especially during "spirited" cornering. I looked at the True-Track unit and it appears to be well made and it's gotten good reviews but at around $400 it's a bit pricey. Then I found this Alloy-Art unit for about $130 on Amazon.

https://www.alloyart.com/bagger/tour...-09-to-present

It does basically the same thing as the True-Track from what I can see. The True-Track attaches the bottom of the transmission to the frame using 2 heim joints and some beefy brackets while the Alloy-Art unit attaches the top of the transmission to the frame using 2 heim joints one simple bracket and a machined spacer.

I installed it on Sunday and tested it out on a couple of hard corners on my ride to work this morning. My "butt dyno" says that the swingarm feels a lot more connected to the bike now. I plan to take the long route home this afternoon and that route has some corners in it that will give it a better test than the few corners available on my morning commute.

 

Awesome! How difficult was the installation?

 

The installation was fairly straightforward. The spacer attaches through a hex shaped hole that has a threaded insert that is used by the right mid frame heat shield. I removed the shield (2 bolts), installed the bolt back in the insert and used a hammer to pop the insert out. After installing the stabilizer I used a 1-3/8" hole saw to bore out the heat shield through the hole where the bolt went through (it will leave a "C" shaped cutout in the shield) and installed the heat shield with the 1-3/8" hole partially surrounding the base of the spacer. I then used a bolt and a threaded clip nut to hold the shield against the frame. I used the square hole about an inch away from the hex hole to do that. It took about as much time to do that as it did to type how to do it.....

The instructions didn't come with torque values for the hardware so I looked up the starter bolt torque value in my shop manual and used that for all 4 fasteners.

This link shows the installation but it was done on a bike without mid frame heat shields.
http://www.baggersmag.com/motorcycle...-touring-bikes

 

I gave it more thorough aggressive cornering test on the way home today. The route I took is one that I am very familiar with the corners on. The bike tracks the corners cleanly now where previously there was a slight but noticeable flex induced oscillation.

The stabilizer doesn't increase the engine vibration felt through the frame at idle or cruise, in fact it seems slightly smoother to me, except for when the EITMS kicks in. For some reason the stabilizer seems to transmit that motion into the frame a bit more strongly than before. Riding into work this morning it was cool enough that the EITMS didn't activate but it did on the ride home.

 

Interesting... I wonder if this will prevent the premature rear motor mount bushing wear alot of us have been seeing. And if some of us can use this who have out pipe (like MGS true duals) come through that section.

 

It sits about 1-1/4" off of the bulkhead behind the motor and well below the level of the exhaust port. The plug wires are above and extend further into the space than the stabilizer does.

 

I have also experienced some wobble as well but only in curves over 80 MPH. In my opinion the real solution is the GlidePro products since they addresse the issue at the source vs an add-on approach. With that said, I have not yet installed anything. When I do, I will go with the new shaft, bushings and front motor mount they offer.

I'm not affiliated with them but there are lots of YouTube videos by the owner explaining the system vs stock parts.

 

Keep in mind, most of the stuff you see and read about Glide-pro pertains to the pre 09's. I did the swap in my 09 because I was having some instability issues when cornering. The culprit was the rear isolators due to end play. After installing these, the end play was gone and so was the instability issues. If I were to do it again, I would have just used OEM isolators. If the OEMs last 40k+/- miles, I could replace them 4 times for what the glide pro costs. I love my ride but I doubt I'll have it for 160k miles... On 09+, before replacing them, I would highly recommend dropping the rear wheel, disconnecting the shocks, and check for end play/side to side movement to verify the issue before spending the big money.
And if you're taking a curve at 80 mph on a bagger, the issue might be behind the handlebars along with how much tire is actually in contact with the road and the condition of the road.

 

Can't wait to hear the results.

 

I put about 1000 miles on the bike last weekend and I think the Touring Frame Stabilizer really improves the feel of the bike in harder corners. The vague feeling that the front and rear wheels aren't quite following the same line is gone. I can't prove that the bike actually can corner any harder than it did without it, but I can say that I have more confidence stuffing it into a corner now.