That's what I want to do is make a offset(or shoulder) on inside of bushing. This way no special puller/installer is needed, just a bolt with washers. Tighten till hit edge on bushing to get the 3.505 as noted on the track site. I just need to figuire out what length to make bushing so it ends in the same spot as stock on outside of swing arm.

Boss said I could have some ampco to make bushing as long as make on my own time. This is great stuff I've used it before on metric swing arm. Want to put grease fittings on both sides too.

 

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After having done enough research on the options I've found to feel comfortable with a decision, I've decided to go with True Track 20-00LR and True Pivot 20-19E.

Having said that, two things:

1. Where can a get a great price on these items??? I need to be kind to my wallet!

2. Are any of you biting your knuckles and wanting to say "don't do it!"? If so, please say so and why!!

Thanks again men (and women, if any have contributed), the guidance you've given here has been nothing short of amazing.

 

20-65EB has the same stuff and grbrown said it comes with new rubber too. So for couple dollars less you will get more. So go trackula and have it all. I would go that way if I wasn't able to make my own bushings,

 

I see reps/vendors at many of the bike shows, usually selling at a show discount rate.

 

I was about to order the TrueTrack Trackula kit, and I this quiet voice in my mind grew louder and louder as I clicked on the true-track page to place the order. That voice was saying "$700 is an awful lot of money. Do these products really represent the best bang for your buck? Have you really looked closely enough at Bagger Brace to rule it out?"

That voice got loud enough that I just couldn't ignore it so I called Ron, the designer and builder of Bagger Brace just to see what he had to say, which is what I did yesterday with True-Track (called to talk with them about their product, that is.)

Now I'm not trying to diss anyone here, and opinions as to which brace is best seem to have a nearly religious furver to them from camp to camp. I'm sure that both of these braces do a fine job.

True-Track's primary argument was (paraphrasing) "we are the ones who first identified this problem, the ones who devoted the R & D time to invent and patent a solution, and Bagger Brace is just another knock-off of our product."

While I don't doubt that True-Track was first, that doesn't mean that further innovation by others can't result in a superior product.

Looking at the Bagger Brace, and discussing with Ron the differences between his product and True-Track, leads me to see Bagger Brace not so much as a knock-off but more a different designer's take on how to solve the same problem that TT addresses. I don't know if Ron ever even saw a True-Track before designing his Bagger Brace (he might have, I don't know), but his design is definitely different and, to my mind, superior.

Granted, I am not a mechanical engineer and haven't seen data to support my position, but just looking at the two products - how they're made, what they're made of, and how they fit the machine, and how they attach to it - the BB just strikes me as a product that more elegantly controls the forces that make these bikes handle less than optimally from the factory, and the BB product sells for roughly 25% less than TT. That's pretty compelling to me, and that's why I changed my position and ordered the Bagger Brace.

As for the True-Pivot (the second part in the TT Trackula kit), it strikes me that with the lateral movement of the swing arm sufficiently mitigated by a product like Bagger Brace or True-Track, the amount of vertical and yaw motion that fresh rear motor mounts might allow wouldn't effect the handling of my bike enough to justify spending $300 for for a set of bronze bushings that replace the factory rubber mounts, which is essentially what True-Pivot is, and bronze bushings *must* transfer some amount of vibration to t he rider that rubber mounts don't.

So there you have it. My road to improved handling, with the help all who contributed here (and elsewhere), led to the following purchases:

Progressive Monotube up front
Progressive 440 out back
Bagger Brace underneath

The front motor mount was replaced just prior to my buying this bike, so a visual inspection should be enough to put my mind at ease there.

In addition to the above, I'll be taking on the following and replacing what needs to be replaced:
- rear motor mounts / swing arm bushings
- stearing head bearing check / replace, lube, adjust
- torque the riser bolts through the triple trees
- inspect / relace, lube wheel bearings
- vehicle alignment

From what I'm reading, that aught to get me where I want to get!

 

Z, you're not comparing the two products fairly! You could have bought a basic True-Track kit, without the Trackula. If you still have the stock cleve blocks in your bike then you're not going to get the best of either brand! That is what the Trackula kit does for us. Unfortunately Bitchin Baggers don't address the cleve block problem.

 

True track says there link after install will wear out the Cleve blocks in 10,000 miles.if bagger brace works as good it will do the same. You say the bronze replaces the rubber, not so, they replace Cleve blocks which are aluminium rubber silcone. The rubber on out side are called isolaters those stay no matter what you use. Most likely these just need replaced for all to be well enough.

 

Maybe it wasnt clear that i compared the Bagger Brace to the TrueTrack brace, not to the Trackula. It looks to be a superior product for $100 less. Have you looked closely at the Bagger Brace? if you have and you've found compelling engineering reasons why the True Track brace is superior, people who haven't made up their mind will definitely benefit, but every post-install review I've read about BB has been just as positive as TT, Cleve block issue aside since neither addresses that issue.

As for addressing the cleve block issue, I would think one could use True-Pivot to equal effect with either brace, no?

 

I over simplified by stating "rubber" and didn't know the full composition of the factory product in either case. Thanks for clarifying.

It seems odd that a product that reduces the range of forces being applied to the Cleve blocks would wear them out more quickly. The woman I spoke at length with at True Track didn't mention that to me, but it was probably an oversight.

While I understand the concept that replacing factory Cleve blocks with solid bushings will improve handling by limiting unwanted motion of the swingarm, I wonder if that incremental improvement is worth the $300 spend. If I've read the reviews correctly, people installing braces alone seem always to rave about the improvement, but I haven't seen the same degree of enthusiasm associated with Cleve block replacement. Did you experience a substantial improvement after upgrading from Cleve blocks as a stand-alone improvement? If so, I should probably re-visit the True-Pivot and similar solutions.

I just don't want to throw $300 at a small incremental improvement.