1) Raise the motorcycle with a bike stand, milk crate, etc., so the rear wheel is just slightly off the ground. **Be careful not to damage the oil line on the bottom of the engine case.  Remove the two 17 mm nuts from the link mounting bolts (both 14 mm headed mounting bolts come in from the left) that hold the stock “H” link to the rocker and the engine cradle.  Push both mounting bolts out the left side  *The swing arm may need to be raised slightly to allow the first bolt to slide out freely.

2) The new links come with only the bearings and seals, so install the center sleeve from your OEM link into the new KoubaLink.  Install the new link on the bike (bearing end forward) with the grease fitting facing down and towards the rear by pushing the front mounting bolt in from the left side.  You will have to raise the swing arm slightly to allow the center of the bearing end to move back enough to allow the bolt to align with the center of the bearing sleeve.  Next install the fork end mounting bolt.  You will have to raise the swing arm again to install the fork end mounting bolt.  *Left link engraving will be upside down and back wards, right side will be readable left to right.  You may need to pump some grease in now as sometimes tightening the mounting bolt nuts can seal the bearings too tight to allow the air to escape when pumping grease in.  Install the 17 mm nuts on the mounting bolts and torque to 60 lbs-ft. 

3)  If the link is used for lowering purposes only we recommend the rear race sag be set at  3.0" and you should get the amount of rear lowering claimed for that link.  You can run less rear sag for a little better ride but that does take away from the laden lowering amounts.  If you need to reset the rear race sag the easiest way we have found to adjust the rear spring preload is to use a long punch to loosen the top jam nut from the left, grasp the spring at the bottom and turn the spring and the preload nut at the same time.  **You may have to put some lube on the shock threads to allow the nut to turn freely and remove the rubber airbox flap to get access to the spring.  Turning the spring/nut "clockwise" increases the preload and decreases the sag.  **Do not forget to tighten the jam nut after setting the sag. 

4) You can slide the fork tubes up a maximum of 3/4" from the stock position (on our Strada the fork tubes were set at the 3rd index line down being even with the top of the upper triple clamp and our Terra was set at the 2nd index line.) by loosening the pinch bolts on the triple clamps.  How much you need to slide them up will depend on the amount of rear race sag.  Just keep in mind that lowering the rear more than the front slows the steering but makes it more stable on the striats and visa versa.  However much you change the fork tubes, be sure they are both set at the same position and that the triple clamp pinch bolts are torqued. *Do not over torque the triple clamp bolts.  (Husky recommends 13.5 ft. lbs. for both upper and lower pinch bolts.)  Sliding the fork tubes up farther than 3/4"could allow the tire to hit the fender if the forks are bottomed.  :-(

*Disclaimer:  Raising or lowering the rear more than the front can change the geometry and could affect the handling, so be careful out there. 

If you like what the KoubaLink does for your suspension, please tell everyone, if you do not, please tell us.  We can be contacted at our email address below and are always interested in your questions or comments.

Norm Kouba
Email:  njkouba@ix.netcom.com
 

Ordering info. and pricing can be found on our ORDER FORM.

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