What is a hugger? It's just a plastic rear wheel cover. Does it play any functional role? Not really. Potentially it could prevent some mud and rock sling from impacting your undertail. But in real life, you really don't see that benefit because every hugger I've seen is just too short.
So in reality this is just a cosmetic mod, or a "poser mod". It sure won't do anything for the performance of the bike, so you might want to save your $250 for a Power Commander, a new set of pipes, two things that really will improve your ride, for about the same amount of money.
Nonetheless, it does improve the looks of your bike, if you can find 250 bones laying around. So take a look at my pictures and see if this is worthwhile for you.
At left you can see my bike totally stock, and at right, a rear wheel hugger is installed, the long black fender has been replaced with a Mototeck undertail. There is a pretty big change in the appearance of the bike.
Stat your hunt here, but keep looking...
Eurobikes: This is the hugger I installed. The price now is about $250, which is pretty steep for a piece of plastic. The installation is difficult because it requires complete removal of the rear wheel - not an easy task. There's nothing wrong with the plastic - I've had it for 5 years now - with just a few dings from rocks, but no other damage. Click the image to go to the manufacturer's web site.
Be sure to take a look around the web to see what else is available. As you look, your key concern should be the installation - does it require removal of the wheel? Is there any other difficult step? After all, it's just a piece of plastic - so if you're spending that kind of money, make sure the installation is hassle-free. For this reason, I'd make the Eurobikes your last choice - see if you can find something better.
Here is the appearance of my bike without a hugger. The underail has improved the looks, but now that naked rear wheel just seems all the more obvious and ugly. Sure, the license placement is also ugly - but I was in an experimental mood at the time (hee hee).
You'll have to completely remove the rear wheel. The GSXR shop manual will show you how to do that. Not only does this take about 20 minutes, but it's a bit difficult to do alone. It's better to have a helper. Furthermore this means that you'll have to put the wheel back on perfectly straight, and re-adjust your chain tension correctly. None of these things are impossible, but if you're not prepared to do all this, look for a product that does not require wheel removal at all -- you'll save yourself a lot of steps.
Also, you see here that you are required to install this bracket. The hugger then bolts on to the bracket. It is not designed to work with swingarm spools. Again, look to another manufacturer if you can.
The instructions that accompany the product are pretty clear. After you've removed the wheel and installed the bracket, the rest is just a few bolts and nuts to install. Here is a look at the final appearance.
Overall a good look - but can you find a bettter $ deal with less hassle?