good bars and handguards = cheap crashing.

[PedroHM]

Seriously I can't recommend enough the need to get good hand guards and bars!

had a chick pull a U turn right in front of me about 10 meters from my house, BIG front end skid and ended up ditching. bike landed on right had side.

Total damage.. scratched (maybe slightly bent) footpeg, scratched rear brake lever with a tiny bend to toe bit, slight mark in footpeg holder chunk thing from footpeg folding up into it.

seriously thats it for a lowside, handguard took the blow, and is still straight in one piece and hardly moved, a bit rashed up but i don't care. picked bike up and rode away no worries. all the motovation crash protectors never even hit the ground.

IF I'd had the stock or no handguards I'd be nursing a busted right hand, a bent master / lever, bent bars, probably damaged panels and who knows what else. In fact I'm going to lay the bike over when i get home to check out what hits on both sides.

if I'd had fixed pegs i'd be up for a $20 guard and a $20 replaceable peg!

very happy indeed, big brakes and cold tires whilst lent over not good

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by PedroHM

Seriously I can't recommend enough the need to get good hand guards and bars!

had a chick pull a U turn right in front of me about 10 meters from my house, BIG front end skid and ended up ditching. bike landed on right had side.

Total damage.. scratched (maybe slightly bent) footpeg, scratched rear brake lever with a tiny bend to toe bit, slight mark in footpeg holder chunk thing from footpeg folding up into it.

seriously thats it for a lowside, handguard took the blow, and is still straight in one piece and hardly moved, a bit rashed up but i don't care. picked bike up and rode away no worries. all the motovation crash protectors never even hit the ground.

IF I'd had the stock or no handguards I'd be nursing a busted right hand, a bent master / lever, bent bars, probably damaged panels and who knows what else. In fact I'm going to lay the bike over when i get home to check out what hits on both sides.

if I'd had fixed pegs i'd be up for a $20 guard and a $20 replaceable peg!

very happy indeed, big brakes and cold tires whilst lent over not good

Bugga, not good but great to come out so unscathed!

[PedroHM]

yeah not bad eh. toes hurt tho. think bike landed on my foot. actually on closer inspection there was a black skuff on the high side plastic fairing from my boot! I rubbed it off with some spit.

I can't imagine how much pain i would be in if I wasn't wearing leather jacket, boots, gloves and kevlar jeans! I see tossers in T's and thongs riding like idiots. if only they knew.

[infidel]

What makes me shake my head is when they go to the trouble to wear jackets and gloves............but then wear shorts

[AZ_Scott]

Y'know, a few people here have ridiculed the use of handguards on a street bike, but I know one thing for sure: When I had my track crash on the Hyper, with my Acerbis handguards and Pro Taper bars installed, my left hand was about the only thing on the left side of my body that wasn't messed up! Without proper guards, I probably could have added a broken wrist/hand/fingers to the list of injuries...

I'm actually surprised they've never caught on with the road racing crowd. Not only would they prevent a lot of hand injuries, they also could stop some of those horrific accidents we see when someone's brake lever makes contact with another bike, i.e. Capirossi/Gibernau a couple years ago...

[PedroHM]

i guess its extra weight and drag!

one thing I've noticed is the bar risers are floating in i guess rubber bushes in the top tripple. they seem quite loose and move a lot. I thought it might be my knocking noise but the nuts under seem tight. I'm hoping the bars have tweaked in the clamp and letting it off will un tweak them back again. I'm guessing its a mm tops.

[shanetbird]

Sydney drivers, ^&%$ !!

You sold me pedro getting some oggy knobs "crash protectors"

glad you were NOT trashed

I had a copper in his own car U turned on me in Melbourne "total my near new bike back in 1991

he even tried to lie in the statement to local police


Remember its only metal and no flesh.

Shane Townsville "There drivers are worst here"

[infidel]

Originally Posted by PedroHM

i guess its extra weight and drag!

one thing I've noticed is the bar risers are floating in i guess rubber bushes in the top tripple. they seem quite loose and move a lot. I thought it might be my knocking noise but the nuts under seem tight. I'm hoping the bars have tweaked in the clamp and letting it off will un tweak them back again. I'm guessing its a mm tops.

Mate its probably the bar risers, but i've had the forks rotate in the top triple slightly when i've stacked other motards. Loosen everything - all your triple clamp bolts, the bar rise bolts and the bar clamp bolts. Give it a jiggle to relax it, square everything up and tighten again.

[GMP]

Glad your OK Pedro. Check your frame in the steering stop area. That is a joke of a steering stop. I think I'm going to come up with something to fix that, like buffers for the frame tubes where the fork can contact it. If I ever have the bike down to the frame I would certainly weld on a more substantial stop and recoat the frame. A simple bent steering stop can mean a totaled bike as far as the insurance co. is concerned!

In the off road world, the old argument some had against handguards was that you could trap your wrist in a crash, causing a nasty break. I'd bet the the bulk of the asphalt crowd is concerned with asthetics.

[scooter]

Good to hear you're okay. And thanks for posting up, you've changed my mind. One of my winter projects is to replace the handlebar and add new mirrors and grips. I was planning on going without handguards but I think you've convinced me to reconsider this choice. For me, it wasn't about looks or the minimal amount of weight I'd save, it was the money.

Scott, which Pro Taper bars did you choose?