Why you should always wear protective gear & clean underwear

[deilenberger]

I think the real question is - do the guards touch down before soft bits (like the footpeg feelers) do? If so - probably not a swell idea if you corner with any enthusiasm. Many of the guards being used on the R12R were originally designed for the GS, which starts life with a good deal more ground clearance then our bikes.. then if you toss into the pot lowered suspension, this really could get critical.

If TL440 could locate a few burly people in his area, it would be interesting to do a lean the bike over until something touches exercise, and see what touches first. Probably wouldn't be 100% realistic (due to the rider not being on the bike compressing the suspension, or bumpy road eating up ground clearances) - but could reveal something of interest to anyone considering hard guards.

FWIW - I have never really considered hard guards since I have lowered my suspension (and maintained the original travel meaning at full compression it IS riding lower then the factory suspension), plus I've heard of incidents where the guards protected the cylinders, but tore out mounting holes in the engine (obviously with guards that used the engine for attachment points.) YMMV and different people have different priorities then mine, which is good since otherwise everyone would be riding my bike and that would be BORING..

[tobes]

As the others have said, sorry to hear about your bike but I'm glad you are here to tell the tale. I know we've had this discussion before but I'm running the metal BMW GS head guards. I've drug both sides around corners. The guards touch down the same time the pegs do and also leverage the rear wheel off the ground. I was lucky in that I did it on a very familiar curve and was able to pull the bike back up without low-siding. Now I'll take the guards off if I want to do that kind of aggressive riding. BTW I've dropped the bike twice on it's right side and the metal guard has held up great. Once was on a dirt road and the other time was a driveway drop.


IMG_4115 by mikeburawski, on Flickr

[Stef.]

Sorry to hear about your crash! Hope you are recovering soon. I have the SW Motech mounted as I talked to the BMW guys over here and a rider had an accident with the bike which would have been a total write off without the guards. The rider was fine. Frankly, but than I am probably a less adventureous rider...you have to lean over a hell of a lot before those guards scratch the ground...
Stef.

[roger l]

Stef:
Could you please take a photo of your bike straight from the front showing the guards? it will give me an idea of how much sticks out from the cylinder head and how much it will take away from the lean angle.

Thanks
Roger L

[sondey]

For those who would like to see where any accessories would touch pavement in relation to stock parts, here's something you could try. Get someone to hold the bike upright and straight from the side. Take a large enough board "sheet of plywood or similar" and slide it up till it touches both wheels from the other side. Lift it up until it touches something. It will not give you the angle of lean, but it might satisfy some questions you had.

[mogu83]

I have Hepco Becker bars, needed a place to mount a light. Tried to take a few pictures but their worthless because by moving the camera a little you can make the clearance look like whatever you want it to. Kind of like statistics. I would be surprised if I was losing anymore than 2 or 3 percent of lean angle. I've touched the peg feelers down on both sides and didn't hit the bars. IMHO it's an non-issue.

[Tarmac]

As I have pointed out before, even if you remove the "hero pegs", other things touch down before the heads, or the little plastic BMW head guards.

[Tarmac]

PS: Glad to hear the OP is ok.
Crashing sucks
Fix your bike and get back on it ASAP

[Rolando33]

As I have pointed out before, even if you remove the "hero pegs", other things touch down before the heads, or the little plastic BMW head guards.

That's a photo worth being proud about. Just don't tip "too far!"

[Steve H.]

Do you have any photos of the bike and the crash bars. I am thinking about buying the SW Motech bars and would like to see how they held up.

Roger L

Hi Roger!
I got SW-motec crashbars on my new '10 r12r.They are black on alpine white bike looks goody.Strong enaught to protect the bike&driver somewhat.There is nothing to protect you completly,but helps a lot!The designe is strong.
best regards
Steve H.