1250GS what crash bars are compatible with X-heads

Mark1

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Hi soon to be the proud owner of an r1250gs Rallye the and looking at how best to protect the bike from stationary falls or low speed dismounts. Have seen X heads get good reviews but am unsure what crash bars to get, looking at BMW OEM, touratech and possibly wunderlich. I see from nippy Norman that OEM and wunderlich are compatible, no mention anywhere of touratech. However from images of the TT bars there does appear to be space. Anyone gone this route and or have images?
Mark
 
Unless you're going offload, I wouldn't bother with crash bars. I had X-Heads on all of my non ADV GS's, and they give all the protection you'll need. :thumb
 
Not sure why you would want both. I have the Wunderlich bars on mine and I think they will protect the heads in any low or no speed tumble.
 
Exactly as smogbob said have ridden GS's off road and am aware that whilst crash bars are good, one badly positioned rock or stone may penetrate the rocker cover despite crash bars being in place, hence doubling up. Had seen pics on nippy Norman's showing both OEM and Wunderlich bars fitting with X heads but was wondering about the Touratech bars which appear to give greater protection all over the head but could still be prone to a rogue rock penetrating the head. Thanks for your replies. Mark.
 
I have SW Motech bars on mine. I haven’t got the covers but looking at them I think they would easily fit. Sorry only pic I have at the moment.
 

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Mark1 said:
have ridden GS's off road and am aware that whilst crash bars are good, one badly positioned rock or stone may penetrate the rocker cover .
Click to expand...

A concept unknown to most in this section I'm afraid. I used the R+G carbon fibre ones which deal with most things but if 230kgs plus goes over and the first contact point is a sharp point on a rock then plastic or carbon fibre won't do much. Don't ask how I know.

Wundelich does infill plates for crash bars not sure if you can get them for any bars for a 1250 yet.

Going to go this route myself I think eventually.
 
blueranger said:
A concept unknown to most in this section I'm afraid. I used the R+G carbon fibre ones which deal with most things but if 230kgs plus goes over and the first contact point is a sharp point on a rock then plastic or carbon fibre won't do much. Don't ask how I know.

Wundelich does infill plates for crash bars not sure if you can get them for any bars for a 1250 yet.

Going to go this route myself I think eventually.
Click to expand...

Actually I am thinking of doing that also, simply because easier to take off the infill plates to check or change spark plugs than the X-heads on a 1200, not sure how much clearance on a 1250 so cannot comment on that.
 
I don't quite get it. If the X-Heads fits the OEM bars and the Wunderlich bars, then go for one of them. Both bars are fine. What is the problem?

As for removing the cylinder head cover and change sparkplugs without removing the bars: You don't want to do that. It's a pain.
It takes less than 5 min to remove the bar for each side, and checking valve clearance is done in half the time compared to doing the same with the bars in place.

I had X-heads on my 1200 GSA and have ordered them for my 1250.
Compared to the alternativs I think they look the best. Also, if you drop the bike and something hits that makes the X-head or its equivalent do their job, the outer surface of the X-head is slightly soft, and you simply wipe off the dirt. Anything in metal or CF will be scratched.

As for 3 or 4 points bars, I prefer the 3 - point bars. This makes the bar flex slightly, absorbing the shock.
Personally I prefer the BMW bars. They are very sturdy built, and if they bend, the crash will surely be an insurance case where the bars will be changed anyway. And the fact that the bar got bent means it has absorbed shock and protected the bike.

Wanting a 4-point crash bar is a bit like having a car where the front do not absorb shock in a collision.

My 2c. ;)
 
I decided to add to this already useful thread with my experience, as everything above is relevant.

Deleted account 191119001 said:
Says Nippys below.

https://www.nippynormans.com/mudsli...models-pair-r1250gs1250adv-r1250rt1250rs1250r




bilder hochladen forum
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Note in this picture that the top mount has not been connected (just below the red number 6). Once done this will raise the bar a few mm and will likely be contacting the x-head as mine does on that side.

My experience with these bars is very mixed, the fitment on the left side is poor for such a premium product, the cheap Kappa bars I fitted to my old Suzuki V-Strom fitted far more accurately with the mount points on the bike. It's like these bars have been manufactured for a bike several mm smaller, and Wunderlich haven't made the mount holes big enough to compensate for the small variances you're going to get between bikes, so there's a bit of lateral tension on the whole thing. That's just a general complaint unrelated to the X-heads.

Secondly, although they are compatible with the X-heads in that you can fit the bars, the gap on the left side is very small but is there, while on the right side the bar actually presses against the X-head. I think I'm going to have to buy some stainless steel spacers and play around to try to get a gap on that side.

xheads-and-bars.jpg
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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