Acerbis handguards on F650GS

[santrix]

Ok, anyone fitted these, much fiddling about? Looking for either type with ally inserts or not.. Anyone know of any part numbers etc as i understand (may be miss-informed) its a bit fiddly with the inner mount?

Any advice or experience would be appreciated.

cheers

 

[brassmonkey001]

I've got Acerbis Rallye Pro with a universal fitting kit on mine. Trouble is you can't utilise the expanding bolt doodahs that stop the guards twisting in a tumble on the standard BMW bars (not hollow, you see).

 

[santrix]

The OE handguards have been doing my head in for some time, personally for weather protection, they're good, for anything else, you may as well wrap a loaf of bread round the bar.

So I decided to get some Acerbis ones, not wanting to pay Touratech tax and shipping i just bought the Rally Pro Guards (the ones with the aluminium inner) and the 'variable' mounting kit, together with some spoilers, about 65-70 GBP.

Here's what i did...

Firstly, i have OE bars, which have a wedge of threaded steel welded into the end of the bars, so the expanding bolt you get with the mounting kit is out straight away.

The gaurds will not stretch to the ends of the lengthy bar weights, but they will go a little further out that the handlebar, solution, chop of the existing bar weight so it measure 21mm in length. Prime and paint the exposed metal.

This also means that you have to file away a bit of the pastic on the gaurds so that the outer end of the cut down bar weight makes a tidy mate with it.

The OE bolt for the bar end is M6, so i stick with that and just got a longer bolt, i think it was about 70mm.

The bolts you get with the mounting kit are M8 countersunk. Drill out the top of this bolt with a 6mm drill and chop it of, now you have a perfect countersunk washer for the M6 bolt.

To mount it you need to loosed of both of the clusters of controls so they move about, this allows access to the bolts for the handguards, which are mounted below the cross beam.

With a little bit of fettling they fit fine, with no interference to the clutch of break lever, its close, but not touching.

Remember locking compound on the M6 bolt, and hey presto, substantially stronger handguards, and personally i think they look pretty nifty too...

 

[brassmonkey001]

I did consider getting my bar end weights machined down as well but in the end I couldn't be bothered and just junked them. I had to saw a little bit off the end of the clutch lever instead.

 

[Stuart Fordyce]

What are the bars like for vibration santrix? Thinking about some handguards myself, and the BMW ones almost never come up on Ebay. Due to their pricing policy I refuse to buy Touratwat, so thinking either Acerbis or UFO.

Just wondered if there would be more vibration with the cut down bar ends.

 

[santrix]

To be honest i dont know about vibration, im going out tomorrow so i can report back, but ill probably be selling my OE handguards and TT spoilers on here soon..... so keep an eye out or pm me if your interested.

I have half a bar weight right now so i wouldnt have thought it'd too great a difference...

 

[komatias]

Instead of drilling the M8 bolt out, you can use the BMW part that clamps the guards in with the M6 bolt. that little black aluminium bit..you know the one I mean?

 

[santrix]

Its not quite the right shape.. the handguard id pre-countersunk to fit the countersink on an M8 bolt. The OE part although looks like it might do the job, does not make enough skin to skin contact (surface area contact) with the handguard to hold it well enough, if you get my drift.. sorta...

 

[snoopy]

You are showing no mechanical sympathy, whatever the feck that means.

 

[brassmonkey001]

Or you could buy a couple of M6 bolts with countersunk heads.
TBH, I've not really noticed any significant increase in vibration since ditching the bar end weights, and that's on TKC's as well.

 

[santrix]

Or you could buy a couple of M6 bolts with countersunk heads.
TBH, I've not really noticed any significant increase in vibration since ditching the bar end weights, and that's on TKC's as well.

If you can get M6 bolts with the same size countersunk head as an M8 bolt, tell me where, becuase i looked high and low..

 

[brassmonkey001]

If you can get M6 bolts with the same size countersunk head as an M8 bolt, tell me where, becuase i looked high and low..

I never said they were the same size.
You can also get countersunk anti-rattle washers as well.