Anyone not use cylinder head protection?

Hamslay

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My current GS had BMW engine bars fitted from new. I'm considering a 2016 bike and pricing up the options. I've not dropped a bike for a few years, and I figure that for the price of the engine bars I could probably afford to replace a damaged cover once or twice. I think the bike looks better with bars or head protectors, and BMW are happy to sell them unprotected. So, if I'm not taking the bike off-road, would I be in a tiny minority if I chose to leave the cylinder heads "au natural"? :nenau
 
I have never bothered with the guards for the same reason I.E the new covers are less than the protectors in lots of cases and the protectors themselves can cause plenty of damage if they rip out (if you get my drift) All that said damage to what lies within is a different story but if the off is that bad then bars or covers are probably the least of a worry.

Bars are probably more effective Which is the route i have taken before
 
I reckon the usefulness of bars is inversely proportional to whether or not you actually need them.

My last bike had bars on it from an hour after getting it home, till the day I traded it in. Not a scratch on it.

My new bike, I thought 'meh, last one was fine', an then I promptly ripped all the paint off one of the cylinder heads dropping it in the garage of all places.
 
The new adventure bars are ok.. my 1150 adv standard bars were lethal ! they dug in and caused the bike to flip over I had a set of hepco ones that although we're trashed did save the bike and didn't cause it to flip , the new bars on the 1200 seem ok not to many sticky out or square edges to catch and flip on, just don't crash or drop it and you'll never have a problem ! :-)
 
I have the X-heads as above, mainly to protect from low speed(parking/turning)falls. I like the look of them too and easily fitted in less than 30mins..Also much lighter than the bars. The cylinders and heads have great strengh, just the valve covers are fragile.
 
I Bought bars for my TE LC and dropped it up a curb, the only mark was scratches to the engine bar, glad I had them, even the panniers did not mark


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Nice 'n' Fat said:
I saw a TE spec GSA that had a broken nearside lower engine mount caused by the OE bars in a low speed spill :blast
Click to expand...

Collided with 44 ton artic in Germany last month. Left side crash bar on 3 month old GSA sheared off at the bottom, went through my boot into my foot breaking 3 bones. Part of engine casing sheared off and bike written off!

Doh!

Regards
 
Haven't run bars on HP2 for years now... but I am chewing through rocker cover guards like there's no tomorrow!
 
GSA_Jon said:
Collided with 44 ton artic in Germany last month. Left side crash bar on 3 month old GSA sheared off at the bottom, went through my boot into my foot breaking 3 bones. Part of engine casing sheared off and bike written off!

Doh!

Regards
Click to expand...

You have to wonder how much the bars took out of the impact...
 
Mav said:
You have to wonder how much the bars took out of the impact...
Click to expand...

Too true. Someone looked after me and my partner that day. Hopefully if make full recovery will be another GSA next year.
 
DING-DONG said:
The BMW bars are pointless to some respect as the pot cover still takes impact/scratches, and some bars will do more harm then good as the force of a drop goes directly to the frame ! Where as the BMW bars allow them to bend but the downside is as above !!

These get my vote.
http://www.nippynormans.com/product...lc-r1200-adventure-lc-r1200rt-lc-mam-x-headlc
Click to expand...

I ran these on my standard LC, they were spot on, and look nicer than the bars on the non adventure model. Up to about 20mph they'll do the job. Anything over about 20mph will normally involve the insurance company anyway.
 
The Nutty GSER said:
I ran these on my standard LC, they were spot on, and look nicer than the bars on the non adventure model. Up to about 20mph they'll do the job. Anything over about 20mph will normally involve the insurance company anyway.
Click to expand...

Yea, +1 for these , nor bad looking on the bike.
 
Thanks guys.

I still think the head looks way better without a plastic cover, but it does seem like I'd be in a minority of one if I actually chose to use the bike in that state. I wonder if more riders of non-adventure bikes, like the R1200R for example, would be more likely to forgo the covers in the interest of aesthetics and the perceived view that a topple is less likely.

Just out of interest, does anyone know the price of a replacement cover if it does get scratched up???
 
I have a GSA with engine bars and then bought X-heads thinking that I could fit them under the bars as a "belt and braces" measure.

Well, they don't fit under the bars especially on one side ...can't recall which. I emailed NN (the supplier) who contacted Machine Art. Machine Art offered up a "fix" which is to use cylinder spacers/washers behind the bar mountings.

BMW then threw a huge wobbly saying that doing such would potentially make the performance of the bars unsafe and could affect any warranty on the bike as it had been changed from its design safety specification.

At that point, "no-one" could help. I sold them to a GS LC TE owner and they look great on his bike.

If you own a GSA and you've "adjusted" your crash bars to accommodate the X-heads, it might be worth checking any factory small print. The BWM dealer I dealt with was not that happy about them. And as I don't want to invalidate any warranties on a 6 month old GSA, I'd rather bash the heads than risk BMW walking away from any warranty issues.

Gosh...it's a minefield out there....
 
Just my two pennies worth .
I have had the engine bars fitted to my 2013 since new ,
Dropped it on both sides numerous times, and had a low speed lay down at about 20mph going around a roundabout the bars took it , not a mark on either heads . ive buffed the marks out of the bars and they look good as new , that little rubber grommet between the heads and the bars basically tok the shock between the two metals .
Im glad i fitted them .
 
in a minor drop , the cover can be hole'd.

ie , you're stranded.

hence head protection.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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