Deleted account 200123001
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Having decided that crash bars would be a welcome accessory for regular commuting the next question was which make?
The full Heed bar set advertised on ebay seemed good value, though of course you get what you pay for (generally).
So they turned up via courier with no problems, unpacked they were well wrapped and arrived in perfect condition.
The first part to fit was the tank bars, a little fiddly to get into place but nothing a little careful manoeuvring didn’t solve.
Next was the side panels with their associated brackets.
A little persuasion was necessary to get a fit on the sump mounting and a bit of oil to slide the side panels through the tank down tubes, but all in all pretty good fit.
I’d always intended to take the bike offroad and having already damaged the heads and tank from “mis-adventures” I was expecting good things on the protection front.
The key question…how have they faired against the abuse.
Having dropped the bike on them several times and even had them sliding down the tarmac for 10-20ft they have structurally held up quite well. Though there are notable areas of deformation.
They are quite light suggesting they are a softer steel alloy, this bears out from the “tarmac interface”.
Heavy grazing but no holes.
The deformation from the tumbles and the grazes have taken their toll. With cracked paint and numerous rust spots.
The paint is quite thin and areas near the exhaust are flaking away.
The previous winter was by no means harsh and salt application was fairly minimal so they didn't really get a battering from the corrosive stuff.
I would conclude that on the whole they have been good value and have saved the heads from extensive damage.
Not withstanding the damage caused by being dropped the heat damage means they will need treating with a better paint, I would estimate I’ve used them for about 10,000 miles.
Next job rub them down treat the heat damaged areas with high temp silver and spray the rest with silver hammerite.
The full Heed bar set advertised on ebay seemed good value, though of course you get what you pay for (generally).
So they turned up via courier with no problems, unpacked they were well wrapped and arrived in perfect condition.
The first part to fit was the tank bars, a little fiddly to get into place but nothing a little careful manoeuvring didn’t solve.
Next was the side panels with their associated brackets.
A little persuasion was necessary to get a fit on the sump mounting and a bit of oil to slide the side panels through the tank down tubes, but all in all pretty good fit.
I’d always intended to take the bike offroad and having already damaged the heads and tank from “mis-adventures” I was expecting good things on the protection front.
The key question…how have they faired against the abuse.
Having dropped the bike on them several times and even had them sliding down the tarmac for 10-20ft they have structurally held up quite well. Though there are notable areas of deformation.
They are quite light suggesting they are a softer steel alloy, this bears out from the “tarmac interface”.
Heavy grazing but no holes.
The deformation from the tumbles and the grazes have taken their toll. With cracked paint and numerous rust spots.
The paint is quite thin and areas near the exhaust are flaking away.
The previous winter was by no means harsh and salt application was fairly minimal so they didn't really get a battering from the corrosive stuff.
I would conclude that on the whole they have been good value and have saved the heads from extensive damage.
Not withstanding the damage caused by being dropped the heat damage means they will need treating with a better paint, I would estimate I’ve used them for about 10,000 miles.
Next job rub them down treat the heat damaged areas with high temp silver and spray the rest with silver hammerite.
