In May 2008 I bought a pair of Machine-Art X-heads from Nippy Normans for my R1200GS. They looked lovely. However, the first occasion on which they were “tested” was Monday morning, 8 December, when I skidded on an icy bend at about 15-20 mph and the bike went over on its right side, and when being picked up was dropped onto its left side. Both of the X-heads snapped off from where they were fixed to the bike. The one on the right side cracked before it came off, and the rocker cover was badly damaged as the bike skidded on the road – exactly the sort of damage which the X-heads are supposed to prevent. The one on the left snapped off and the rocker cover was grazed by the road surface. The X-heads completely failed, and as a result my bike now needs new rocker/spark plug covers.
I wasn’t going to do anything but put it down to experience and a poor piece of kit which totally failed to afford any sort of protection when called upon. However, I notice that the NN website says,
“The X-head is designed to protect both the valve and spark plug covers. If a bike is dropped at speed, any material will wear at the point of contact, but polycarbonate will not break or puncture. Even a driveway drop will cause a bike to roll onto the face of the valve cover and X-Head’s wide shape helps to protect more area than other head covers.”
So: I sent the (broken) units to NN, who contacted me and offered me a replacement set or a set of the Touratech – which I chose and fitted this weekend. Look great, but not planning on testing them any time soon!
Anyway – great service from Nippy Normans, who get double thumbs up for great customer service.
I wasn’t going to do anything but put it down to experience and a poor piece of kit which totally failed to afford any sort of protection when called upon. However, I notice that the NN website says,
“The X-head is designed to protect both the valve and spark plug covers. If a bike is dropped at speed, any material will wear at the point of contact, but polycarbonate will not break or puncture. Even a driveway drop will cause a bike to roll onto the face of the valve cover and X-Head’s wide shape helps to protect more area than other head covers.”
So: I sent the (broken) units to NN, who contacted me and offered me a replacement set or a set of the Touratech – which I chose and fitted this weekend. Look great, but not planning on testing them any time soon!
Anyway – great service from Nippy Normans, who get double thumbs up for great customer service.
