Engine Crash Guards

[eroellig]

I have a friend of mine that got hit by a mattress that flew off a trailer about 3 months ago. He was almost killed. Broke an artery in his leg.... Also, no helmet or gloves. Three different people though he'd bought it. He pulled through. The guy that was behind him at the time worked in health care of some kind and looked him up after he came too. He told my friend that he rolled lengthways down the road instead of head-over-heels.

The thing that saved his legs was the engine crash guard on his Harley.

There is an engine guard on eBay right now for the xs1100 that I'm thinking about.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

I've done some searching about the guards for the XS but I keep getting refered to eBay.....

Some questions I have:

1) Will they fit with a Windjammer faring?

2) What about the lowers for the Windjammer?

3) How much of a pain-in-the-ass are they to live with?

4) Where do they attach? I haven't seen any pictures of an XS with them on.

5) Any idea what these were worth back in the day?

6) I see on this site that there are different types of guards available. What are the different types and pro's & con's of each? I think I saw in one thread that a one piece type won't co-exist with farings???

This is my first bike. My wet-gehind-the-ears rookiness is enough to make me wonder if these might not be a bad idea, plus it is obvious from my friend that 40 years experience isn't any proof against sweeping the pavement.

Thanks

Eric

[81xsproject]

About the fair, I am not sure, but would be willing to say yes as most people here have fairing and crashbars.

They are no kinda pain in the ass that I have noticed, although I have scraped the right in a hard lean On the same side of that, I would rather it that than my stator cover.

They go here and probably all the XS's you've seen have them.


Worth? Now you are talking relativity. They are getting harder to find every day. In turn the price on ebay is going up with the decrease is supply. I just sold the last brand new set I have seen on ebay since I bought them over a year ago. The went for over $50 to someone who was willing to pay almost $30 to ship them overseas. So, now it is down to getting them in the best possibel shape. I got the set I have now by looking for ones that APPEARED ugly. 10 min with steel wool... well look at the pic.

As far as the different kinds, I would just get what I could get the best deal on.

[Pat Kelly]

There are (AFAIK) 3 types of "crash bars, engine guards, case savers, leg savers, etc".
One type is a large loop of 1" (or so) tubing that ataches to the downtubes. These are usually mounted at 4 points to the frame using the motor mounts and/or U-bolts. I haven't seen this style on and XS1100 thought I have for the XStriples and most other bikes.
Then there is the type that mounts on either side (2 peices, one for each side) of the bike. These mount to the upper and lower motor mounts but not the frame. Of these Ive seen two types of mounting, 2-point and 3-point.
Two point mount in 2 places and cover the timeing and alternator cover(s). Since they are mounted at 2 spots they can bend or flex at the mounting easier.
The three point use 3 bolts and the mounting is in a triangle. They cover the same area of the bike but are much stronger.
I have the 2=point on my E and a set of 3-point for my LG that I have yet to install. I have used the loop on bikes in the past.

(just my opinion here from things I've XSperienced and read):
Pros:
-Handy place to put some highway/cruising pegs for an alternate foot position on long trips (don't use them in traffic).
-Handy spot to mount auxillary lights (I have a set of fog lights on my E).
-They can keep the engine cases from damage should the bike discontinue to remain on it's tires.
Cons:
-With that 1" bar you very well could be losing 1" of lean angle. To protect the cases it has to stick out.
-Some bars interfere with regular maintenence. They have to be removed to access parts of the bike (not always, but sometimes).

On my E I have a Pacifico fairing with lowers and it clears the caseguards (by 1/8th").

As to them protecting your legs in a crash. I've read cases where they have kept the bike off a downed riders leg. I've also read where the crash bars concentrated all the weight of the bike on the riders leg that was pinned under the bar.

Ya just never know. Helmets can save your head but you may still suffer serious bodily damage (Helmets do make it easier to identify the body). Leathers can keep you from losing skin but could cause you to over-heat causing you to crash. Driving a car surrounds you in a protective cocoon of metal but you may still bash your head into the interior. Seatbelts hold you in place but can jamb when you need to exit quickly (fire or submerged in water).

Life is compromises. You have to pick and choose what is best for your circumstances.

[eroellig]

Thanks for the quick reply guys!

I think I'll pursue these guards. When you see piggypi bidding on them, that'll be me

Eric

[Street_Rat78]

I know my guards didn't cause any problems with my Fairing. I even have the floorboards mounted onto them and still haven't had any problems. Wouldn't even consider taking them off.

Then again, I don't usually turn too tightly ((haven't officially laid it down yet, and I'm prolonging it as much as I can))

[Erik the Red]

Before bidding on Ebay, check w/ andreasweiss. I bought a set of crash bars this summer from him for really reasonable. I know that at that point he had two sets. (Mine are the two pieces that each look like a 'U')

[Street_Rat78]

Re: Engine Crash Guards

Originally posted by eroellig
Some questions I have:

1) Will they fit with a Windjammer faring?

2) What about the lowers for the Windjammer?

I stole this photo from eBay, not because I care about this so called art on the tank, but this is a good image to show you that even with the lowers for the faring, the guards still work out just fine.

Have a look:

[valhallan]

scraped a few

times on those sharper turns, definitly worth having! better the bars then the bike covers, and better either of those then my leg.

[JWSanders]

I wished I had had them on my bike a coupla months ago when I laid it on it's side. Timing cover ripped right off, damaging the bolt holes going into the block..

I got a set on Ebay of the 3-point type. It seems to me they'd be less prone to catching on something that the 2-point loops. They dont stick out as far as the 2-point ones do on my parts bike, either.

Just my 2cents....

[eroellig]

Erik, I popped a message off to Andreas just now. Thanks for the heads up!

The XS11 is worth having just to keep company with all you great people.... Thanks all for the additional info.

Eric

[mro]

They are great for protecting the bike, but don't count on em for anything else. When I went down it happened so fast all I could do was hold on. Low sided, pinned left foot under bike. The guards didn't help my foot, (steel toed boots did) but think that the guard may have keeped a lot of the weight off. Lucky? only slid about 2/3 feet and both wheels hit curb then the bike bucked me off on to my face and high sided over the curb.

Destroyed all my turn signals, small scrapes on both sides of gauges and head light. Screwed the bars. Scraped up bottom of both engine cases but would have destroyed the left side for sure if not for crash guards.

Right now mine are little mangeled but they will stay until I get new ones.


good luck
mro

if you ride long enough,
your going to crash

[valhallan]

should also mention..

when your passenger asks what that scraping noise is, don't tell 'em! my nephews reaction was "cool!" but i thought my wife was going to climb over top me in her panic. had to pull over, calm her down and explain the 97 reasons why it was ok to hear that... all the while hoping she wouldn't think of the possibilities of what would happen if that caught in a crack, pot hole etc. etc.

[Bigfoot]

I bought a set recently on e-bay. Decent condition and I think I paid $27. I haven't tested their crash protection yet but I think they look pretty good on these bikes.

[Tom Andersen]

I have the same type with my Windjammer with lowers, no problem with fit. I can't imagine scraping them in a turn. I hit a cow with a set of the three point guards, scraped them pretty bad but did not bend. (the cow didn't like them to much though)

[81xsproject]

Just to prove me wrong there is a brand new set on ebay right now.