SWMotech bars

[r12gecko]

Got a set today. Install looks pretty simple, but any tips or gotchas I should watch for?

[DeltaDagger]

Got a linky? I'm curious if the factory bar end weights will bolt on.

I'm looking for something with a little less rise and maybe less pull back angle on the grips.

[r12gecko]

Oops, should have mentioned they are "crash bars" - I prefer to call them engine guards...

[hoflix]

where did you get them from and how much?

I am looking for one too...

so far, I saw them at twistedthrottle, ascycles, and adventuremotorcycleparts All dot-com.

is there a better price anywhere?


how heavy are they? i can't find any references to that

[ka5ysy]

Got a set today. Install looks pretty simple, but any tips or gotchas I should watch for?

Get a sharpie marker and identify all the bolts and spacers by length and side. They are side specific and some are very close in appearance. The guards mount pretty easily, but you must take your time and carefully work them onto the cylinders. Get some blue loctite and use it on the bolt threads.

Let us know how you make out.

Since you are wanting to mount some bar ends, I think, check my thread on installation of Throttlemeisters with the addition of the GS Handguards here:

http://www.dualsportridersoflouisiana.c ... #post64401

Doug

[famousperson]

Got a set today. Install looks pretty simple, but any tips or gotchas I should watch for?

Get a sharpie marker and identify all the bolts and spacers by length and side. They are side specific and some are very close in appearance. The guards mount pretty easily, but you must take your time and carefully work them onto the cylinders. Get some blue loctite and use it on the bolt threads.

Doug

My SWMotech engine guards have been sitting since Christmas, since I have been hesitant about messing with the bike at all. Tell me, do the bolts that come with them replace bolts on the bike that have to be removed? If that is the case, wouldn't one have to be careful to torque them up carefully? If so, where would one get the torque specs from? If not, does how much they're tightened matter?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but I would really like to install them. My better half has been bugging me to get rid of various loose parts in the garage. If you saw the garage, you'd see that she has a point.

Peter

[r12gecko]

Doug, thanks for the tips. I'll be tackling in a week or so after a kayak trip I've got planned.

Got the bars at twisted throttle.

Peter, there was an instruction sheet wrapped with the fasteners in my package - it gave torque specs & explained where to re-use an existing fastener on the bike.

[ka5ysy]

My SWMotech engine guards have been sitting since Christmas, since I have been hesitant about messing with the bike at all. Tell me, do the bolts that come with them replace bolts on the bike that have to be removed? If that is the case, wouldn't one have to be careful to torque them up carefully? If so, where would one get the torque specs from? If not, does how much they're tightened matter?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but I would really like to install them. My better half has been bugging me to get rid of various loose parts in the garage. If you saw the garage, you'd see that she has a point.

Peter

Hi Peter: There are no dumb questions. The bolts that replace the standard hardware are in the package as noted above. There are also some torque specs if you have a torque wrench, otherwise, use the loctite blue on the threads, and run the bolts in to resistance, then snug them up a bit, but not the old "gorilla pull" method. Don't do this with a long breaker bar or long handled socket wrench so as not to over torque the bolts. Obviously a torque wrench is the preferred method. Save the OEM hardware someplace !

The only PITA bolts in the whole installation are the small left and right side front upper attachment bolts. These are easier to tighten with a small offset box or open end wrench. You can't get a socket on them directly because the tool angle caused by the engine guard bar interference at that point is a bit too much even for a flex joint. Do not snug up any of the bolts until you have all of them in place on a side so you can get all of them into their places easily.

It is an easy installation when you properly identify the parts as I suggested above. Measure the parts and mark them both on the instruction sheet and the bolt or spacer itself so you can identify them as you proceed. I placed the parts for each side separately, and placed the spacers on the appropriate bolt to avoid a lot of confusion. I took about 20 minutes per side proceeding slowly, and that included the "blessing" of the PITA bolts above.

[tl440]

I have them too, and am very pleased. Installation was no big deal, except for the small screws as noted above. That said, two questions: What are the plastic caps for? And, aren't the torque specs way to high? For 79 Nm I get 58 ft/lbs for example (or is my arithmetic wrong?). I just loktighted and snugged them up with a T-handle hex.

[famousperson]

I have them too, and am very pleased. Installation was no big deal, except for the small screws as noted above. That said, two questions: What are the plastic caps for? And, aren't the torque specs way to high? For 79 Nm I get 58 ft/lbs for example (or is my arithmetic wrong?). I just loktighted and snugged them up with a T-handle hex.

According to a converter I found on-line through Google, your number is correct. 1 Lb-Ft = 1.35582 Nm.