Being something of a night owl / insomniac / nut, I thought that 10:30pm was a fine time to start installing my new SW-Motech crash guards. Here are my thoughts immediately following installation...
Overall, for around $200, this is a great accessory. They, in fact, very much look like they're supposed to be there, reminiscent (to me) of BMWs of yesteryear, as opposed to an obvious add-on; they serve a very useful purpose; and they'll make a great place to hang things like aux lights.
They arrived from Twisted Throttle about a week after I placed the order; everything was well-protected in bubble wrap (no foam peanuts - THANK YOU TWISTED THROTTLE!)
Tools you will need:
- torque wrench
- 8 and 10 mm hex keys, socketed for use with torque wrench
- T55 Torx bit
- 10 mm wrench
- medium-duty thread locker (e.g. Loctite blue, Permatex blue)
I strongly suggest:
- clip-light or other small flashlight
- soft-blow hammer
- regular ratchet for removing bolts
- using regular threadlocker, rather than the "gel" type.
General notes:
- As someone already pointed out, the hardware is different on the left and right side of the bike. The spacers and bolts are shorter on the right side, and the forward right-hand spacer has a cutout for the exhaust gas sensor.
- Yes, you are in fact going to be taking out the bolts that secure the rear frame to the engine.
- Pulling out those rear frame bolts took a lot less torque on the ratchet handle than I thought it would. The torque specs on the sheet from SW-Motech are actually higher than those recommended by BMW - 79 vs 55 Nm. I chose to use the higher values from SW-Motech for the frame-mount bolts; but in hindsight I probably should have stuck with the factory spec. (No sense in overtightening, and stripping those holes would make for a *real* bad day.)
- Overall, this was in the top-five ease of installation of an aftermarket part I've ever done. I was impressed with the fit-and-finish, and also with how everything lined up (mostly).
- The black caps go on the open ends of the bars, down at the bottom bracket. I put them on the bars before the bars went on the bike (thus the soft-blow hammer); they are a tight fit, and putting them on afterwards would have been ... irritating.
- The bolts that hold the bars at the top can be annoying to put in. It's a cramped location (front suspension, cylinder, cross bar, etc., not enough room for a socket) and while the line-up is pretty good, it's not perfect. Do these *first*, then do the ones at the bottom
- Re the spacers for the bottom bolts, place both of them before even doing the top bolt. Stick the one for the engine / frame mount in the hole in the frame, where it will be held nicely. You can lay the one for the front bolt on the exhaust pipe and wiggle it into place later (after the upper bolt is in).
- There *should* be enough space between the bars and cylinder head / cylinder on the LHS to put a PIAA clamp on for mounting lights, etc. I'll let you know when my clamps come in. There is more than enough space on the right side, leading me to observe that...
- The bars really highlight the cylinder longitudinal offset.
Good roads,
- Lewellen
