BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Has anybody mounted crash bars on their R1200R? If so, what brand? I've searched but can't find anything. Tourtech makes them for the RT but not the R.

I suppose the purists are horrified at the thought but it's a sport/touring bike and I'm more into touring than sport and I think the look would be appropriate.

I went for the SW-Motech's through TwistedThrottle. They are two piece with a major loop at the front, and a slightly smaller loop going 'round to the back of the cylinder.

I'm using them to mount a pair of SW-Motech fog lights and a Stebel air-horn.

In black, to match the pinstripes

Will have pics in the spring, when the Wee Beast comes out of storage.

Being as I'm not much of a toe dragger, I too don't mind the extra "bulk". While I'm not quite as adventuresome as ChiTown, I have been known to run out of pavement now and again and I like the protection.

(Besides, the last time I dropped a bike ['87 K75T] it was in the left turn lane at a stop light, where the camber was steeper that I was prepared for! ) Zero km/h and the engine guard came in handy!

Kyle

I also went for the SW-Motech.
I bought them primarily as leg rests, but they work great to mount lights.

Hopefully the link will work:

I purchased Wunderlich from Santa Cruz BMW, very pricely, but very well done. I subsequently found some from Touratec that equally as nice, for nearly half the costs.........

jgp

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I purchased Wunderlich from Santa Cruz BMW, very pricely, but very well done. I subsequently found some from Touratec that equally as nice, for nearly half the costs......... jgp


J - I wnt to the Touratech web site and I couldn't find any crash bars listed for the R1200R. Did you perhaps get a set for a GS or RT and mount them on your R? I talked with Bill at BMW of Daytona this morning. I asked him if BMW's GS crash bars would fit the R. He said no that they have different engine mounting points.

Silly question, perhaps, but I must ask.... What are your thoughts about the valve cover protectors that are mounted on top of the valve cover? They are made by several companies, in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel...

mkatz wrote:Silly question, perhaps, but I must ask.... What are your thoughts about the valve cover protectors that are mounted on top of the valve cover? They are made by several companies, in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel...

It's what I went with (the BMW ones) since any crash at a high enough speed to wear through them to the cylinder head is also likely to do enough damage the bike is a goner anyway.

People who have had low speed parking lot sort of dumps seem to find the plastic ones work fine. I thought about the stainless ones several places sell, but worry about damaging the mounting points in a parking lot dump due to the lack of give in the stainless protector.

And bars to me just look ugly on such an elegant bike. Look fine on a GS.. but to me - not on a Roadster.

mkatz wrote:Silly question, perhaps, but I must ask.... What are your thoughts about the valve cover protectors that are mounted on top of the valve cover? They are made by several companies, in plastic, aluminum and stainless steel...

I'm with deilenberger on this.. I put a pair of BMW protectors on my RR. I don't mind the looks at all, and I'm hoping I don't need any more protection than what they offer.

Corrections it was Twisted Throttle, not Touratec

jgp

I went for the Wunderlicht aluminium head protectors, I thought they suited the bike's looks. Cost about£94 ($200).

But do fit them before you drop it they do cover up the scratches though.

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/82923814@N00/2261343920/
Oops.my photo doesn't seem to show!
Phil

PhilSB wrote:I went for the Wunderlicht aluminium head protectors, I thought they suited the bike's looks. Cost about£94 ($200).

But do fit them before you drop it they do cover up the scratches though.

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/82923814@N00/2261343920/
Oops.my photo doesn't seem to show!
Phil

Phil, You somehow deleted the closing [img] command, edit the photo with that and it should work

+1 on the BMW (etc) plastic protectors.

My (then) SO dumped her R1150RS onto them a couple of times and they saved the heads, both on a mild slide down a cold slippery street and a sideways dump on a steep camber (she had long legs, but not that long ) The plastic worked at least as well as the old-style BMW loop bars on my R80 .

I had full BMW protection bars on a couple of bikes, and have seen them on others, and in a big off (eg my brother dumping my K100RT) the bars have to either break away or do damage to the motor themselves. So I think you gain little from them over the minimalist plastic

The best argument for the bar-type protectors is they look good holding large driving lights ... but it's not a look I've sought since I hung up my Belstaff for goretex .... oh, ouch.

I went for the Wunderlicht aluminium head protectors, I thought they suited the bike's looks. Cost about£94 ($200).

But do fit them before you drop it they do cover up the scratches though.

Phil



Ah well, maybe not

The problem with the BMW (plastic) protectors is that they tend to crack upon even low speed drops... ask me how I know.

One thing that had always worried me a little about the bike were the stock BMW plastic cylinder guards that were on the bike. Obviously these things are for tipover protection, and would probably not survive a bad crash with a long slide. After looking around I found these:

Verholen part number 11059, R1200GS cylinder protection, stainless steel and mount on the two lower rocker arm cover bolts. Nice heavy construction, much better than black plastic. There is a good half inch clearance inside the guards as well as a number of heavy rubber bumpers to protect the actual rocker arm cover. They also look very nice on the bike.

mkatz wrote:The problem with the BMW (plastic) protectors is that they tend to crack upon even low speed drops... ask me how I know.

The question is - was the valve cover damaged after this?

If the plastic protectors are sacrificial - they still are serving the purpose I bought them for.. protecting the valve cover without putting excess stress on the mounting points for the protectors. Protectors that are so strong or rigid as to damage the engine itself where they mount are worse than sacrificial ones IMHO. My goal is - the valve cover doesn't get holed in a 0 MPH tip-over.. so I can ride the bike home.

Don,

Great point... sometimes it takes a couple of times to get through to me.

You are correct: The valve covers themselves were intact though the plastic protectors had cracked as a result of low speed and zero speed drops.

I got to thinking about this on the way home from work last night... and am willing to bet that the BMW designs are made as a compromise of durability vs protection for the engine and keeping from harming the engine. I know people who got GS-Adventures complained that the engine protection bars were damaged at fairly low speed get offs.. but no engine damage occured. I have also heard of people with aftermarket engine protection bars breaking the mounting points on the engine castings. Given a choice - I'd rather replace the protection than the engine. And I bet BMW is the only one with the resources to actually test to see where the tradeoff should be made.

Sometimes it is the unintended consequences that you really have to watch out for..