I have owned enough motorcycles to know the value of crash bars, engine guards, case guards, whatever you want to call them. The previous owner of my XS1100 put the bike down and I spent the last few years collecting parts to repair all the remaining cosmetic damage. If the bike with crash bars goes down even once, the crash bars have paid for themselves, especially on a full fairing bike such as the FJR.
There were some options when it came to fairing protection on the FJR. There were little plastic nubs that attached to the frame. Supposedly the bike would ride on these nubs in a crash rather than touching the fairing. The nubs were less expensive and lighter but didnt inspire confidence. I wanted something more substantial. A company called 905 Racing made just the thing, a set of front and back crash bars. These provide many more contact points than the nubs do. They are more expensive and are heavier but should provide substantially more protection.
So far I have just fitted the fronts. I have yet to purchase a rear set. The installation of the front bars was more time consuming than I thought, however it was not difficult. 905 Racing provides great instructions and a very well organized bag of parts. All washers and spacers are prefitted to the bolts in the correct order and taped. There is no guessing. You grab the bolt you need, remove the tape, and install. Kudos to 905 for such an organized kit.
Still, the bars to fit exactly. It takes some flexing and progressive tightening to get everything to mate up correctly. It took me about 1 hour but its done and I am loving the results. The bars look great and are extremely stable.
I cant wait to do the rear bars.
|||