Hi All....

A question

new bike (unfaired)..... new rider...... crash bars or magic mushrooms/frame protectors (those plastic sticky out things)


Wayne

And.......your question is ???

Dont use either - they look sh%t! Im not convinced they do a lot of good and am more convinced that they do some bad.

Practise not crashing your bike or spend the money they wouold have cost on a day out with TC.

well i had engine bars on my naked kwaker - made me feel a bit more confident when I was a new rider
:tounge:

- I have crash bungs on the Cagiva cos it's cheaper than a new radiator if i drop it again (winter and slippy ice and that ) and you cant get bars for 'em


p.s. I have had a day out with TC - didn't make my legs any stronger when I put a foot down onto a patch of oily gravel

Crash Bungs/posts are ok as long as they fit to the frame solidly, mushrooms usually cause more damage than if they werent fitted,
crash bars do the same job as crash bungs, but wouldnt look right on an sv, bungs/posts are what you want imho. but as zombie says try not to drop the fecker in the 1st place-i would charge between £75-£100 to repair a fairing lower that has been dropped, more if its cracked-bear that in mind m8

I had crash bars on mine when it went down, still bent and cracked the casings but would have trashed the crank if they werent there as it went down heavy, but mine is an old bus and they look ok.

Crash bungs have been a fad for a few years and I dont recall a nationwide epidemic of knackered fairings. I take the point about your leg not getting stronger when you put your foot down in oily gravel but it couldnt have been invisible oily gravel surely. I fall off more than most in stationary or low speed situations and i just do the decent thing and stuff nmyself between bike and ground!
Seriously i just think they are a needless exspense and some of the designs defifintely damage frames.
Bloody can of coke sized lumps of nylon some of em - and what about the ones with bearings? Apparently they turn to reduce the impact and absorb energy ( same thing i spose) - thing is that the bike now slides further than it would hitting the kurb harder if you see what i mean.

i know what you mean zombie, these things will protect the bike if it falls off the stand for example or if you loose your balance & it topples over at a standstill, but if you're moving, then something has got to give.

The reason for wanting them is simple....I am going to be a new rider, riding a 4K bike....I'd rather not have a minor spill (every just dropping it at a standstill and end up wth a massve bill for new casings etc... I dont plan to come off, but then thats the reason we wear protective clothing.... just in case....

still dont know what to select....


Wayne

I know where youre coming from mate - its a worry breaking bits off a new bike - or any bike for that matter. If you want to get mushrooms or bungs or whatever then you get them and dont listen to me - remember, Ive never used em so who am i to comment?

I look at damage as a cost of ownership issue. Ive dropped bikes loads of times and generally only need clutch lever or a new indicator etc - its unusual to write off a fairing panlel in a statiuonary fall off.

[SIZE=1][SIZE=1][SIZE=1]MMMMMM reading this article set me a thinking??

I have them fitted on the xjr already on when I got the bike, and it's set me thinking as to the stress n' strains on the frame if a glancing blow or a slide were to happen what reaction would the mushrooms take as to stress and the like??

If my calculations are half right then they could do more harm than good, that is if the bike slides on its side and the mushroom dug into the road surface, then the tendency would be for the mushroom to try to twist as well as grind away.
If the mushroom dug into the r/surface then the twisting action would result in the frame or engine bracket being twisted in a backwards motion and tearing the frame and engine mount backwards resulting in more damage, not having them fitted could then be a wiser option..

Any one think Im nuts??........... OF COURSE NOT SQUIRREL.......


Then again???????????????????????????

I disagree, for such a action to occur there moust be sufficient leverage. a 'room, I feel would be far too small. I think the most that would happen is the bolt holding the 'room would sheer.

But then the effect of a motor casing beng wrenched against a frame would probably be greater. The 'rooms tend to be made of quite soft material which would generally wear away by grinding into the road....

My thoughts are crash bars are probably better as they spread the load over a number of fixing points, also they have a greater surface area and thus would slow the bike down faster that a mushroom.

Wayne

It would seem that you'de be better off spending your hard earned on a decent pair of boots rather than crash bungs/mushys that way you'll give yourself better grip when you put your foot down

& the mushroom will then dig into the panel thereby wrecking it, take it from one who has repaired a few fairings m8, mushrooms are a WASTE OF TIME & WILL DO MORE DAMAGE THAN ENOUGH.

1. no I was obviously not concentrating, but it could have been night time or early morning


2. how do you then get out from under

well i have engine bars on my GT550 & really rate them but i have no fairing.

magic mushrooms yes please then i would not care if the bike fell over i would be too sh!t faced.


oh sorry wrong magic mushrooms

I think crash bars would be better,like you say they spread the impact over a wider area. I was looking at a bike the other day fitted with mushrooms and I wondered why anybody would bolt a big steel rod on the side of their frame.It's got to act like a lever if you fall off when you're moving and twist the frame.