Crash bars or not?

[flm842]

Hello. Brand new to the forum and a new to me 06 GS. I'm delighted to find such an active forum as this one available to share information on.

At the moment, I'm trying to get my head around adding crash bars (or not). The former owner of the bike who is a long term BMW rider told me that he did not install bars because, in the event of a crash, crash bars buggered things up worse than if you had none. His theory is that a cylinder head cover was cheaper than replacing the bars or whatever damage they themselves might have caused.

Now here's my theory. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am going to drop this bike. They will be slow speed or no speed drops. I'm 6'2" and fit enough to muscle the bike a little bit, but it is a heavy sucker and I might as well get used to have a spill or two. If not in the driveway, then certainly on the trail.

So, in my scenario, is there any reason not to have upper and lower bars? Before I spend all this money, I would love to have your opinions.

[marc]

Welcome to the forum.

In the 60's crash bars were like car bumpers. They didn't bend very easy and were attached directly to the frame. Hit something hard enough and the frame would bend causing more damage than the $9 it took to replace a valve cover. Also, if you ground a hole in the valve cover of a bike of that era you could always rotate it 90 degrees so the hole was up... it would get you home with minimal oil loss.

Today's crash bars give. They bend to absorb energy. It helps when a deer runs into your bike.



That said, I'd not spend any money for the upper bars. Their only use on a non-adventure bike is for looks. They protect against wearing a hole in the plastic tank as you slide down the road on the adventure model. The standard GS has plastic pieces that perform the same function. The bars may be more expensive. Also, when the top of the bike hits the ground the upper bars are driven into the plastic cover, damaging both.

On a simple drop or low side the tank never hits the ground. This is the extent of the damage to the front of the bike after a 30-40 MPH low side.



A similar sized patch of damage was done to my aluminum panniers. The tank never touched the ground.

[flm842]

Wow. Thanks for the reply. Your comment about the older crash bars being inflexible prompted me to remember that the comments coming from the former owner of this bike, was information passed on to him 15-20 years ago.

Apparently he, like I didn't get the memo about the bars that are available today.

So, are those Touratech bars in your photos?

[Pastor Passum]

Crash bars were the first thing I added to mys GS back in '05. They're the BMW bars and I understand the Hepco & Becker's are better but they've done their job twice in about 50,000 miles. Both were low speed get offs but I'd definately recommend engine crash bars especially if you're going off road.



Jim

[pdxrmccgs]

Yes I am down for crash bars because.....if your bike takes a nap
and to wake it up you have to change its orientation on the ground
to get positions correct for the lift up, the crash bar takes the brunt of any
grinding or sliding.

[marc]

Originally Posted by flm842

are those Touratech bars in your photos?

Hepco-Becker. Not quite as nice at touratech (painted steel instead of stainless), but not quite as expensive, either.

[flm842]

Thanks for all the responses. Very helpful and now there is no question that crash bars will be a necessity. At least for me.

I just need now to decide on which crash bars to buy and then I'll be all set.

All set? Hah! I wonder what the next item for the bike will be that I will soon regard as absolutely indispensable to my happiness and peace of mind. Let's see...I need a tank bag....can't ride without a tank bag....right?

[MotoGP]

I went with these. Just love em.

Customer ZTechnik • Accessories Exclusively for BMW Motorcycles

[MudMan_79]

These were what I went with for my GSA. From Adventure Designs.
Two spills downhill while offroading. They served their purpose. Cylinder heads came out unscathed.

[Fudmucker]

I fitted SW Motech lower and upper bars to my '09 1200GS.

I 'bumped into' a concrete bollard that jumped in front of me and scratched the bars, distorting the mountings at the engine. I hit it with enough force to throw me and the bike over onto the other side, where the side bars kept the magnesium valve covers off the ground.

I'm very happy that I fitted them!