Do we really NEED barkbusters?

I have a set of super nice HDB guards and anti-vibe inserts. I ride a lot in the woods here in central Ca but I have never hit a tree with my bars. I'm sure the time will come but with me not flying through the woods and already having break-away levers, what's the real advantage of these things? I know not having them just saved Ray_Rays butt in the woods and George at Uptite does not like them at all.

I guess if you're not hitting trees the only advantage would be when the bike goes down it might keep some levers from breaking. Here in MO, we have lots of trees and my bark busters are well used. Smaller trees just get mowed down, makes the trail wider. I guess with no bark buster, they'd be hitting maybe my front brake and causing my wreck. I have 5 bikes and they all have em, even the KE 100.

The type with the metal bar saves your hands when you go down on asphalt. Without the metal bar, Id have fewer fingers. Apart from that, they´re protection against freezing rain, snow and sleet.

when you hit a tree hard you go down anyway but it saves your levers from braking and still being able to get home

riding in bushes and bamboo you need them other wise your hands including gloves will be ripped apart.

Robert-Jan

when you hit a tree hard you go down anyway but it saves your levers from braking and still being able to get home

riding in bushes and bamboo you need them other wise your hands including gloves will be ripped apart.

Robert-Jan

Not alot of hardwood trees here and I've never had them on my bikes and after ~10 yrs of riding and numerous numerous times of falling over and lots of minor crashes ... You gotta keep them just a little loose on the bar so that when they hit the ground, they will twist on the bar ....

Never broken a lever except once and that was on a MX track with a 8' high berm and I fell over from the top side and buried my hand grip about a 1/2 foot in the ground ... Can't say that for my friends with the japan bikes as they have a 5 GAL bucket full of broken perches ... Any fall over will break some of the crap perches off the bike ... But not off a Husky many times ... Bent maybe, but not broke ...

Those guys that ride in the desert \ cactus \ crazy bamboo probably have a real reason but overall, these things seem like insurance to me ... If you are worried about the cold weather, the guards that are only plastic pieces in front of the hand grips (like on the 08 TXC250 models) will keep the wind \ rain off your hands and warm enough to ride in most cases ...

I'm finally got a set of just the ALUM bar type coming that I'll probably swap between my bikes when they are not on my 2t machine... I gotta do something for this great 08 WR250 machine ...

I have raced in tight scrub [ lots of finger thick trees] without barkbusters and the constant hitting on my little fingers became painfull and there was nothing I could do about it except slow down and you can't do that..
I have barkbusters on all my bikes now .

I use the reinforced type and they will save your levers, fingers and when you drop the bike the grips stay clean of mud etc. Nothing worse than having to retire from a race just because you've broke a lever or a throttle.

How about the always-talked-about person who has two broken wrists from going over the front and getting trapped? I like mine but they are like tanks!
I didn't think about inadvertent front brake being hit and locking up, that may be reason enough to leave them be.

I ride in an area that has some pure rock sections, and I tend to fall down a bit, I could not ride without something out on the end of my bars, plus I like the cold hand protection of the plastic pieces. The pic respresents 2 years of falling over to the right. I just recently added the large fender washers to keep junk out of my throttle tube since I completely cut the end cap out to give me a smoother throttle.

I too have heard that old wives tale, not sure if it's true, it's possible but pretty unlikely.

I know someone who broke some bones in one wrist/hand when he went over the front and got hung up in his hand guard. I also know someone who did the same thing from hitting a tree and one of his flimsy plastic guards collapsed. He worked as a bike mechanic, lost his job for a long time and actually had to move back to Minnesota and live with mom and dad.

I use the cycra pro-bend handguards on both my husaberg and my wr150. I also have full hand-guards on my '79 or390. I won't ride with-out them. They keep the cold wind off my hands and stop tree branches from operating my clutch and front brake for me! They have also saved my levers and hands from damage due to trees,tip-overs,e.t.c. I also feel safer ripping through the woods with them installed.

I don't hit many trees. I use them mostly to save my levers in a fall. It's a pain to lose a lever deep in the gnarly stuff.

Yes, I broke my hand in two places without them. When I hit I also pinned the throttle from impact.

Mine look similar to OldHuskyRider's, but with only about 6 months worth of riding. I couldn't imagine riding without them. I hit trees too often with the bars.

I can't say if "we" need them, but I definitely do. A lot of our single track is barely a handlebar width between solid trees. Many rides I'm clipping trees on both sides. Also with branches over the trail, the plastic guards help to stop your hands from getting whipped.

Nothing worse than breaking through some overgrown trail only to have the bushes pull your front brake lever... That, and it makes me 10x more confident.

Maybe it's a California thing, but I have never had bark busters on any of my bikes, and I don't plan to. I do use brush guards and they serve my riding style well.