Update: Black Husky crash bars have arrived in our warehouse and began shipping today. We received more than enough to fill all outstanding orders. We genuinely appreciate your patience.
Ok, within a week we are going to have a lot of Alt Rider's in the field, and we already have a lot of SW-Motechs. Time for actual testing. We'll need a volunteer from each camp who's ready to execute a sequence of typical dual sport crashes / drops/ naps, etc. We can analyzed the photos of each incident as a group, and after careful consideration we'll know which bars are "best." Who's in? More seriously, it's great to see everyone who want's some type of crash protection will soon have it in place. Glad this is behind us.
I installed my SWM bars last night. Job not quite complete as I still need to modify my B&B bash plate, though the mounting bracket for that is pretty well done. Two things wrong with the bars. The right side upper mounting point has a recess to allow the bolt head to sit in. Problem is it is on the wrong (inner) side, not the outside. I think it was just welded on the wrong way around, but not fantastic quality control. The other issue is the left upper mounting bolt is too long, or the spacer isn't long enough, meaning I had to use one of the extra 4mm spacers from the lower mounting point. I also don't like how I now have a 15mm nut for the lower mounting bolt (upper front B&B mounting) and the lower B&B mounting bolt has a 16mm nut. Might just put the 16mm and some loctite on. Having said this, I think that possibly my knees would have rubbed on the Altrider bars and been a bit of an annoyance, so I'm happy enough with the SWM design.
Started by removing the two front plate bolts and rotating it down out of the way. Then I marked the frame using metal chalk. Removing the top bolt from the plate mounting bracket, I dry mounted the crash bar to measure how much to trim off the bracket. I then removed the bracket completely and trimmed out about 9mm on both sides, using the spacer for the left so as not to take out too much material Now I can see how much I'll need to trim off the plate itself. Not as much as I first thought. I rotated the mounting clips from vertical to horizontal. I anticipated having to drill holes lower down but I'm going to run with this. I figure any frontal impact will be spread over the entire plate and the bolts really only hold the plate up. Right side bar with bolt head recess on the wrong side! Mounted showing the protruding head Left side using extra 4mm spacer, but recess on the correct side
Altrider bars installed on strata. The enclosed instructions seemed a little inaccurate to the actual install. Tight fit to exhaust.
Yep that is tight...just as the a oil line and the exhaust on the back side of the engine. Hope to get the bars next week. No email from them yet. And I preordered.
altrider black crash bars are here! but i don't have a size 50 torx wrench, and my buddy moved away with his tool kit, so.... gotta wait for a bmw cruz tools to arrive in da mail. but i put my altrider black rear brake resevoir guard on - which i think looks good. almost farkled out, just a couple more things! here's a pic with the new husky trekker boxes - next pic hopefully i'll have the crash bars installed!
HARDER1.........when are we going to see those new black Altrider bars on the Terra. I went with the other brand but am anxious to see how the black bars look with the red plastics.
My black bars arrived today. Fantastic build and finish. I am mightily impressed. They even included the T50 bit which many people won't have in their tool kits. Now that is great service and clever thinking. Nothing worse than buying something and not having the parts you need to get it fitted straight away. Install was easy. I was racing against the setting sun after work today so I didn't have time to get any fancy photos. Here's the bike with my mess around it
Well I picked up on Friday and installed them Monday because I was riding single track all weekend I put on my new seat concepts tall seat and crash bars last night as well as a K60 rear tire. This Terra is ready for Idaho and Montana now! Sorry for the crap phone pics! These crash bars are beautifully built and will do the job! And here's a pic where I was playing all weekend...
+1 here. Tried to get off work early to meet up with fedex driver but didn't happen. So, rushed install before my sons scout meeting. It is on but need to get it up on the jack (level) so I can see if both sides are straight. Installation was uber easy maaaaaybe took 20 - 30 mins.
kjackbrown - thanks so much, i didn't even realize! i ran out to the garage to install my bars, and then........ somehow dropped the included bit into the depths of somewhere in the engine/skid plate abyss. looked for 20 minutes to no avail, shook the bike, etc. back to square one, and waiting for my toolkit in the mail. SOOOOOOO rookie
Any auto parts store (or harbor freight) will have a set with one as well. I got a socket set that had a T50 at HF for less than $10. Good to have.
My bars finally showed up today and I'll have to admit they look pretty high quality. I'd like to get out there and put them on but it's too freakin HOT out there. It will have to wait until morning.
