TR650 Crash bars

I would love to be able to agree with you Blakebird. but I went back and re-read altrider's post. there is no indication that they are posing this as an interim solution. It looks like they fully believe that this is an acceptable way to do business, and they have no interest in being an active participant in resolving this issue. Their post indicates that they have already solved it! The fact that they are changing their install instructions, and shipping every set of bars with a shiny (oohhh shiny!) hose clamp makes it seem like they're washing their hands of the whole thing.

I really liked the look of the bars on our bikes, but after watching this whole thing unfold, i'll look elsewhere.

--Chris

I think it beat out duct tape (by a slim margin)

Well since I was the first to post after their solution, I may share in the blame of the direction of the topic.

I sincerely hope that this dressing down brings them back with their heads down in shame. If they do not see the issue, and are to arrogant or scared to come back and take the ribbing, then maybe they need to pack up and sell ribbons to little old ladies.

Sure we're a tough crowd, DUH!

I ordered a pair of bags from Wolfman called 'the Hoops'. They can be used on the Wolfman / BRmoto racks when you aren't running your Expedition or Monarch Pass panniers. For carrying a few essentials. If you happened to get the SWmotech crash bars you can use the bags there. The bags have four 1" Velcro and two 2" Velcro pairs of tabs. You can use all but one to secure the bags to the racks. Mounted vertically there is no chance of the left bag getting onto the exhaust pipe. I'm carrying my spare tubes, tire inflator and a few CO2 cartridges in them. Keeps those 'stinky' tubes out of where I carry my clothing. They sell for $59 a pair.

IMHO A huge mistake on AltRiders part. I mean if you think about it - the people who have the Altrider crash bars are the people who really DO want to believe in the company - I mean they stuck it out through the shipping fiasco - and now they are getting shit on. Those buyers are obviously the types who really want to believe in and support this company. Altrider could easily "buy" a customer for life if they just put some money into this fix... I am sure they aren't making tons of money on this after all the backups and such but if they wan't to be a long term company - you can't have "official" fixes be, as many have said, trail side fixes.

They've had a few days to respond... Have they ignored everyone and hope this issue gets forgotten or is everyone at Altrider in panic mode?
At least a post would be good to let people know they acknowledge that people are unhappy and they will look into it.

Has anyone heard anything from them yet or gotten a sparkly hose clamp yet?

so do you like own them or work for them or something? can you make them come up with a better fix than the hose clamp?

Not my fault this time...

But then again, you're so awesome, daddy's little girl and all.

Indeed I am. You say it like it's a bad thing!

Let us not confuse the issue here. The "ribbing" Alt is receiving is well deserved. Alt tried to tell me, the day after they posted they were aware of the issue on this forum, that no issue was known to them. This leads me to believe that Alt's first line of defense was to take the corporate stance of no acknowledgement.

I'm sure it came down to $$$. A small company would take a big hit refunding for the bars already shipped, admitting that their design was flawed, and redesigning and sending out new bars to everyone who ordered them. But, if Alt is in this for the long haul and want to be respected in this field, that's exactly what they need to do.

The strap fix is better but it's still a Band-Aid. The redesigned bars should have the flat mounting stock already there lengthened and tapered along the frame so it would reach the upper of the two lower motor mounts. This would require two new parts be made and a new jig be made for welding. I'd consider this a "stand up guy" kind of fix.

Instead Alt took the Band-Aid approach and will for hereafter be known as the hose clamp fix company. If I'm spending my money buying parts they will be from a company that addresses problems and doesn't take short cuts.

I'm still wondering what you can do. i mean, do you like own them or work for them or something?

Regarding what seems to be regarded as the "real" fix to these AltRider bars. Would a metal strap that goes to the motor mount bolt interfere with any of the skid plates options? Would this create compatibility issues?

OK Altrider, this one is on me. I'm at work so I don't have access to CAD, but this took me 30 seconds to draw up using microsoft paint...


There is your solution. The tube on the top works as a sleeve for the bolt, and the hook on the bottom fits into the frame hole to prevent it from rising.
You can probably fab up a bunch of these for around $1/each and send them out instead of the hose clamp and have an actual solution.

I was thinking a simple solution might be along the lines of drilling/tapping a hole in the brackets for a set screw, then provide a template for the owner to drill a NON-THROUGH hole in the side of the frame. The set screw could be screwed into the indent, and would hold the frame from sliding further up from the desired point.
A non-through hole wouldn't be invasive to the integrity of the frame piece...

And make no mistake - I am not confusing the issue here. Altrider has taken more than it's share of hits that go beyond 'good natured ribbing'.
If it were my company and I was scrambling to save my good name - I'd want to be a participant in this thread to figure out a solution that satisfies my customer base.
It's hard to have a discussion with a bunch of pissed off people who don't seem to be too receptive to that kind of situation.

I have no dog in this race - I'm not a crash bar guy. Just making an observation that a pack of rabid dogs is not a very welcoming environment.

I'm headed back to getting another more serious dirtbike anyway - the Terra is excellent but not ideal for my uses. It's going to be showing up in the classifieds soon - is already in the Adv flea market.

Alt Title " Loose it and Refuse it"

I bought the Alt Rider TR650 crashbars last week (before reading this thread). Horrible, horrible design. My main issue was how they interfered with the ergonomics of the bike. My knees and the bars want to occupy the same space. One of them had to go. Yeah, it's great that they "follow the lines of the bike", but I don't give a hoot about that when I'm slid up on the front of the seat, trying to grip the tank, and the bars are digging into the side of my knee bones. Then it came time to take them off, and I thought "hey, I totally torqued these clamp bolts to spec - what's going on here? The bolts are loose!?" Then I realized the clamps had slid up the frame. Anyway, that's no new information to this thread, but I wanted to point out for prospective buyers that unless you're 5'2" you may find that the bars interfere with your body position.

Did you see the pictures of the installed bars on the Altrider website before purchasing this item?