This is good to hear. I'd really like to not get too rough with this bike before all the protection is in place.
They all look like the same exact thing. You just have to figure out who is the root source distributor and save some time and hopefully money. The pics are even all the same (maybe that's why the 'look' like the same :-) Safety First!
Not true. AltRider makes their own, right here in the USA. If you look closely, they run higher on the tank than the SW-Motech bars and the attachment points are fabricated much better than the SW-Motech. Yeah, they are more expensive, but a quick glance at the photos clearly show why. I can't say for certain, but I reckon SW-Motech is outsourcing their production. In my experience, any company that doesn't proudly advertise where their parts are made has a reason, most likely because it is outsourced to an overseas firm for production. I'll pay Euro prices for Euro gear, but not Chinese gear.
The Altrider bars look like they are pretty close to where my knees are. I'd rather not shatter a knee. Any thoughts on this being a problem?
I think it's more likely they will save your knee in a tip over, but I understand your concern. The way I see it, you can go without the bars and pay for bike parts and doctor bills, or get the bars and just pay doctor bills.
I'd rather have the bar a bit wider and farther forward. Would hope my knee lands on the plastic panel than on a steel bar. I am a bit spoiled by the lower leg protection offered by a boxer engine.
Ya, serious protection there on the Beemer. The SW Motech bars sound like a good fit for you socalrob. Too bad there aren't two TR's with both bar options on them making a world tour so we could see, touch, grab, and pull on em.
Based on photographs only, I'd say my knees don't go near as far forward as the bars. The forward most portion of the bars is where they flare out. Thus, in a tip over, it looks like the bars would create a big gap between the front of the bars and the rear racks, which is the gap where my leg would be sitting in a crash. Now, all that being said, this is a hypothetical type situation. I've never tipped over while seated. I've had plenty of "get-offs" but never a "stay-on" type accident.
Interesting that you see the altrider crash bars as a possible threat to your legs, but you consider the boxer engine to be leg protection. I think there are lots of parts on your bike that pose a threat if you crash, but because you're not strapped to the bike, if you do crash, you're more than likely not to be sitting on it in the normal riding position for long, so I wouldn't worry about it.
I'm thinking of getting tboned by a car as much as protection in a fall off road. In that case body position on the bike is critical. Car bumpers do indeed crush a lot of lower legs. As the TR is a dual sport, I'd like to see the protection both on and off road considered in the crash bar design, keeping in mind a knee injury could cost many times what a bike costs. Like you say, it is all a gamble/hypothetical guess.
I did have a stay on tip over. At a stop sign on my Hypermotard, my pants cuff caught on the clutch bleeder, I was already leaned a bit that side, and took a nice long, slow tip over. Ducatis have very brittle plastic. Cost about $700. Not a happy day. Looking at your photo I think you are right. As long as my knee/leg is not on the bar in a riding position.
This had me rolling. It reminds me of myself about seven years ago, but on a bicycle. I put some brand new Speedplay X2 pedals on my road bike, threw the cleats on my shoes, and set out from my barracks in Germany. I was 300yds down the street when I came to a stop sign on a corner near another unit's barracks. There were about 50 Soldiers outside barbecuing and drinking beer, and most of them I knew pretty well. I waved as I was passing, then quickly tried to stop for the stop sign, completely forgetting that I had new pedals. I kept jerking, and my feet weren't coming out. I finally came to a stop, and slowly fell down. To make matters worse, my feet never came out of the pedals, so I ended up rolling over like a possum, bike up in the air. Laughing my arse off at my own misfortune, I finally flipped on my side, got my feet out, and went and had a beer with my laughing friends while I adjusted the cleats.
That's funny RD! .Speedplay Frogs caused me some misery on my mountain bike. I did a whole bunch of mods to the bike including the Speedplay pedals and a new set of Fox Float forks. A buddy and I hit a trail we had never been on and it was extremely rocky. I beat the heck out of myself and my brand new forks because I couldn't get my feet out of the dang pedals. He was laughing the whole time.....until we started back down and hit a switch back with a huge rock in it. I yelled "watch out for that rock!". I waited about 5 minutes for him at the bottom of the hill and started back up to see what happened. He came around the corner and had a tore jersey and skinned up elbows and knees. I started laughing and asked "what happened?". He said "I hit the rock you told me to watch out for!". I never did get use to those pedals. I switched to Shimano's with multi directional release.
Seems there are many stories about people getting trapped in SPeedplays. All of my bikes, including the road bikes, have eggbeaters for just that reason.
It only happened to me the one time. I knew better than to take off without testing them while leaned up against a wall, but I was too eager to get out and ride. I actually don't do much road riding since I moved back to the US. Too many people texting and driving.
Nope. I was under the impression when they shipped an email would be sent to me with tracking info - but a quick scan of my email correspondence did not show that. I will probably email and ask next week.
