One logical result of freestyle motorcycle riding is a lot of bent motorcycles and broken plastic (over and above the broken bones). Drop your sportbike one time and you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars for new parts if you want to return your motorcycle to pristine condition.
The other day on Superbikes on SpeedTV, Jason Britton visited Freestyle Ingenuity. They produce a whole line of specialized bolt on protection products that mean a dropped bike just gets picked up and off you go, no broken pieces, no scratched and cracked plastic, no engine covers beat up, the protection parts take the fall so your bike doesn’t have to. It had to happen, who would ever try the sport if every practice session meant your bike might be out of commission?
Frame sliders have been around forever but the engine protection cages for sportbikes are fairly new, I believe, and they look like a great idea. Cruisers have always had those highway bars that sort of served as protection but they aren’t built to the same level as these cages. They’re built to fit specific bikes and you don’t have to be a street stunt rider to appreciate what benefits they provide. I notice BMW has crash bars built onto some of their GS models, too, so they know a little metal at the contact points isn’t a bad idea. These protection cages for motorcycles look like they would protect your bike even in fairly severe tumbles.
If painted or powder coated to blend with the rest of the bike or even in contrasting colors, they don’t look too bad. On a naked bike, they blend in pretty well, like on a Speed Triple for instance. Not for everyone but not a bad idea. No matter what you think of how they look, dump your bike one time and you’ll wish you had them on. Interesting.
Link: Freestyle Ingenuity
aaron says
bmw did a good job of incorporating crash bars into the k1200 lt. you don’t even know they’re there unless you really look.
I found a photo where aftermarket highway pegs were fit to the frame extension. stock it’s just a chrome bit that looks like a trim piece. bmw claims that it will protect the bike and rider, with just a bolt on bit needing replacement. here’s the photo….
http://www.hermys.com/camera/DSC02953.JPG
todd says
If insurance companies knew what these were for would they reduce your rates or increase them?
Some BMW’s that have crashed with “crash bars” on them have fared even worse than if they weren’t mounted. The bars are more rigid than cylinder heads and have often caused the bike to flip and roll over instead of just sliding on the valve cover.
I say, don’t crash and don’t ride like an idiot. If you want to do stunts and wreck your bike just to get right back up and do it again, buy an old dirt bike.
-todd
Eric Ulloa says
I own a 2008 Z1000 kawasaki it was very dificult to find sliders finally did and I’m not impressed with them, they are nice but it doesn’t convence me. One of my buddies has a crash kit on his Zusuki 1000 gsr and i think will be more in peace with the crash kit, already dropped my bike once belive or not nothing happened, but I don’t want to take the risk. Please if you can get back to me. Eric #2402810202.