Hand Guards
 

Hey Guys!

I'm bored of going out on my bike only to nearly lose my fingers through frostbite (not literally!)

I'm looking for a set of cheapyish handguards that will at least deflect the wind away from my ever so manly hands.

Been looking at some universal sets on ebay for around the �15 - �35 margin.

Question is, are these any good and what am I looking for fitment wise?

Regards.

:team[1]:

I,ve got the Yamaha hand guards and too be honist I dont think they help much as my hands freeze after just half an hour and thats with liner gloves and heated grips.
Cheers Bear.

Hand gaurds
 

Got mine from demon tweeks north wales �22.00 ish polysport and after a bit of cutting around the master cylinder they are fine and do the job. Regards neil4022:sunny:

Hand gaurds
 

Sorry forgot to mention fitted Oxford heated grips at the same time and they are great AND AT �45.00 OF FLEA BAY YOU CANNOT GO WRONG . :happy6:

I've got the same, and experience the same as Bear...cold hands after a short ride. You're better off doing what Neil has.

Bear...do you think the extension deflector bits would offer further protection from the cold?

Well, I'm glad you started this thread, as I was about to create one on handguards, after a morning's frustration with my tenere and a set of universal handguards. EVEN IF YOU'VE GOT HANDGUARDS FITTED, I SUGGEST YOU READ THIS AND CHECK YOUR OWN BIKES ....

.... I bought a set of 'Bike It' guards for �20. They looked and indeed are, great quality for the money, with full alu wrap-rounds with adjustable bolt holes and a pivot on inside bar position, to fine-tune fitting. After much unfastening/fastening of allen bolts - mainly on the cross tension bar to accommodate the new brackets and adaptation of the expansion bolts (bit of tape wrapped around to widen them and ensure a tight grip - a fine engineering solution don't you think? as the huge thread width of the Yamaha bar ends into a tapped end doesn't help!) I got them to fit rather nicely ....

.... NOW THE PROBLEM ... when I turned the bars full lock, both ways as a final check, there was little or no clearance between the edge of the handguard fastening bracket and the front leading edge of the petrol tank. Furthermore, when approaching full lock, the main plastic pieces of the handguards sit against the screen/lighting cowl. it's easy to see what would happen in a fall. The sudden jolt of impact would likely cause the bracket/plastic guard to smash into the tank/screen, possibly causing more damage than the broken lever the handguards are primarily intended to save!!

So, as stupid and obvious as it might sound - check the clearance on yours if you haven't already done so, even if they are bespoke for the tenere. Might save future damage and embarrassment.

I bought them to save money. I'll now either have to get a simple 'open-ended' cheap set (like my 03 V Strom) that offer less protection, or buy some from Yamaha/TT/OTR etc at vastly inflated price. UNLESS SOMEONE KNOWS OF A CHEAP OPTION THAT ACTUALLY FIT PROPERLY WITHOUT MODDING AND THAT DON'T CAUSE THIS 'TANK/SCREEN IMPACT PROBLEM'??? Please help/advise. Thanks.

Got these on my XTX, fitted with no modification required for �20.

http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk...Guards/Bike-It

In my opinion they really do help keep your hands warm, and deflect rain to a certain extent.

SelinaXT

Forgot to add .... I can avoid the problem by turning the guards upwards, but what's the point of that for off road riding, when it makes the levers sit BELOW the alu strengthening bar?! As you know, the levers are best in a slight downward position!!

Go for muffs. �45 easily fitted and removed and EXTREMELY toasty hot. I have no heated grips, just muffs, and my hands are warmer than on my TDM with heated grips and hand guards and winter gloves!

See HERE - delivery was quick and efficient too.

It's the best �45 I've spent! and the wiring is dead simple, even I could do it! :icon_thumleft:

I'm after lever and bar protection, not warmth. Can't see muffs offering much protection!!

Ah sorry I was replying to Dazmatic really... :computer:

Ah yeah, I can see where you coming from!

However, I think they're a little too hardcore for me on my XTX
Plus they probably wouldn't go with the style of the bike in all honesty!
I don't travel that many miles in all fairness, its only a couple of miles to work! but its enough in this winter weather for me to lose all feeling in my hands.

So ill probably go the route of handguards and MAYBE heated grips. Will have to see what the bank is like.

How easy/difficult are the grips to fit?

I like hardcore ;) . . . must admit whilst I'm always interested in muffs, the one's on the bike are not really "stylish" in the conventional sense of the word :laughing5:

Got the extra deflectors on from new!!

If they're the same as the Tenere ones they do approximately nothing. Before next winter I might use the pathetic little ones as a pattern to make some giant ones which mount to the handguards in the same way.

Or get some mighty muffs of power ;)

Hi dazmatic, I fitted the Oxford Heated Overgrips and they are great. I only go about 3 miles to work, and my hands dont get cold at all.
As regards fitting they are fairly easy, as the grips just velcro over the existing.
The electrics are fairly straight forward too. Click on search and enter 'Oxford Heated Grips' and in that thread I have posted some photo's as to where to get the positive feed from, and the negative comes straight off the battery.
I'd never had heated grips before, but I wouldn't be without them now! :blob9::sunny:

Doh!! Think I'll stick to warm weather riding then :D

There is only one real answer to cold hands. 'Leave the bike at home'.

Guards help keep the wind off (really good ones even help keep some of the rain off too).
Guard extensions cause a vortex that throws cold air over the back of your hands and down the cuff of you gloves.
Heated grips are great but you still get cold fingers and/or sweaty palms. With guards they are better 'but not much'

Now; if you put a good pair of Muffs on over your guards and heated grips and your gloves, you have the best of everything. Warm dry hands, properly deflected wind (no cold wrists) full waterproof and wind proof protection.

Ok they look a bit naff. But when you have an accident because you couldn't feel your fingers or you where distracted by you frozen digits????? :bricks:

I know which I'd prefer. But hey-ho each to their own. :eusa_whistle:


Val.


PS: you can take them off and stash them in about a minute if your that worrid about the image.

Hand Guards
 

I have the XTZ, bought the Touratec guards to fit on Renthal bars. After messing around with them I got them on BUT...they touched the edge of the screen on full lock and only just cleard the top of the tank. Not bad wind protection but not strong enough to protect the levers in a fall. (I have a cut down Puig screen and the Touratec guards if anyone is interested). Phase II was a 20mm rise on the bars (better for green laneing) and some Acerbis Rally Pro guards with wind deflectors. Really looks the business and offers good protection....BUT the brake line from the master cylinder runs right where the hand guard fixing bracket needs to be. I am now waiting for a HEL set of brake lines with a 15mm longer top line. Problem solved.����� Hope Kirsty doesn't see this.

Just a note on HEL make sure you go direct to them and NOT brake-lines.co.uk. Easy mistake to make as the web site looks like they are HEL. Having waited 3 week for my lines I eventually went direct to HEL who sent them the same day.

Colin

Hand Guards
 

Soz forgot the cold hands... I use Gerbring heated gloves...never have cold hands ever.

Colin