Quote:
Originally Posted by
66T
+1. Keeping it as simple as is practical seems best. I thinks all those extra bars and such might be ok for open country, but in brush and tight going may hang up on low scrub etc and actually cause unnerving involuntary examination of said foliage at close range.
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Yip - and I've seen it cause problems on the UK green lanes too.
There seams to be an obsession with protecting the waterpump too - All I say is this, lay your bike down, and see how close the waterpump comes to the tarmac. In 4 years of these bikes covering the globe, I've only ever heard of two occasions where the waterpump has been smashed, there have been more occasions of the radiator being damaged.
Personally, my bike has seen more than it's share of horizontal time, the only protection I added was a bash plate, which has scars to prove it's worth. The 'Air Scoops' (no idea why Yamaha call then this) on the side of the tank do a fantastic job, and despite heavy testing (Ah,,hem) they have a few marks that you don't really see.
I did manage to bend the OE bars out of shape a little, but that was a great excuse to upgrade to some Renthals.
Also, I replaced the stupid plastic screws that hold the screen on with some alloy ones. There was a school of thought that these were there to save the screen in a fall. Unfortunately, it only takes a light fall to break all these. Since replacing mine I've had light to medium falls and the screen is fine and has never detached.
Consider a Snake Brake, to give the brake pedal some support, these are quite soft and the snake brake stops stuff getting stuck in behind the pedal.
Anything with Touratech written on it should be looked at carefully. The 'Regulator Protector' is a totally useless piece of kit, it protects a lump of steel only, not the regulator! Same goes for the brake reservoir protector. The Frame protectors are useful, but you can make a cheap pair of these yourself from some carbon fibre sheet at 1/4 of the cost.
I'd say you were better having the equipment to rectify problems on the bike, rather than lots and lots of protection. It's lighter and can be used to fix anything. Doesn't matter how much you protect the bike, chances are you will find a new way to brake it!