[VijayAnand1]

Let me throw in my experience as well. Zana does make great products with decent pricing. Some of their products are definitely a wee bit overpriced but for what it has to offer, the quality of the welds, the quality of fasteners provided are all excellent quality and lasts really long. Second in line comes ILLUVIA Industries, IIRC, they have excellent range of products too, all well catered to the respective categories of motorcycles.

If only Indian fabricators can produce high quality, perfect fit accessories for Indian customers consistently, one definitely wouldn't need to shell 10k for a foreign brand that sells a radiator guard that's worth 3k for the same fit and finish. Zana and ILLUVIA and there are lots of others no-name vendors that do a good job of custom fabricating accessories which my memory struggles to refresh.

I am all for Make in India as long as quality, workmanship and materials justify the cost, and these guys are right there.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

[snappysam]

Your point is perfectly valid.
While reading through this thread, I too checked up the stock crash guard on my BS4 Duke 380. Stock Crash Guard is designed to break-off rather than cause damage to the frame.
So yes, take off the Zana and put back the stock Crash Guard.

[saikishor]

Thanks for all of your suggestions dear BHPians. I have decided to get the crash guards removed, and install the stock ones in place of them. Along with the Zana crash guards, I've also decided to remove the handguards, the tyre hugger and the Lluvia windshield. Removing all of these accesories make it look like a proper street naked which is ready to race at any time.

Saw BHPian Rshreyansh's Duke 390 in the threadhttps://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...-2021-a-2.html (Best clicks of your car / bike in 2021!) and fell in love with this look ever since.

[rahul4321]

The stock ones are absolutely fine. I have dropped the bike once or twice and while the crash guard is slightly chipped, it has still held up really well.

Because its such a short bike (not that I am tall), when it tipped over, i just jumped off as soon as the lean angle became too extreme and got away without any injuries.

Sure the crash guard is not as wide as the old Bullets but if something crashes into you from the front, the force of the impact will twist your body with extreme whiplash. Its not the legs only that you will have to worry about but a lot more.

Here is a picture of my bike. I am looking forward to a 1100 kilometere round trip to Pushkar next weekend.

Keep it stock; its more than adequate to protect the motorcycle and adequate enough for your legs. The Zana ones are overkill. More pictures can be found here if you would like to take a peek.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...l-enfield.html (My ownership review of the KTM Duke 390, and how it pushed me back towards owning a Royal Enfield)

[Rshreyansh]

Originally Posted by saikishor

Thanks for all of your suggestions dear BHPians. I have decided to get the crash guards removed, and install the stock ones in place of them. Along with the Zana crash guards, I've also decided to remove the handguards, the tyre hugger and the Lluvia windshield. Removing all of these accesories make it look like a proper street naked which is ready to race at any time.


Saw BHPian Rshreyansh's Duke 390 in the threadhttps://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...-2021-a-2.html (Best clicks of your car / bike in 2021!) and fell in love with this look ever since.

You are absolutely spot on with your observation. On the day of delivery itself I had decided to remove the handguards, the Saree guard, the rear tyre hugger to make it look like the hooligan that it actually is.

Really glad you liked the look.
Recently, I have added the big 390 sticker under the rear seat that comes stock with the BS4 Duke 390, to enhance its overall appearance.

[saikishor]

Found some time on Tuesday, so decided to get rid of all the accesories on the bike. I went to dynamic ryders to get them uninstalled, and decided not to go there again. Damage done to wallet:1000 bucks.
List of parts/accesories removed:
Handguards
Lluvia visor
Zana crashguards
Tyre hugger

Parts installed:
Stock numberplate bracket
Bobo phone mount wires rerouted to battery.

Bike feels so much more nimble now, I can feel it everytime I zip through traffic.

Here are some before and after shots:

[rahul4321]

Glad to see you took the right decision. I just returned fro a 700 kilometers round trip from Ahmedabad to Daman and during the course of this trip- i unfortunately dropped the motorcycle. I was trying to take a U turn and was just nudging the motorcycle slowly tip toe (I am a short guy). There was a small pothole which I did not see. I tried to find a footing but couldn't due to the pothole. By the time, I found a foothold inside the pothole, the motorcycle was at an acute lean angle and I couldn't bring it upright again and i had to drop it.

Motorcycle is absolutely fine. No damage to the engine or the steering geometry. The crash guard now has a chip as you can see in the picture below but it did its job. Its not its first rodeo. Where you see the chipping and rust - is where the motorcycle has landed atleast 5 times over the past 4 years.

I seriously sometimes wish to God that I had more inches. Vertically i mean

[The_Medic]

Firstly, congratulations on your purchase. It's a nice machine.
Now, coming to your question, do (Zana) crash guards serve their purpose? Well, the answer is both yes and no.
Crash guards are primarily for low speed spills, mostly seen in off road riding. There they work just fine. On tarmac, they aren't really recommended and can in fact be a hazard. Ari Henning, ex-editor of Motorcyclist Magazine explains it wel in this video.

https://youtu.be/QU3EzXeHCIM

What many people are confusing the crash guards with, are leg guards, typically seen in old motorcycles (RE Bullets are classic examples. No pun intended )
I have seen two cases of the lower leg fractures because of the leg getting trapped in leg guards and one where there were severe burns because the leg was trapped between the hot engine and the leg guard getting bent around the leg to hold it there for a long time, thus greatly increasing the damage caused by the hot engine. Being an anaesthesiologist in a major trauma hospital does make me have a bias towards seeing all kinds of freak accidents. But they happen.
And the logic that they protect legs has one flaw in my opinion. The protection of any part of your body should come from your gear which is designed for impact protection and not a steel frame. Including your legs.
I hope you have a good time with the bike and never have to figure out with your own experience the utility of crash guards. Cheers!

[jackofsome]

The Zana Crash guards for Duke is absolutely hideous to begin with. Next up is the fact that it breaks easily from the joints which i have seen multiple times, third, it is super heavy any why would you put so much extra weight on a nimble motorcycle.
Then the fact that in case of a fall your legs can get caught inside this huge barbecue.
I suggest you get the frame sliders. They are safe and not ugly as well. Anyways in case of a fall which is not very severe the damages are minimal.
Been there done that.
My two cents.

[Thamps]

I had crashed my D390 onto a car and the bike took a nasty fall. The right crash guard was bent.The engine and parts were fine and it just cost 300 bucks to replace the crash guard.
Regarding removal of rear tyre hugger,kindly consider the poor riders who would be behind your bike on a wet road.It does look awesome without a rear tyre hugger,but the spray of dirt I have seen from bikes without it is just too inconsiderate to others, especially two wheelers.

[Harikrishnan_13]

The video recommends frame sliders from reputable brands and talks negatively only about poorly made sliders. And in India where most riding happens in traffic or bad roads, bike accidents are more often than not tip overs/ bikes going down on u turns or slipping on sand or gravel. In all these cases crash guards are a blessing provided they are engineered to bend and break and not transfer all that impact force to the frame.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by The_Medic

And the logic that they protect legs has one flaw in my opinion. The protection of any part of your body should come from your gear which is designed for impact protection and not a steel frame. Including your legs.
I hope you have a good time with the bike and never have to figure out with your own experience the utility of crash guards. Cheers!

In case of old Bullet style crash guards / leg guards - the metal from the guard provides a support point when the bike tips over, thus preventing all the forces being transferred to your leg. Shouldn't this protect the bones and joints of the leg? What kind of gear can you wear to overcome the forces produced in such a situation?

The crash guard frame may get bent and may cause the leg to be trapped in between - but surely if the impact is that bad, and there was no crash guard at all - what do you think will happen to the leg?

[skviknaraj]

Originally Posted by alpha1

In case of old Bullet style crash guards / leg guards - the metal from the guard provides a support point when the bike tips over, thus preventing all the forces being transferred to your leg. Shouldn't this protect the bones and joints of the leg? What kind of gear can you wear to overcome the forces produced in such a situation?

The crash guard frame may get bent and may cause the leg to be trapped in between - but surely if the impact is that bad, and there was no crash guard at all - what do you think will happen to the leg?

When you fall, do not go along with or hold on to the bike. You will have to release the bike and go separate ways. This will reduce the overall mass and momentum will reduce and hence lesser drag.

This is easier said than done though.