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-   -   DIY: Enfield 350 Crash Guard (design & build) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/143109-diy-enfield-350-crash-guard-design-build.html)

There is something wrong with me....

I prefer to do things the DIY way ...

For that I could wait till its late ... not really in this case.

I had few ideas of mine, regarding modifications or accessories for the bike, almost since I got my first bike & started riding & reading about it like mad. Years of experience of riding helped confirm such Ideas or reject it. This one was in my head since long & now I have tried it on my RE 350.

I have made a prototype of a crash guard for the STD RE 350, this can be improvised by anyone for any bike, this is common sense & not rocket science.

it started from taking dimensions (though not SO accurate but useful for work)

Here let the pictures talk, as to how I reached the first prototype (more to be developed from this base work)


This guard connects the two foot rests & thats the main concept here. In the event of impact the footrests bend & also damage the outriggers on the chassis on which they fit. The bottom pipe will first deflect the impact away due to its forward bent angle & secondly will distribute the stress, as its connected with the chassis in front & with another foot rest. This linking will give some amount of rigidity to the bike chassis as well, particularly in Bullet, where there is no " Bottom " linkage of chassis parts below the engine, unlike any normal bike chassis.

This particular example can also be followed on other bikes,of course making necessary changes according to bike chassis design.



Some Background

I have posted my concerns on Bullet crash guard design before



Sudarshan

This is how it started, at my own hobby W_shop.

I bent a pipe as a dummy to check for dimensions & overall suitability of the Idea with actual Bike in front.















This Dummy showed that the Idea was doable, so I went ahead

Sudarshan

Next set of pics

Based on the inputs I got from the initial bent pipe in last post, finalized measurements & this is is the base prototype I made.
















Now this prototype will be completed & fitted on the bike, then the real test will begun. Hope some day my thinking is not proven wrong.

Disclaimer; Anyone is free to copy this under his own risk & responsibility. I have only floated an Idea, one can improvise &/or use as it is.

I will be improving on the base concept & will share it too here as & when it gets ready

Sudarshan

Great job done Sir!
I am sorry and I am not trying to disparage your effort but, the pipe joining the footpegs to the crash guard, wouldn't it be quite risky ?

I mean in the unfortunate event of a fall, what if one's leg gets stuck in the space there ? As you said, it will protect the bike better but what about the rider ? It would result in one getting dragged alongwith the bike, if the leg gets stuck.

Or is it not so ?

-Bhargav

Very interesting idea. Nicely executed as well.

But won't it scratch the road at turning.
I end up changing my foot pegs every 20k kms as they are fully worn out. :)

Cool idea. Co-incidentally, I too got something done with steel pipes last week. But I am no DIY guy, I just did the design and let a steel worker do the actual work.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ml#post3266078

Bhargav, I have been officially riding since 18 & now I am 47 running. My primary bike is/was Yezdi since then & believe me since I got it in Dec. 85, I have been riding it " without " a guard.

Your Q IS genuine but the answer is :- pure luck , with or without guard people have broken legs & what not & also have trapped their legs beneath to get burnt or broken.

Bike is the most unsafe & risky road user.

But here I cant grantee you anything , I have developed it based on my inner senses. & that is being a bike & thinking like it.

It might suit anyone or completely not.

I cant even guarantee myself if it will suit me:D

BB, nowadays I dont ride that hard :) , but I think it wont easily happen if taken due care

Sudarshan

P S , thanks Samurai , you know me by now & you know how things happen .. sometimes tools just guide you .

Interesting DIY. I am sure you have tested the ride after the fitting. Two questions,
1) Did you feel even some uncomfortable feeling to put down your foot on ground while stopping or balancing in bumper-to-bumper traffic ?
2) I felt the the right site guard is too close to silencer or is it i am not able to see that gap in pics. what's your thoughts ?

I had a short ride after the initial fitting.

# no obstruction for brakes.

# no obstruction for up/down shift.

# no obstruction to kick start.

## Also I had thought & observed my level best before implementing the design & found out that my feet never cross the footrests too much in forward direction, they usually are in line with the foot rest or behind it mostly. At that point only, I decided that the pipes will not be extended behind the footrests .


The bottom front pipe is at the same position as it was with the guard that came with the bike & also the brackets are of the similar length, so similar distance/clearance is there.

My judgement about the " Can Be " problem area is the link between the foot rest & the front guard, rest is within limits .

Check the pics







Sudarshan

I did forget a picture in the " crash Guard discussion " thread to mention in the opening post.

here is the exact post.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3233289

& the pic from there. Thanks to the original poster



This is what I wanted to avoid exactly

Sudarshan

Would the joints (welding) stay put in the event of an impact. Because if any of those joints break and bike sides, then the pipe with sharp edges would pose a greater thread to the rider.

Just my two cents.

This definitely looks good, I have the one you have shown on the classic on my Bullet, the other day a bike in the opposite direction came very close and almost hit the crash guard, I was feeling safe all this while, after seeing the picture, I'm thinking what would have happened if contact had taken place that day!

Although hats off to you for your thinking of DIY and I do agree that the guard is a little bit stiffer than earlier with your idea.

But don't you think the whole purpose of leg guard gets beaten with your DIY, because you want to guard your leg from impacts but what if your leg gets trapped between during an impact. Might be the consequences will be more adverse. Also there is a full chance of your leg getting trapped or you stumble upon while putting your foot down.

Somehow I am not convinced of this idea, because while in the process of solving one problem it has created another one!

Also let me tell you that foot rests are made from soft metal so that they bend rather than break. So if the foot rests are soft which is the case normally your DIY would not have lead to substantial increase in stiffness of the leg guard.

But again what matters is at least you thought! I suggest also think of another novel idea to avoid trapping your leg in the design.

One idea: Why dont you join the leg guard to the foot rest at the starting point of foot rest (rather than the outer end of the foot rest). Take the joining bars just below/beside the exhaust pipe and it will avoid your leg getting trapped.

Other thought was doesn't the bending off the crash guards help in absorbing the impact? If they are made too rigid your frame will take a beating and get twisted and also the whole impact energy would be passed onto the driver causing more fatalities?

Your worries are right, but the welding is just at the "stitching" stage. It will be finalized once some other minor or last minute changes are made.

After the joints are properly welded, they wont come off just like that.

Thanks for compliments.

Thanks.

Hmnn, Nope .

I have thought over this many times & once it was done & fitted on the bike, I checked for this point.

There is equal chance of getting my leg trapped beneath the bike, to not having it at all or having any market design.

The leg usually gets trapped, in the portion that is between the rider & pillion foot rests. When I checked in that direction I found that my legs were not crossing the driver foot rest level (that is bit forward in Bullet). So as said above equal chances.

Again I dont think so


yes, now that this visualization is in reality, there is a lot of scope for improvements.

It does not stop just there, they bend the chassis outriggers & damage the central chassis area.

Before going forward, I must say thanks to you for taking this seriously & thinking a lot on it. this is also the reason I have posted all this here. I wanted people think rather than going behind the things available in the market like a sheep

Anyways, the whole Idea of this guard is based on the bottom pipe which links the foot rests & chassis front. This linking will distribute the stress evenly I think & not let any particular point of the bike to bend or get damaged. I will present more pics, pointing out the " crumple zones " in the guard itself soon .

There is some more to be developed with this, I can say this is just the base work.

Meanwhile all the thoughtful inputs are welcome.

Sudarshan