[bblost]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

BBlost why are you against the second crash guard? That 4th variety should never be used in the front of a Bullet though. They are for light 100 cc's.

I am not against it.

I just like the looks of the others.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I meant you strongly recommended against the butterfly guard mounted on the rear (I referred to it as second guard - meaning second line of defence). Just wanted to understand why. I don't have them though.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I meant you strongly recommended against the butterfly guard mounted on the rear (I referred to it as second guard - meaning second line of defence). Just wanted to understand why. I don't have them though.

So sorry. But I actually recommend against the butterfly style in the rear.

It will def trap the leg in the case of a crash. because of the direction of movement..
The front crash guard is in front of the rider. This comes from behind and will trap the leg in the direction of the bike.

[mwzd]

I've had three accidents on my bullet in the last 12 yrs or so.

One was with a merc who came out of a sidelane pretty fast and straight into my bike, if the crash guard wasn't there, my leg might not have been either today.

Nothing much happened to me or the bike, the crash guard was trashed though, a new one followed cheaply and soon, the merc was another matter altogether.

The second one was with two cars, in traffic, both of them decided to close the gap between them at the same time, ignoring the fact that i was between them, if a little to the rear. We were only doing 10kmph so it wasn't too bad, for me, though in this case too my legs were saved by the guard. Plus the sound was loud enough for both the cars to stop immediately.

My third accident was during the monsoons, at night, in Bombay, avoiding a dog running across the road, the bike slid and even though i kicked free, we both took off for a long slide. My head hit the middle divider, helmet was smartly strapped to the back of the bike. Got a ton of stitches on my scalp but aside from a few scrapes, nothing much happened to my knee/leg inspite of the impact with the road at around 50kmph.

Nothing happened to the bike at all, in fact after a kind passerby emptied his bottle of water on my head and the blood washed off my face, I was able to get on and ride to the hospital for stitches and then home from there too.

And then there are times when someone knocked over the bike when it was parked. In each instance its saved damage to my tank and engine, even though you lose a lot of petrol due to spillage, its still the lesser of two evils.

I have a front guard, a rear guard pretty much since I bought the bike.

And I can't see myself riding without one in traffic, even though the bull looks much better without the guards, its not something i'm willing to risk at all.

[TheARUN]

The life saving thing in a crash guard is when you have a head on collision with another two wheeler.

Lets say you are overtaking a four wheeler and see another two wheeler coming in the opposite direction, you cut inside the line of the four wheeler to avoid the oncoming two wheeler, and it is too late. The two wheeler will crash into your guard and spare your legs

[Sudarshan]

Dear All
There is nothing new in what I am saying WRT Bullet , but see what I am trying to show & think .

I have posted some edited pics in that thread to explain how the Bullet guard is fitted .

IMHO its a design disaster , it bends/wraps on medium impact , its useless for serious impacts . for minor 'parking ' fall its ok .

check the pics here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3077806

* I have been riding a Yezdi since 1985 as my own bike ( without a Guard , since beginning ) & have ridden so many other bikes too ( with & without guard ) . Now I feel the crash guard is a false sense of having protection . That can perhaps lead to over confidence .

Sudarshan

[snowmane]

There should be a standard definition from the decision making authorities for the crash guard, which will cover normal protection measures and which need to be implemented on all vehicles.

I have a ZMA and what I find ironic is that it has that completely useless Engine Cowl and no Crash guard, because at the end of the day safety is more important than the vehicle looking good.

A vehicle can be bought thousands of time again and again.

They definitely increase security since the vehicle will not fall on ones legs or trap the driver under its weight.

Just my 2 cents.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by bblost

#4 is a rear butterfly guard.
I strongly recommend against it.

Old topic, yes.

But, the 4th butterfly kind is the one on my bike. A Hero Honda Hunk. You believe it might do more harm than good?

Today, my new Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 got a new crash-guard, exclusively designed for new Thunderbirds from Quality Metal Industries, Ellis Road, Chennai, costing 850. It's chrome-plated. Similar black powder-coated one costs 750. But, I preferred the former. This crash-guard is good and a perfect-fit for my Thunderbird. It does not obstruct my foot-wear. Here are some photographs.

















Quality Metal Industries are the manufacturers, who supply to accessories dealers located in many states. I still remember the shining Quality-branded front bumper of my Vijay Delux scooter in the late 1970s.

[tharian]

I'd like to share an experience on how the crashguard on my bike saved damage to my bike and me few days ago.
I have been using the old army design crashguard on my Bullets for quite sometime now. Not only does it suit the bike for me, it is a thick gauge crashguard which means it can take a lot of crashes and basially does not break off like my previous crashguard which I bought from the showroom did.

The crashguard has taken a fall already on the right side once and was bent back into shape at the lathe. On my older crashguard which was just a hollow rod bent into a butterfly design, after one fall, the rod bends at the chassis clamp and when pulled back, it cuts the metal which is then welded which makes the crashguard pointless after that. Basically a use and throw crashguard. And this crashguard used to bend even when nudged against anything.

I had bad fall few days ago after a dog hit. I went scrapping across the road and the bike slid a few feet away from me. Like someone had mentioned on this thread, the footrest on a Bullet takes a lot of impact when the bike falls and slides. Luckily, on a Bullet, it does not break off, it bends since the rubber is on a thick iron rod which can be bent back into shape.
The second point was the handlebar and my clutch lever broke off in this case.

The crashguard protected the tank and possibly a fork bend from happening since the handlebar would have taken a huge impact without the crashguard.
The crashguard this time did not even go out of shape, just had deep scratches on it at two points. Pictures attached.

[sgmitr13]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan

IMHO its a design disaster , it bends/wraps on medium impact , its useless for serious impacts . for minor 'parking ' fall its ok . Sudarshan

Disclaimer: I am sharing a image that I recently captured at a service centre, I mean well for the society to make informed decisions and no ill will against the rider and bike owner.

The guard wrapped pretty bad and I truly hope the biker is not seriously injured. Check how badly the gear lever has bent.

These crash guards have both pros and cons, it depends on the nature and magnitude of collision. I doubt if the rider gets to think of ditching the bike safely at a split second.

Sometimes there are some silly falls too, like this rider who had that gifted split second decision making but moved his arm across to protect his new smartphone in his pant pocket!

[ebonho]

Exactly the reason why I would never suggest the above design guards to any Bulleteer. They are very convenient. You can tie bottle bags to them. Rest your stretched legs on them while riding. etc. etc. But they do bend and potentially endanger the rider's leg in a fall.

Wraaround guards are a bad idea. And not enough riders (and fitters) pay attention to the U clamps and fitting while fixing guards in general. A guard is only as strong as the clamp and brackets that hold it to the frame.

[Sudarshan]

Originally Posted by sgmitr13

The guard wrapped pretty bad and I truly hope the biker is not seriously injured. Check how badly the gear lever has bent.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Exactly the reason why I would never suggest the above design guards to any Bulleteer. ===But they do bend and potentially endanger the rider's leg in a fall.

.

To counter this exact problem, which I have mentioned in another thread also

Here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3077806



Now, I have implemented my own Ideas & build a guard the DIY way.

Here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ign-build.html

Now this design will be subject to trials (& errors) & based on those experiences, I am going to improve the design further & make necessary changes.

Sudarshan

[hellmet]

After riding a TVS Victor for 10 long years, I finally upgraded to a Honda Trigger yesterday. Now, the Victor arrived with crash guard / leg guard by default. However, the Trigger came without one and is an optional extra. I skipped buying the guard for now.



Now, is the crash guard a much needed safety item like a helmet, or is that merely an accessory like bull-bars are for cars being driven only on road? Moreover, bullbars sacrifice the safety of the vehicle and cause fatal injuries to pedestrians. Does the crash guard have a similar repute?

If it indeed is a safety item, why does my dealer say I can "get it from any accessory shop, they're all the same" ? Is there no difference in quality or strength to withstand impact?

Your inputs are highly welcome.

[JayKis]

Originally Posted by hellmet

After riding a TVS Victor for 10 long years, I finally upgraded to a Honda Trigger yesterday. Now, the Victor arrived with crash guard / leg guard by default. However, the Trigger came without one and is an optional extra. I skipped buying the guard for now.

Now, is the crash guard a much needed safety item like a helmet, or is that merely an accessory like bull-bars are for cars being driven only on road? Moreover, bullbars sacrifice the safety of the vehicle and cause fatal injuries to pedestrians. Does the crash guard have a similar repute?

If it indeed is a safety item, why does my dealer say I can "get it from any accessory shop, they're all the same" ? Is there no difference in quality or strength to withstand impact?

Your inputs are highly welcome.

Well the crash guard is a highly helpful mandatory item on a naked bike reason being it would save your legs if you fall under the bike or get swiped by a car or hit a concrete block. There have been two instances in which the crash guard has saved me on the bullet. Once when i hit a stone and fell down and my leg went under the bike but escaped unhurt because of the crash guard. The other was when i was overtaking a truck and hit a concrete block on divider under construction. The crash guard hit the concrete block and got bent. My legs were saved because of that. It also saves the bike to an extent when it falls down. My advice would be to go and get one as soon as possible.

The crash guard is very unlike a bull bar thou. The bull bar hinders the safety of a pedestrian and directly transmits all the crash force on to the chassis. In case of a bike the impact on the chassis is very limited with the exception of being a sports bike (faired). There have been cases on a sports bike wherin at low speed crashes the crash guards have saved the bike but high speeds at which there have been cases of it causing more damage.