Gravity. Something we keep on challenging. Once in a while we bite the dust.
Crash bars is a niche market. Most motorcycles don’t have it featured out of the factory. Then there are many motorcyclists who don’t wish to add extra weight.
In our segment, which is the adventure and dual-sport motorcycles it’s a popular one. Perhaps it’s because we tend to push ourselves and our motorcycles on unfamiliar terrains: rocks, gravel, mud, sand and sometimes the mix of it all.
This leads us to the conclusion why we equip our bikes with crash bars: additional protection. Hard crashes do require crash bars. Without it any ride can end with devastating results which may include a call to the local tow truck service. Light crashes may result in scratches only. Still, replacing any OEM parts and/or components can be an expensive experience.
This week two Yamaha Tenere 700s have been saved from costly repair bills.
Let’s start with the pavement crash first. Jordi (aka JotxTrail on Instagram) crashed on the way to a meeting. Cool overnight temperate and some dampness in the air made the asphalt slippery. Lucky for Jordi, he escaped with a sore wrist and his bike picked up absolutely no damage whatsoever thanks to our crash bars.
The second crash was completely different. Our buddy descended on a very, very steep hill featuring rocks from golf ball size to football size. The photos below will not do justice to how steep and gnarly this hill was.
As he was coming down this 100-150m long downhill he lost the front end, it washed out and him and his Yamaha Tenere 700 got smashed against some big rocks in a deep rut. See the photos below!
This crash due to the large sharp rocks could have ended pretty badly. Our crash bars stopped the rocks from messing up the exhaust headers, the plastic panel and more importantly the radiator. To Radek’s surprise there are barely any scratches on the plastic panels of his brand new “Rally” version Tenere 700!
Bad week, bad crashes but overall both guys are stoked about the results and the fact that they could carry on with their moto plans.