Well, it sure shows confidence in the product they sell.
But somehow it does make me feel a bit sad when I see a Tiger being treated like that.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

 

Have any Tiger 900 owners dropped the bike with the factory engine protector installed but absent any tank protectors?
As in, just a stock Rally Pro been dropped?

I am curious to know if the tank touches the ground on drops. And if not, then what the value of a system like Outback Motortek really provides.

 

Have any Tiger 900 owners dropped the bike with the factory engine protector installed but absent any tank protectors?
As in, just a stock Rally Pro been dropped?

I am curious to know if the tank touches the ground on drops. And if not, then what the value of a system like Outback Motortek really provides.

I dropped my GT pro in the garage with factory engine bars alone. The tank did not touch the ground, the bar ends did. Hope that helps

 

I have seen some images of factory original engine bars after a minor fall breaking the crankcase a mega expensive repair in one case the bike was written off.

 

I wondered about that. You'd think that manufacturers would do better.

 

I purchased Outback bars for my bike mostly because of the demonstrated protection videos. I have had OEM bars on another bike fold in on a drop and was looking for a more robust option. I have not dropped this bike YET, but am hoping these will do the job needed.

 

Please post some pictures of the bike. Would love to see how the setup looks.

Do the bars interfere with the shift or brake lever at all?

 

Pictures were taken on day of install and I'm away from the bike right now.

 

View attachment 750382
Pictures were taken on day of install and I'm away from the bike right now.

View attachment 750380
I haven't encountered any clearance issues so far. 400+ miles of street riding this weekend. First time with the whole thing mounted

Where are you routing the Fog Lights? I want to change the OEM uppers for this system, but didn’t think about asking for the OEM light bracket.

 

A few more, now that I'm home:

 

Brake side. Didn't get a direct down shot, the motor is in the way, but there's an inch plus of clearance there. I've got the skid plate off because I'm going to take the bike for it's first service. Figured I'd do that much for them, at least.

 

Thanks for all the pictures! Really informative stuff. The bars look amazing on your bike.

 

Just out of curiosity, why will you replace the fog lights?

 

I may leave them on and jus add the Denali lights. Just want more visibility, to see and be seen 👍

 

I was just able to score Outback Motortek crash bars for my 2021 900 gt. They have been hard to find in stock. I purchased them from the West Coas t distributor. The bars look to be super strong and protective. I hope they are not difficult to install.

 

I dont know if super strong crash bars are a good thing. You would want the bar to flex/ buckle and absorb the energy of the crash rather than be strong and transmit the energy to the bike itself and damage it. Rather like the crumple zone in a car protecting the driver.

 

Dawsonstaffs,
I don't disagree. There must be a balance between strength and the ability to absorb the energy from a drop. I do not ride offroad, except for hard packed and groomed dirt roads in Vermont. I liked the R+D testing performed by the company, and the fact that these bars protect the lower engine and upper plastic. I always hope never to need or use these crash bars, and that they are there for insurance.

 

The crash test video I've seen shows the bike being dragged rather than dropped. Thats a different kind of force rather than when dropped at any speed.

 

I think people should pay attention to the importance of the Barkbusters hand guards in the video. Without them the fuel tank would have been damaged. Mine was on a very low speed drop when on black ice. I then fitted the Barkbusters.

 

Yeah. The way to go does seem to be a combination of low(-ish) bars and barkbusters to keep the tank from touching the ground during a tipover. The "tall" style bars that go all the way up to the tank seem to be prone to bending inwards.

 

Has anyone tried to install these on the GT or GT Pro? Their install video is of a Rally. The first step is to remove the engine through bar and on the Rally, it is in front of the right side footpeg and easy to get to. On the Pro, it is behind the footpeg and I am stumped as to which bolts I should remove to get access to that darn Torx bolt. The footpeg and brake lever are all attached to that one metal piece that is blocking that Torx through bolt.

 

Ck out the Hepco/Becker bars, just be sure to go with the "solid" version. These are the new ones that run 2 horizontal bars interconnecting.(upper) I'll post pics if wanted.

 

i have installed these and now have significant vibes in my bar. Making my hands numb. Have you also noticed this?

 

I am happy to report I figured out what bolts to remove in order to get to the engine through bolt. In the picture below they are the two Torx 50 circled in red. Remove those, and the whole footpeg/brake assembly can pivot towards the rear of the bike exposing the through bolt. If you can get someone to help you out when you remove that through bolt and put the new one in, it will be a big time saver. I did this install alone crawling around the bike. I love how these bars installed compared to the Triumph bars. I also love how the upper plastics are now protected without having to mess with the stock fog light bar. Finally, I like the black color compared to the silver of the Triumph bars. I think it blends into the bike a lot better. Here are some pics. I took the one from the side so you can see how much they stick out from the plastics.

 

Thought I'd pass this along, I installed the Touratech crash bars on my 20 Tiger 900 Gt Pro and later dropped the bike when I lost my footing on sand. The fall on the crash bar caused more damage than no bars at all. It turns out Touratech bolt the bar to the headlight/fairing subframe, this frame is made out thin cast aluminum so it cracked along with the headlight bracket. The other side of the crash bar mounts to the engine case with 8mm bolts and a 1" spacer, the moment bent the bolt and stripped the engine threads. It turned out to be an expensive repair. Touratech essentially told me to go fly a kite! In my opinion their stuff is decorative not protection.

 

Wow..... first it was H&B and now Touratech......

What brand can be trusted then?

 

I'll try SW-mitch next, it's bolted to the frame. Anyone have input on theirs?

 

I have SW-Motech installed, Several off road drops. One hard. No issues at all other that scratches on the crash bars.

 

Meant SW-Motech

 

h&p "Solid", They upped the game from the 1st edition.

 

Crash bars need to crumble on impact absorbing the energy of the fall rather than transmitting it to the bike itself causing the damage you describe. I dont know of any brand that does that.

 

I believe the triumph ones mount to the same points

 

Yes the dealer told me that, still a bad design. I'm changing to SW Motech which mount to frame, engine and cross brace to itself on the other side. Cheers

 

With all the horror stories about "Crash bars" doing more damage than good, I'm going without. Broken engine cases, dented tanks, destroyed beak mounts...and my story. I had the HepcoBeckers for a while, but the front engine mount bolts both broke off in the frame from fatique (without any drop or impact). That fact was as analyzed by Motomachines/Hepco to try to prove that I overtightened them because their sales were taking a hit. The "overtightened" claims backfired on them. Anyone want a set of H and B tank guards....you can have them for cheap.