BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I'm moments away from ordering these. Anyone care to offer a reason I shouldn't? Not for looks but for function. Can anyone say if the work well/install easily?

http://www.jimmyjib.com/guards.htm

They look as if they would.

Hiker

Other than the fact that they add weight and cost a helluva lot, I have no reason you shouldn't buy them! You could buy multiple valve covers for the price, and chance of substantial damage from a low/no speed drop is very little. They serve a purpose for off-road riders who risk dropping their bikes more often, but for on-road use, you should really think about getting something smaller/lighter if you drop your bike enough to warrant them!

Hiker,

Those guards look great and according to the website photos seem to work well. I would just remind you that every time you add a new item to the bike it will increase your cost of servicing the bike because the mechanic needs to take additional time to remove those parts in order to service the engine.

NCRoaster

Man that seems like overkill to me, why would you want those? In the old days, 25 years ago on my big, air-cooled 4 cylinder bike, I had heavy "case savers" like this, because otherwise a drop could easily ruin my engine (and would have one time, but the "case savers" saved it!) - but on a Boxer motor, you just buy new valve covers unless it;s a REALLY bad accident, in which case even these big guards probably won't help.

I'd not buy them, but they do look sort of 21st century on the Oilhead.
I had the plastic gizmos from BMW on my first Oilhead, the R850R, but they are a royal pain to fit and unfit each time I did a valve check. I didn't add them to the R1150R for that reason.
NOT having any protection forces ME to just be extra careful with foot placement, which is a skills enhancer. A true accident is going to replace whatever is broken anyway, so I go bare.

Yes, I understand your feelings that they are overkill for drops from a standstill. I could get away with the plastic ones for that. I suppose I'm thinking more of sliding accidents that grind through the cover. At that point, I may not be in any condition to mount up anyway.

I just sort of, you know, like them.

$ would be better spent towards hard cases and Hyperlites.

Hiker

They wont fit a twin spark motor properly (lower plug is left unprotected and looking rather vunerable). Is your bike single or twin spark?

Mike

Mike,

Mine's a 2004, so twin spark.

Hiker

I think they look cool too.

I think they look a bit on the chunky side.

You should check out the gaurds for the HP2...oh yeah they're a hex head...Bugger!

DJ

I've been checking out opinions on ADVrider.
They love them, but they're dropping the bikes repeatedly.

Interesting were the posts concerning the Beemer plastic guards: some folks said they shatter on impact.

Yech.

Hiker

Here's a link to some pics of my bike:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kromedome/sets/797624/

If this doesn't work, you can find the post on the rockster board under the topic "2 rocksters in vancouver, bc"

I had them installed by the dealer before I took delivery of the bike when it was new. They may seem like a bit of overkill, but I didn't want to think about the prospect of droppping the bike & letting the cylinder heads take the brunt of the fall.

Besides, if i have them on i'll probably never drop the bike - but if i didn't bother with them i'd drop it for sure!

I don't think you'll be sorry if you go ahead with the purchase!

RocksterRon,

Just when you think the thread is dead...

Nice pics of your bike! I think the guards look great.

I think the doggie looks great too.

Hiker

Anonymous wrote:They wont fit a twin spark motor properly (lower plug is left unprotected and looking rather vunerable). Is your bike single or twin spark?

Mike

unless you merely trim off one lug from the lower plug cover (which is just a dust guard anyway).


Get em - they're brilliant. They'll protect the upper part of the head (which the BMw ones won't) and help big time if you have a low-speed impact with another vehicle and virtually guarantee the valve covers won't get punctured and leave you stranded.

Thank you Riceburner, you've talked me into them!
If it's a waste, I'll let y'all know.

Hiker

I'd like to have those guards . Fact is that if you fall, the bike will slide on the side case and the valve cover. You may not have any other damage. I would rather have a scrape in the Stanton guard and ride back in as opposed to a hole in the valve cover with resulting oil loss. I saw a picture of an oilhead that had a serious hole in the cover and it took I forget how many quarts of oil from his ride buddies to limp him back to the nearest town. I'll bet it left a wide trail and filled his boot with oil.
It also might save you valve damage.