Which protectors are genuinely useful for bikes?

[SVS]

What stuff do you think’s good for protecting your bike? For example, have frame sliders ever saved your bike from damage (or not)?

[Ed.]

Panniers can be pretty effective too

[Rallynav]

SVS said:

What stuff do you think’s good for protecting your bike? For example, have frame sliders ever saved your bike from damage (or not)?

Frame bobbins caused my crash at Oulton Park, maybe useful on the road but they won’t be going on my track bike again.

[SVS]

How did frame bobbins cause the crash?

[Rallynav]

SVS said:

How did frame bobbins cause the crash?

It touched the tar and unweighted the rear causing a high side. I saw the graze on it a few sessions previous, if only I’d know the damage it would cause! 😑

[graeme4130]

Blimey, how big are your grand sliders
I could pretty much grind my bar end before the frame sliders hit

[Rallynav]

graeme4130 said:

Blimey, how big are your grand sliders
I could pretty much grind my bar end before the frame sliders hit

[Jazzy Jag]

Chatting to a guy that owned a bike shop a few years ago.

They had a damaged bike in for repair.
The bike had crash bobbin which bolted to the frame near the engine mount.

When the bobbin slid into an object/ kerb it snapped the engine mount and punched a hole in the casing.

Insurance company decided that it was an undeclared modification which had actually made matters worse, and refused to pay out.

IIRC, that's when the fight started...

[Rubin215]

The best protectors for bikes?

Hi-viz and advanced training.


All the bolt-on stuff may or may not work in different bike/tarmac/vehicle/scenery interface situations; the only thing that truly works is not having the crash in the first place...

[Bob_Defly]

Frame sliders saved my bike from a lot more damage during a fairly low speed low side. Definitely worth the money IMHO.

[RemaL]

Crash bobbins, paint protection film and GB racing engine covers if available for the bike which they are not for mine

When available this is what I normally put on my bikes

[black-k1]

Rubin215 said:

The best protectors for bikes?

Hi-Viz and advanced training.


All the bolt-on stuff may or may not work in different bike/tarmac/vehicle/scenery interface situations; the only thing that truly works is not having the crash in the first place...

Totally agree. Both you and your bike survive, completely unscathed, EVERY accident you don't have.





If you feel you need Hi Viz then you're not doing the things you were told to do in the advanced training!

[Krikkit]

Track's a bit different, but isn't the biggest benefit of a set of bobbins that you don't ruin the fairings if you drop it? Presumably the most common handling issue.

[Dog Star]

Beyond a tank pad - none of it.
All that R&G tat looks so utterly crap that I think I'd rather have gravel rash on the bike.

[BobSaunders]

Frame sliders, and bar ends for when it gets dropped in the driveway.

Engine covers for when it goes for a slide down the road.

Swing arm bobbins for when you need to use a paddock stand.

Tank protector when you are to old and stiff to throw your leg over.

Lever protection for when you get mugged.

[Dog Star]

BobSaunders said:

Frame sliders, and bar ends for when it gets dropped in the driveway.

Engine covers for when it goes for a slide down the road.

Do people regularly drop bikes? Or lob them down the road? I've done neither in 34 years, yet I keep hearing people advising folk not to buy faired bikes as new riders because "you will drop it". Really?

[Krikkit]

I suppose it depends on where you keep your bike and how often you use it.

I've got a perfectly flat driveway and garage, but an oddly angled one, used every day, would give you lots of chances to make a slight error.

[bogie]

Dog Star said:

BobSaunders said:

Frame sliders, and bar ends for when it gets dropped in the driveway.

Engine covers for when it goes for a slide down the road.

Do people regularly drop bikes? Or lob them down the road? I've done neither in 34 years, yet I keep hearing people advising folk not to buy faired bikes as new riders because "you will drop it". Really?

I do remember reading somewhere, that for newly qualified riders and born again coming back to it, that the most common insurance claim is a drop on the drive/low speed maneuver

I can remember in my teens, when I was learning, I did do the first couple of bikes I owned....and obviously a few minor off road offs mucking around in the lanes

[tjlazer]

Bar ends and frame sliders saved my bike twice, also engine protection gets a big thumbs up. Much easier to ride back with a few bits of scratched plastic than broken casing. Basically cover the bike in the stuff.

[podman]

Jazzy Jag said:

Chatting to a guy that owned a bike shop a few years ago.

They had a damaged bike in for repair.
The bike had crash bobbin which bolted to the frame near the engine mount.

When the bobbin slid into an object/ kerb it snapped the engine mount and punched a hole in the casing.

Insurance company decided that it was an undeclared modification which had actually made matters worse, and refused to pay out.

IIRC, that's when the fight started...

Quite common....



Even more common is the bungs being poorly fitted ( as you take out the OE bolt, the engine can drop a tad and re-fitting the bung bolt, its very easy to cross thread the engine mounting threads).

Maybe ive been lucky but in 30+ years of riding, the only protection ive ever fitted to every bike was a tank pad and maybe some protective film to the lower fairing and its edges..

Its pretty much a given you'll scratch the tank in daily use, if I fall off it , the insurance can pay out...