Crash Bungs !!
Discussion
So pretty new looking RC125, obviously about to be dented by 17 year old having just passed his CBT.
I look around for crash bungs. £130!!, yes one hundred and thirty pound after vat and posting costs.
For two four inch bolts with a bit of black paint over them and a decal saying R&G, and a boat load of guff on their website saying they have impact absorbing properties.
I wouldn't mind but that's the cost of a helmet, plus the fact the last time I came off on an R1 that was shod with fancy crash bungs they simply snapped off leaving me with the inevitable plastic damage to replace.
Worlds gone mad I tell yer. Daft thing was I looked on ebay for cheap alternatives thinking ebay would be flooded with them and nothing designed to fit! (Off to my garage to design an aluminium crash bung)
I look around for crash bungs. £130!!, yes one hundred and thirty pound after vat and posting costs.
For two four inch bolts with a bit of black paint over them and a decal saying R&G, and a boat load of guff on their website saying they have impact absorbing properties.
I wouldn't mind but that's the cost of a helmet, plus the fact the last time I came off on an R1 that was shod with fancy crash bungs they simply snapped off leaving me with the inevitable plastic damage to replace.
Worlds gone mad I tell yer. Daft thing was I looked on ebay for cheap alternatives thinking ebay would be flooded with them and nothing designed to fit! (Off to my garage to design an aluminium crash bung)
randlemarcus said:
Never quite saw the point of crash bungs. Falling over gently bungs, yes, I get that. Surely an actual crash is just going to transfer the energy directly to the frame, thus writing the whole bike off?
A bike can get written off pretty easily without frame damage though.A crashbung should be mounted on a strong part of the frame, and even if you're travelling at 10 or 110mph, the weight of the bike is the same in either instance. It's not a huge amount of vertical force either, unless your bike is thrown into the air, the frame won't even experience the full weight of the bike when it comes down, and it'll still be distrubuted across other less expensive parts of the bike bike, bars, mirrors, perhaps tank etc.
What will murder it however, is the forward momentum. The speed you're going to lose through abrasion as your bike is dragging itself down the tarmac, and assuming it doesn't wedge, a sacrifical bung intentionally exposed is, I think, better to take the brunt of the slide than your frame, engine cases, etc. which will also quickly render your bike scrap in eyes of your insurers.
On the road, in a high speed accident you're probably more likely to hit something like road architecture or another vehicle, that makes the abrasive resistance less useful but you're also far more likely to lose it at low speed, oil, loss of footing, slow turning, etc. Where the bungs may save your bike from any damage at all.
Even some of these plastic engine covers look naff and cost more than another engine cover, but actually are tougher than the cast metal they replace, so less likely to crack and dump your oil everywhere if the bike does drop onto them. Meaning your engine might not die of oil starvation, and you won't be spreading oil everywhere. Again on track, the people behind you might thank you for that.
Just my two pence of course.
moanthebairns said:
It seems a lot but these will be handmade, the bracket and fabrication won't be as cheap as you think, there's designing them and making a profit. I do agree though seems a lot. Personally I hate the f
king look of them.
The ones on mine are just longer than standard engine bracket bolts and a length of 2" diameter PTFE (guessing here) bar with a hole in the middle. I know someone had to work out the measurements in the first place, but they must take minutes to manufacture. king look of them. RizzoTheRat said:
The ones on mine are just longer than standard engine bracket bolts and a length of 2" diameter PTFE (guessing here) bar with a hole in the middle. I know someone had to work out the measurements in the first place, but they must take minutes to manufacture.
It's probably Nylon 6 or 66, it won't be PTFE as it is too soft and far too expensive.
Prof Prolapse said:
A bike can get written off pretty easily without frame damage though.
A crashbung should be mounted on a strong part of the frame, and even if you're travelling at 10 or 110mph, the weight of the bike is the same in either instance. It's not a huge amount of vertical force either, unless your bike is thrown into the air, the frame won't even experience the full weight of the bike when it comes down, and it'll still be distrubuted across other less expensive parts of the bike bike, bars, mirrors, perhaps tank etc.
What will murder it however, is the forward momentum. The speed you're going to lose through abrasion as your bike is dragging itself down the tarmac, and assuming it doesn't wedge, a sacrifical bung intentionally exposed is, I think, better to take the brunt of the slide than your frame, engine cases, etc. which will also quickly render your bike scrap in eyes of your insurers.
On the road, in a high speed accident you're probably more likely to hit something like road architecture or another vehicle, that makes the abrasive resistance less useful but you're also far more likely to lose it at low speed, oil, loss of footing, slow turning, etc. Where the bungs may save your bike from any damage at all.
Even some of these plastic engine covers look naff and cost more than another engine cover, but actually are tougher than the cast metal they replace, so less likely to crack and dump your oil everywhere if the bike does drop onto them. Meaning your engine might not die of oil starvation, and you won't be spreading oil everywhere. Again on track, the people behind you might thank you for that.
Just my two pence of course.
Weight through one bung / bolt / frame point is a much higher stress than the same weight being put through a bigger surface such a side fairing area though? It's why I have avoid using the frame bungs, preferring covers if necessary.A crashbung should be mounted on a strong part of the frame, and even if you're travelling at 10 or 110mph, the weight of the bike is the same in either instance. It's not a huge amount of vertical force either, unless your bike is thrown into the air, the frame won't even experience the full weight of the bike when it comes down, and it'll still be distrubuted across other less expensive parts of the bike bike, bars, mirrors, perhaps tank etc.
What will murder it however, is the forward momentum. The speed you're going to lose through abrasion as your bike is dragging itself down the tarmac, and assuming it doesn't wedge, a sacrifical bung intentionally exposed is, I think, better to take the brunt of the slide than your frame, engine cases, etc. which will also quickly render your bike scrap in eyes of your insurers.
On the road, in a high speed accident you're probably more likely to hit something like road architecture or another vehicle, that makes the abrasive resistance less useful but you're also far more likely to lose it at low speed, oil, loss of footing, slow turning, etc. Where the bungs may save your bike from any damage at all.
Even some of these plastic engine covers look naff and cost more than another engine cover, but actually are tougher than the cast metal they replace, so less likely to crack and dump your oil everywhere if the bike does drop onto them. Meaning your engine might not die of oil starvation, and you won't be spreading oil everywhere. Again on track, the people behind you might thank you for that.
Just my two pence of course.
I use the engine covers to protect the engine, fork protectors to protect the forks and the swing-arm bobbins to protect the swing arm. (!) My recent crash showed they were worth the money when I lost the front at speed and the bike went sliding down the road and into an embankment with nothing other than a few plastic panels to sort and the crash protection.
Fixed for the cost of my insurance excess. Without the protection it would have been a total loss.
Mr OCD said:
Weight through one bung / bolt / frame point is a much higher stress than the same weight being put through a bigger surface such a side fairing area though? It's why I have avoid using the frame bungs, preferring covers if necessary.
I use the engine covers to protect the engine, fork protectors to protect the forks and the swing-arm bobbins to protect the swing arm. (!) My recent crash showed they were worth the money when I lost the front at speed and the bike went sliding down the road and into an embankment with nothing other than a few plastic panels to sort and the crash protection.
As a single point loading, it might be higher than the fairing - don't forget the fairing wouldn't necessarily translate the load into multiple mounting points either.I use the engine covers to protect the engine, fork protectors to protect the forks and the swing-arm bobbins to protect the swing arm. (!) My recent crash showed they were worth the money when I lost the front at speed and the bike went sliding down the road and into an embankment with nothing other than a few plastic panels to sort and the crash protection.
Compared to the dynamic load the frame deals with, 100kg mass falling onto it is fairly reasonable.
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