crash bars good?

[kannonbal]

I read somewhere that the crash bars greatly increase the chance of high-siding the bike during a slide out. Something about the bars protruding further out, which increases the chance of grabbing something in the road and flipping the bike over. I just got my '95 GS, and my first instinct was to put the bars on, since I spend most of my time riding in the mountains. Anyone heard of this actually happening? Plus, having a place to stretch my legs out on sounds pretty good, too.

[DarkCloud]

The thing about crash bars helping to high side during a slide is from the rationale that you would have the bike down sliding on the crash bar and the tires would catch traction and cause the bike to high side. Safety classes teach you to stay with the bike if it slides out from under you.

Just learning to ride, I had to emergency brake my Triumph Trident at 65mph. When the back tire kicked out it was a natural instinct to climb on top of the bike and ride the slide out. The damage to the bike was limited to the scrapes on the crash bars, and the throttle grip.

My favorite two sets of crash bars are the ones off the Adventure, which allows more protection for the bike and rider, and you don't have to pull them off to change oil, or so other maintenance. They are pricey at appx $950. The other set is by Wunderlich for about $325, it allows for you to change the oil and do other maintenance. Some crash bars require you to remove them to change the oil, and some require pulling the tank to get the bars off. I can't recall what a set of BMW head protectors cost, but you don't need them if you have crash bars. Besides crash bars are a great place to mount aux lights.

JON

[kbasa]

If you're going to ride off road, you'll want some crash bars along with something like the Stanton head protectors. They're an aluminum cagelike fitting that covers the valve cover and keeps it from getting holed.