Barkbusters mounted

LMarr [DK] said:

Mounted SW-Motech Barkbusters today....
Stryggled a long time with that... The former owner had smashed one of the screws in the bar end...
But now they are mounted

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How did you get the screws loose? I tried today and couldn’t loosen them. It seems that there are not enough depth in the screw head for the allen key to properly fit. I stopped trying as I realize it’s going to strip.

Helenus said:

How did you get the screws loose? I tried today and couldn’t loosen them. It seems that there are not enough depth in the screw head for the allen key to properly fit. I stopped trying as I realize it’s going to strip.

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Drilled hole in the screw, and smashed a torx T45 bit in the hole... The I could get the OEM bolt out...

LMarr [DK] said:

Drilled hole in the screw, and smashed a torx T45 bit in the hole... The I could get the OEM bolt out...

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Cool thanks, going to try that 😀

Old school hammer impact or try just a 1/4” electric impact driver.

I assume they are more resilient than OEM hand guards...

Cyrille said:

I assume they are more resilient than OEM hand guards...

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The OEM hand guards are for decoration only, like most of the plastic body work on the G310R/GS. They are just a piece of plastics without support. The OEM guards work fine as support for handle bar muffs in colder climate.

Cyrille said:

I assume they are more resilient than OEM hand guards...

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They are 1.000 times more solid and resilient than the OEM...
The steel (alumium?) bar on Barkbusters covers the clutch-lever and brake-lever... and prevent the levers to break when [1] the bikes falls over on the side...

[1] I'm a new rider, and had 1 months of riding under my belt yesterday ... so it's only a matter of time before I lay the bike on the ground when I go outside the tarmac

The OEM hand guards protect ... once (if the motorcycle falls when in a standstill). They look great but I would not travel the world with them.

Everybody makes mistakes! The key thing is: the bike goes where you are looking. So NEVER look at the ground when riding, unless you're pope Francis and you have the strange habit to kiss it on arrival 😇.

Look where you wish to be, operate the unit. I second that thought.
The corralary being If you look at that rut, you will enter that rut.

ARBOLMANO said:

Look where you wish to be, operate the unit. I second that thought.
The corralary being If you look at that rut, you will enter that rut.

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Yep, I agree

But if you look too far ahead you won't see the patch of extremely loose gravel, or the rut, and then you would still end up in trouble
The "look far ahead" and "through the corner" is best applied to nice tarmac

Myself it applies off road as well. If you look at the rut, you will be in the rut. Your body guides the bike. The body follows the head. Many sports use this concept. Look down at the deep sand, you will wallow and crash when you needed to apply throttle and float on top. Secret is to ride loose and guide, not “clench and control“. If your looking where you wish to go, you’ll see that patch of gravel coming up and change course or just ride it out as your loose and in control. Watch flat track racers, those guys don’t even have brakes, do not go slow , on dirt.

LMarr [DK] said:

View attachment 17187
View attachment 17186
Mounted SW-Motech Barkbusters today....
Stryggled a long time with that... The former owner had smashed one of the screws in the bar end...
But now they are mounted
A few days ago I mounted my Shad 3P and SH23 sidebags, very very happy with those too
(an extra lock came with the sidebags so my Shad SH37 topcase now locks with the same key as the sidebags )

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@LMarr [DK] can you perhaps post a photo of the side view, or explain to me.... The instructions mention that the backbone, when viewed from the side, must be horizontal. Mine is not, on the clutch side he cables are in the way, so the maximum the backbone can lift is as high as my lever, which is far from horizontal.

LMarr [DK] said:

To be honest, I didn't read the complete instructions ;-)

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Real men read the instructions afterwards, if ever

hasselman said:

Real men read the instructions afterwards, if ever

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Yep, and repetition is the mother of all learning

LMarr [DK] said:

Yep, and repetition is the mother of all learning

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That's why I start repeating before installation, by reading the instructions first. I usually skip the first 80% of warnings, that are there for the protection of the manufacturer.

Ps. Did anybody say I'm a "real man"? Obviously I'm not

Thanks guys. Gonna mount mine, to align with my levers, and what is comfortable for me, and disregard the 'horizontal' part. I'll post some pics.

Ps @LMarr [DK] , I see your backbone is black. I wanted some black ones as well, unfortunately not available here.