This riders unsafe speed around a corner was the cause of his accident, not the guard. If I go down, I want that guard to protect my legs. I just won't ride crazy around a corner.
Crash Bars Dangerous?
Heard about a guy who went down over the weekend, taking a corner too fast.. ( so I was told)... anyway he said his engine guard, (Crash bar) caught the pavement and caused the accident..??? he ended up in ICU with a brain bleed and hopefully will be ok. im not an aggressive rider but was thinking about getting the cobra bars for my bike but...... if the above is true...im having second thoughts. Any experts out there with any input on this topic? Thank you.
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crash bars
While I cannot dispute that crash bars may cause a problem in some circumstances, I still have to say that I will take my chances with them. It's just like the helmut hullabalu 99.9 % of the time it's better to have than have not.
While I cannot dispute that crash bars may cause a problem in some circumstances, I still have to say that I will take my chances with them. It's just like the helmut hullabalu 99.9 % of the time it's better to have than have not.
Same argument with seat belts... 99% of the time they may safe your life, but there's always that remaining 1%.
Interesting. The LinBar version must have better clearance than the MultiBar version because I had the latter (came with the bike) and they scraped before the floorboards. With no lean angle warning from the floorboards before hard parts touched down I had to take them off and replaced it with Baron's engine guards. I like the more straight lines shape of the Baron over the Cobra's rounder bars. To each their own.One of the reasons I went with the LinBar as they start the angle up way before most giving that little extra fudge factor. I have dragged the floorboards a couple of times on Inside-Out turns, but that's on me for not knowing the road and riding it like normal. I also like the fact that they have a foot perch built into them.
But even in that extreme case it's possible to have ended the same.
@jimjimminy
Not sure about the multibar but I can say 100% for sure, at least on my bike, the board warning post hits before the bar while riding. Testing it with the help of a friend the boards start to collapse up and travel about 3/4 on an inch before the bar comes into contact with the ground. I would think, at least on a flat surface, if I have the bike over that far I have bigger things to worry about as it is a cruiser not a sport bike.
Please understand I'm in no way questioning what you are saying only reporting my results. Lot of factors come into play when talking anything aftermarket on the bikes. Especially when you start compounding the issues with things like lowering kits, after market boards and the angle the boards are mounted......and the list goes on and on.
Every bike, and rider, have their limits learn to respect them and it's the beginning of a beautiful time.
Keep the rubber down and knees in the breeze. See you on the road.
Not sure about the multibar but I can say 100% for sure, at least on my bike, the board warning post hits before the bar while riding. Testing it with the help of a friend the boards start to collapse up and travel about 3/4 on an inch before the bar comes into contact with the ground. I would think, at least on a flat surface, if I have the bike over that far I have bigger things to worry about as it is a cruiser not a sport bike.
Please understand I'm in no way questioning what you are saying only reporting my results. Lot of factors come into play when talking anything aftermarket on the bikes. Especially when you start compounding the issues with things like lowering kits, after market boards and the angle the boards are mounted......and the list goes on and on.
Every bike, and rider, have their limits learn to respect them and it's the beginning of a beautiful time.
Keep the rubber down and knees in the breeze. See you on the road.
Some crash bars do extend below the floorboards - these are the one's to avoid if you are concerned about scraping.
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I had the Big Bike Parts brand - these angle up more from the frame and have much more clearance
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I scraped my floorboards all the time and never once did the highway bars touch.
I had the Big Bike Parts brand - these angle up more from the frame and have much more clearance
I scraped my floorboards all the time and never once did the highway bars touch.
2
there are different styles also that can come into play. but yes. that is why I immediately returned my linbar. I liked the looks, but i had to take gradual turns.. I am a peg dragger.. so the two didn't mix.
Nor was I questioning what you said. I found it interesting the same company, Lindby, makes different bars for the C50 and based on our experiences they have different clearances. It's good there is so much experience on this forum with the different products out there.Please understand I'm in no way questioning what you are saying only reporting my results. Lot of factors come into play when talking anything aftermarket on the bikes.
Cobras are alright, the only time mine have ever touched the road was during a slow uphill turn on a road with a high crown...the frame also touched, can't blame that on the bars.Heard about a guy who went down over the weekend, taking a corner too fast.. ( so I was told)... anyway he said his engine guard, (Crash bar) caught the pavement and caused the accident..??? he ended up in ICU with a brain bleed and hopefully will be ok. im not an aggressive rider but was thinking about getting the cobra bars for my bike but...... if the above is true...im having second thoughts. Any experts out there with any input on this topic? Thank you.
With that one time exception, even with my forks aired down (which drops the front enough to scrape the frame and radiator going over speed bumps) the floorboards have always dragged first.
You can take pictures and make geometric calculations in your garage all day, but you don't ride in your garage. Accidents as a result of the bars are pretty few and far between I think, and realistically chances are most people will never touch their bars down. It is possible for them to touch though, out there out of the garage and off the track, in the random and imperfect conditions of the real world -- I had deep scratches and flat spots worn on both sets of my Cobras. I had to replace the first set because I bent them. I was leaning and accelerating into a city corner and hit some uneven pavement in the dark. It bent the bar back and folded up my floorboard but I rode through it without incident (made it a bit tough to get to the brake pedal). Most of my riding buddies will tell you I scrape constantly in the curves though (and even in the parking lot for kicks). Most people don't.
The bars are not likely to lead to a crash, but in certain circumstances with uneven pavement or unfavorable banking you could touch them down leaning into a corner. There are one or two old threads on here about the same discussion and a few guys that went down after striking their bars. The threads are from several years ago and may not exist anymore -- site was revamped and updated at one point and threads prior to that were lost I believe.
The bars are not likely to lead to a crash, but in certain circumstances with uneven pavement or unfavorable banking you could touch them down leaning into a corner. There are one or two old threads on here about the same discussion and a few guys that went down after striking their bars. The threads are from several years ago and may not exist anymore -- site was revamped and updated at one point and threads prior to that were lost I believe.
Hello old friend! How are you?
Man, I had forgotten about that thread. I think I mostly stayed out of that one. :lol: I remember bikerpop & jimjack went down after hitting the cobras, couldn't recall anyone else specifically.
Too true.........I never had Cobra's on the C50 because of some reviews I read about scraping. Forgot about that when the Cobra's got substituted for the 1500. Cobra's are rounded on the bottom (MCE's and Barons arc up almost immediately). The scraping problem happened mainly on corners, not curves. A bit of a bump in the corner or a sharp off camber would apparently compress the front forks and the Cobra's would scrape without the floorboards scraping. Scared the crap out of myself too many times and got the Barons.Hmm..so, Duffy, the Cobra bars on your Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 touch ground before the floorboards? I'm not doubting this is true, it is just perplexing that Cobra got it right on the C50 (lots of margin for the boards to touch well before the bars) but apparently didn't get it right on your Kawasaki. :wtf:
As I mentioned earlier I'm sometimes a bit aggressive in the twisties.
I have heard the same on Cobras by many I ride with. I ended up getting these http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161698945222 and have had them now for 3 years without issue and I am a pretty aggressive rider. My pegs are pretty flat on the bottom corners and the bars have never been touched.
I had Cobras on mine too when I went down. Definitely a pattern developing here...Hello old friend! How are you?
Man, I had forgotten about that thread. I think I mostly stayed out of that one. :lol: I remember bikerpop & jimjack went down after hitting the cobras, couldn't recall anyone else specifically.
I remember this thread. I just could not see how MY "cobra" bars could hit first. But maybe the answer is different, maybe the bike or the bars differ. Perhaps some C50's have a higher mounting point for the floorboards, or lower bolt hole for the bars. Perhaps Cobra has two versions of the Hwy bars for the C50. When all this happened, I remember trying to get my bars to touch and I got them **** close, but even getting off the gas in a tight turn did not hit the when the floorboards were just scraping. But what if, Cobra had two patterns for the C50 bars, or what if some models of the C50 had the floorboards mounted 1/2" higher.
I ran into this with my Vstrom. Got two sets of bars from the same vendor, same p/n, but just different enough that they did not match. Had to use them as sets. I damaged one on a washout off roading a Vstrom...not a smart move but it was the only way to move forward without turning around.
While I have sympathy for anyone who has been down, I do not adhere to the I'm going to sue you mentality. If I set my step ladder up in a pile of manure and it falls over, I'd assume I was the one who made the mistake, even if it had no label telling me not to set my stepladder up in a pile of manure.
I ran into this with my Vstrom. Got two sets of bars from the same vendor, same p/n, but just different enough that they did not match. Had to use them as sets. I damaged one on a washout off roading a Vstrom...not a smart move but it was the only way to move forward without turning around.
While I have sympathy for anyone who has been down, I do not adhere to the I'm going to sue you mentality. If I set my step ladder up in a pile of manure and it falls over, I'd assume I was the one who made the mistake, even if it had no label telling me not to set my stepladder up in a pile of manure.
That is what they are forfirst time i went down and started sliding after hitting an ice spot, scary too think what would have happened to my legs if i didn't have my cobras...
Doing well here. Good to hear from you. Wish I had the time to ride like I did 7 years ago!Hello old friend! How are you?
Man, I had forgotten about that thread. I think I mostly stayed out of that one. :lol: I remember bikerpop & jimjack went down after hitting the cobras, couldn't recall anyone else specifically.
Haven't read all the posts but---
My bet is he heard the bars, or something scrape, panic set in quickly, grabbed the front brake and down he went. He probably didn't even realize he grabbed the brake.
My bet is he heard the bars, or something scrape, panic set in quickly, grabbed the front brake and down he went. He probably didn't even realize he grabbed the brake.
"While I have sympathy for anyone who has been down, I do not adhere to the I'm going to sue you mentality. If I set my step ladder up in a pile of manure and it falls over, I'd assume I was the one who made the mistake, even if it had no label telling me not to set my stepladder up in a pile of manure."
This suit actually did take place and the jerk won. Several years ago a guy put his ladder on a frozen pile. Day warmed up, so did pile. Ladder slipped and he fell. He sued Lynn(MA) Ladder and it was on 60 Minutes. Go figure!
This suit actually did take place and the jerk won. Several years ago a guy put his ladder on a frozen pile. Day warmed up, so did pile. Ladder slipped and he fell. He sued Lynn(MA) Ladder and it was on 60 Minutes. Go figure!
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