Like someone above said, we have the tank fairing protruding outward not like the GS. The side panels are cheaper to replace than the tank panel. Hence I got the HEED crashbars as it keeps the bike clear off the ground. Geometry of one bike is not the same as the other just like GS vs MTS.
I dropped my 2010 with Barkbusters fitted and no crash bars - only damage was to the Barkbusters, R&G front spindle protector, rear footpeg (minor scrape) and my Ortlieb bag (strapped across the rear rack). Just about to order some for the Enduro.
I have now joined the broken hand guard club Wheeling the bike out of the garage saturday, and didn't notice the side stand had been flipped back a bit. Consequence was the bike got leant up against a sheet of polystyrene that was stood against the wall of the house. Bizarrely I think if it wasn't there the hand guard wouldn't have broken, but the bar end pushed into it, and the guard snapped right by the bar end I don't want bark busters, but looking at the bar end things at present. What I want, what I really really want, is a metal version of the plastic bit that always breaks. I'm assuming no one has found a maker of these yet ?
So tell me what you want, what you really really want... (Sorry!) Do you mean you'd like the plastic handguard, but made in metal? I suppose in theory it would be possible to make a pattern and cast them, although I think the part where they mount near the master cylinder would still need some extra material adding for extra strength. Interestingly, after I initially dropped mine, my good friend Monsterped patched things up for me, and he added a section of approx. 1.5mm thick ally to join up the plastic where it had broken adjacent to the bar end. I then subsequently dropped the bike when my enthusiasm outweighed my talent on a particularly nasty rocky uphill bend on a trail on Dartmoor. There was no further damage to the handguard. So it may be that in adding strength to that area there is no sideways force to break the handguard elsewhere. In fact, Monsterped did such a neat repair it's remained as-is ever since!
Yeah, thinking of something out of black anodised alloy, so it looks similar but is more forgiving if dropped. I can live with it bending a bit as long as it stays in one bit. Mine has snapped right against the bar end, so i would need to patch the outside. I may well see if I can do something with it once replaced. 7 to 10 days delivery for a replacement
I'll take a picture of mine later, so you can see how mine was repaired - might help you with doing something similar.
Two of us had minor topples in France (at standstill) this year and we both broke hand guards! It's the fragility of the side sections that make them so vulnerable. I'd be interested to know how you fixed them up (I have a few broken pairs in the shed) I'm seriously thinking of going the Bark Buster route now...
Tour I went on recently had a handful of Multistradas, two fell over. stationary drops and both required Gaffa tape engineering on the relevant hand-guard to continue. My MV Turismo had similar hand-guards, but the outer part was metal. Dropped mine twice and mechanic dropped it once. All at a stand-still. Bar end bolt bent on one of those occasions where I toppled off on a serious adverse camber, so further for the bike to fall. Never needed to replace the hand-guard, it was was unmarked.
Except those are staggeringly overpriced for that they are. Prettier than Barkbusters, perhaps, but I know where my money would go.
Some pics of my repaired hand guard. Excuse the filth and dead stuff; I did about 500 miles this weekend, and haven’t had time to clean it yet.
Incidentally, the ally repair is bent due to the subsequent drop! I now always carry cable ties, electrical tape, and some hefty pliers, in case the gear lever needs adjusting again.
The break at the end looks similar to mine. I've made a template for now to make a plate to go inside the plastic, similar to you repair.
You might find the brass threaded inserts inside your handlebar will want shaving down a bit - the bar end screw barely engages, so the addition of an extra thickness of material means the screw might not engage at all. I’m almost tempted to design a chunky steel plate to fit inside the end of the handguard. Would be simple and inexpensive to get some sheet metal parts made up.
I have a set of those fitted, I'm sure they were cheaper when I bought them. They didn't stop a break when the bike dropped but when I used to commute into London they were good at protecting the guards from collisions with car/van mirrors. They also took out a Belgian's car mirror whilst I was filtering in heavy traffic outside Paris, with no damage to the guard...
The problem with the design is that something so fragile and easy to brake can immobilise the bike. Because the hand guard is also the mount for the brake/clutch reservoir you cant really continue. Mine broke very cleanly in 4 places, superglue got me back on the road and has made for an almost invisible repair.
