hand guards

[toastmaster]

Has anyone installed hand guards on his/her bike yet? Hand guards are those dorky looking plastic wind deflectors in front of your grips, to help with wind during those cold days. I found Storm ones, but they're $100, and I'm hoping that there are others that are cheaper and more stylish...

 

[Roaddawg]

I was wondering the same thing. Saw a bike the other day with ones and was wondering if they work well and would look ok. I didn't realize they were $100! Let me know what you find out.

 

[llervero]

I have seen the Ducati multistrada with them and other ducati models have them with the turn signals integrated. I have been thinking about it for some time now for the same reason, cold weather protection.

 

[llervero]

I have seen the Ducati multistrada with them and other ducati models have them with the turn signals integrated. I have been thinking about it for some time now for the same reason, cold weather protection.

 

[dart1963]

Hi-Performance Engineering Handguards

check these out, won't break the bank if you don't like them.

 

[Roaddawg]

Ok, so here are my Raider hand guards mounted on my bike. They work great at blocking the wind on my hands. They look o.k., but I do feel like I'm riding Batman's motorcycle (the view from the rider's seat). They also are stable and make no wind noise. I don't plan on leaving them on once the weather is nice, but since the cold/wet is here and coming, they'll stay on until spring. They were easy to install, I just had to slide the clutch and brake levers over some to make room for the brackets. The brackets are a hard plastic composite. The bad thing about them was the threads weren't very clean or easy to work with. I had to use my own screws on part of them. Also, the quality is not as good as name brand ones, but for what I'm using them for and for the price, I'm not too worried about it. I do wish they were a little more shiny to match better with the bike, but its not that big of a deal. Also, I had to put my handlebar risers back in the stock setting to make a little more room when at full lock on the steering. At full locks, the guards hit the wind screen a little, but not enough to affect the steering. How this helps anyone that's been on the fence about hand guards. I'll update again after I get some time with them in the cold.

 

[J.J.]

Powermadd sells some nice ones.
They have removable vents & you can add a wrap around feature for more wind protection.
They have solid color trail model with no vents too less money.

 

[Roaddawg]

Powermadd sells some nice ones.
They have removable vents & you can add a wrap around feature for more wind protection.
They have solid color trail model with no vents too less money.

I looked at those and liked the removable vents. The ones I got are basically knock-offs of Powermadd's for half the cost.

Also, after riding with these for a few long freeway rides, I do notice some additional turbulence created by the hand guards at freeway speeds above 70+. (I also have the Yamaha clear DB). It's not bad turbulence, but noticeable. But, it is nice having the cool wind not blowing on my fingers anymore. Should be well worth it this winter.

 

[Marthy]

I looked at those and liked the removable vents. The ones I got are basically knock-offs of Powermadd's for half the cost.

Also, after riding with these for a few long freeway rides, I do notice some additional turbulence created by the hand guards at freeway speeds above 70+. (I also have the Yamaha clear DB). It's not bad turbulence, but noticeable. But, it is nice having the cool wind not blowing on my fingers anymore. Should be well worth it this winter.

I'm surprise to hear about the extra turbulence... not something that I notice with mine on my windscreen. I cruise 80-95 mph 400 miles when I went to Daytona and it was great.

 

[Roaddawg]

I'm surprise to hear about the extra turbulence... not something that I notice with mine on my windscreen. I cruise 80-95 mph 400 miles when I went to Daytona and it was great.

Probably because your windshield in one soild piece. The turbulance was between the wind coming off the sides of the windscreen and the inside of the hand guards. Like I said, it's not bad, but noticeable.

Rode into work this morning and it was 43 degrees when I left the house. Not supper cold, but cold enough I could test out the wind chill factor. My fingers did stay warmer than normal with the wind blocked. I tried to wear my summer wieght gloves, but had to pull over because it was still too cold outside for those. But, the wind was blocked and it helped.

 

[J.J.]

I looked at those and liked the removable vents. The ones I got are basically knock-offs of Powermadd's for half the cost.

Also, after riding with these for a few long freeway rides, I do notice some additional turbulence created by the hand guards at freeway speeds above 70+. (I also have the Yamaha clear DB). It's not bad turbulence, but noticeable. But, it is nice having the cool wind not blowing on my fingers anymore. Should be well worth it this winter.

yeah they are expensive I will agree.
We have those and Acerbis on our sleds.
A friend has a solid black wrap around no-name on her V-Strom that are nice. I think its a parts unlimited ATV product.

 

[toastmaster]

Thanks to the others on this board, I decided to do the blue PowerMadd handguards on my blue bike. As Roaddawg mentioned, I had to rotate the handlebars back up, and the guards slightly hit the mirror and windscreens at the end of the turns. Overall, it definitely cuts down on the wind, though, I think its causing some wind to go up my clutch hand's glove/jacket oddly enough.

Some pics here. Nothing as detailed as Roaddawg's, but I mainly wanted to show the slight differences in the blue colors of the handguards and the bike. The bike is slightly darker and a little more purplish than the handguards, but you really have to be paying attention to notice, so overall, it's a decent match.

 

[llervero]

thanks guys i made up my mind. I'm going with the hand guards. They do not not as bad as I though it would be. Plus the benefit of more wind protectio. I ride all year including winter and I take any cold weather protection I can.

 

[Roaddawg]

thanks guys i made up my mind. I'm going with the hand guards. They do not not as bad as I though it would be. Plus the benefit of more wind protectio. I ride all year including winter and I take any cold weather protection I can.

I ride year round too, so these were out of necessity. And, they are easy enough to remove when the weather warms up, so you get the air flow to cool down. (mine don't have the removable air vents)

 

[Roaddawg]

Thanks to the others on this board, I decided to do the blue PowerMadd handguards on my blue bike. As Roaddawg mentioned, I had to rotate the handlebars back up, and the guards slightly hit the mirror and windscreens at the end of the turns. Overall, it definitely cuts down on the wind, though, I think its causing some wind to go up my clutch hand's glove/jacket oddly enough.

Some pics here. Nothing as detailed as Roaddawg's, but I mainly wanted to show the slight differences in the blue colors of the handguards and the bike. The bike is slightly darker and a little more purplish than the handguards, but you really have to be paying attention to notice, so overall, it's a decent match.

Try moving them ever so slightly to change the wind flow. I noticed the same thing, but just moved them up a 1/4 inch and it moved the flow over my cuff.

 

[Marthy]

It's not quite an issue here in Florida yet but I've been looking around for hand guards. Some of you may remember my old 26" screen with the wind deflector that were doing the job (Very well actually) of hand guard. Since I have a new screen this year, I need hand guard.

There's plenty of choice out there, just not sure yet witch route I'll go. My biggest concern right now are the bracket to fit my Renthal. It's kind of busy and I don't have that much space... So I was hoping to find something to clamp on the 3/8" dia little cross bar, no success so far. That would be nice to to have to custom build something for once... But if I have too... Ah well.

 

[Fulkon]

This is actually something I'm really interested in as well, I've been freezing my hands off in the winter going back and forth to work.

 

[ngengs]

Has anyone installed hand guards on his/her bike yet? Hand guards are those dorky looking plastic wind deflectors in front of your grips, to help with wind during those cold days. I found Storm ones, but they're $100, and I'm hoping that there are others that are cheaper and more stylish...

Has anyone seen or tried these? I think they look quite nice to me.

This model fits the FZ6 2006-2009 $109.99
Barkbusters - S1

Here are some pix on a Fz1
TwistedThrottle.com : 2008 Yamaha FZ1 with Barkbusters Storm Handguards

 

[Marthy]

Has anyone seen or tried these? I think they look quite nice to me.

This model fits the FZ6 2006-2009 $109.99
Barkbusters - S1

Here are some pix on a Fz1
TwistedThrottle.com : 2008 Yamaha FZ1 with Barkbusters Storm Handguards

I got a set of Circa at Cycle Gears few weeks ago. It comes with aluminum brackets. The size is nice and once you remove the ugly sticker it blend very nice on the bike. For more than 1/2 the price of those... Let me find the link.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/9/192/17943/ITEM/Cycra-Stealth-DX-Racer-Pack.aspx?WT.ac=SLIsearch

 

[lwclancers]

I have these

http://www.600cc.org/forum/299092-post18.html