Crash Bars and Clearance

[sheulett]

I searched for an answer about how crash bars might affect cornering clearance, but I didn't find what I was looking for. Lots of stuff about bars, though, so I'm sure the answer is in there somewhere. Please forgive me for repeating a question that's been answered if in fact I missed an obvious post.

So, how do crash bars potentially affect ground clearance? I'm looking at the Cobra bars for my 900, but I regularly drag my floorboards. The boards, of course, are built to give a little when they contact the ground so that you don't push the bike off its tires when they scrape. The bars, of course, won't do that. I want the bars to protect in the even that the bike goes over, but I don't want something that increases the chances of that happening. Anyone with these bars on a 900 have info as to whether they would scrape before I ran outta room with the boards?

Thanks!
Steve

[Plato]

Since I don't have a 900 my answer may not satisfy your needs... But on my 05 Nomad the stock OEM bars do not touch down until AFTER the floor boards have scraped and flexed up. And the few times I've scraped my floor boards I was so startled that I quickly righted the bike so going far enough to touch the bars was not a consideration.

As you mentioned going over far enough to fully flex the boards up means you are close to lifting the tires off the ground and at that point you are screwed and probably would want the bars to be there since you are about to go down and would want the bar protection for your legs...

[BikerBeagle]

I don't have the crash bars on my 900, but looking at some pictures posted, it looks like if you 'regularly' scrape your floorboards -and enough to worry about 'running out of room' - you are going to have problems with the crash bars.

Judge for yourself, though: http://forums.delphiforums.com/kawas...sages?msg=29.2

[REFUGIO]

I have crash bars on my 900 classic LT.
It does not look like they would scrape.
You will have to be really scraping your floorboards and then some before the crash bar would scrape.
However, I don't regulary scrape my floorboards.
I have scraped them a couple of times but the floorboards scrape way before the crashbars do... if they do.

[PO-POMAX2K]

The Cobrs on my 1600 were designed to touchdown after, but I have a friend w/ cobras on a Suzuki and they hit first. Maybe you could email the company? Good Luck.

p.s. I fully expected to have to give up lean angle for the protection and comfort of the bars when I ordered them, but being able to do both is just an added bonus.

[bigmacbkr]

I've scraped my floorboards several times, but never the crash bars. It depends on how they are shaped. A friend who just rode the Dragons Tail with me scraped his crash bars several times on his Suz Volusia and it scared the crap out of him.

[Chuckster]

The Cobra bars are "fatter" than most. I had those on a Suzuki Volusia and was always paranoid about them. I had to be especially careful riding The Dragon because of this. I've seen these bars take bikes out from under people that corner too aggressively. I bought the MC Enterprises bar for my Vulcan 1500 as they are more tapered at the bottom and don't come out as far at the bottom as the Cobra does.

[dgci]

I've got Cobra bars on my 900LT, and I'm not an aggressive rider. In fact, I'm a fairly NEW rider, and have yet to drag my boards.

But bottom line, if you straighten the bike up, get behind it down low and look, the floorboards are gonna reach the ground BEFORE the Cobra bars do. If you're grinding your boards, that's a warning that you've reached about the max lean angle for the bike. You shouldn't have a problem with the bars clearing, unless you lowside, in which case you'll be glad the bars are there.

Been there, done that, I've dropped my 900LT to the right side in a low-speed manuever. Only "damage" was the right-side mirror knocked out of alignment. Stepped off the bike, folded the kickstand down, butt-pushed it back up onto the stand, got back on and rode away with nothing damaged but my pride. Didn't even scratch the chrome on the bars.

Luckily, pride heals quickly.

Remember, the two top causes of motorcycle accidents are the cage turning left in front of you, and FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE A CURVE. If you're grinding boards on a regular basis, you're probably pushing the curve too hard. The 900 isn't a sport bike, don't try to ride it like one.

[VulcanRev]

I have a two part answer, first check your location of your "rub-blocks." Mine were mounted on the front of my boards, although this allowed me a great lean angle for a cruiser, every time I scraped the boards it was the aluminum coming off the back of the board itself.
I moved my blocks to the other mounting location at the back. This significantly reduced my lean angle before I rub, but of course I'd rather sacrifice the blocks than the boards. All this was done prior to installing the 1 1/4" cobra freeway bars.
I have since rubbed on numerous occaisions and the tought always goes though the back of my mind "don't hit the bars...don't hit the bars" as my grip tightens on the ISO's and on the seat! However after almost 3 weeks of riding with the freeway bar, I am positive you would need to darn near break a board off before hitting the bar. Cobra did a ggreat job of designing the lower angle to just catch the outboard edge of the board in case of a tip over, and still have it at a suffecient angle to lean her till you scrape and still be safe.

[metalyguitarded]

I've only scraped a few times since adding Cobra bars to my 900 and the bars have never touched the ground. I hope to keep it that way ...

[sheulett]

Originally Posted by dgci

Remember, the two top causes of motorcycle accidents are the cage turning left in front of you, and FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE A CURVE. If you're grinding boards on a regular basis, you're probably pushing the curve too hard. The 900 isn't a sport bike, don't try to ride it like one.

Actually, that's the REASON that I make a point of scraping the boards. I'm not hot dogging it in curves that contain lots of hazards (limited visibility, narrow road, ditches, etc.). I'm picking my spots and practicing my riding. I figure that eventually, I'm going to encounter a situation where I have to tighten my turn in the middle of a curve when I didn't expect it (car in my lane, or something else that requires a course correction). When that time comes, I want to know what I'm capable of. I practice leaning so that I know instinctively when I'm about to run out of room on the lean. I know when the boards are about to scrape because I've practiced it enough. I just wanted to know if adding bars was going to change that. The fact that the boards flip up to give a bit more without taking me off of my wheels gave me the ability to get to the point where I knew how much ground clearance I had to work with. The bars won't do that.

I agree with you that it just doesn't pay to take chances in curves. But I think that if I never worked on my skills to the point where I was confident in leaning enough to scrape a board, I wouldn't be ready for a potentially dangerous situation.

Cheers!
Steve

[Idaho]

I don't have much experience dragging the pegs (no crash bars on mine) but it certainly gets my attention in a big way when it happens. I definitely need lots more practice in the curves.

I read an article once, I think it was in Cruiser Mag. about how one of the test riders checked for ground clearance/lean angle. I am pretty sure he said that when he got on a bike he would get it up to about 60mph and then do a hard swerve and stay in his lane and scrape both pegs. To most that might not seem like much but to me it sure seems impressive.

[dickwol]

I can't speak for the 900 but on my 1500 Classic with the Kawasaki crash bars I cannot see how I could ever lean enough for them to touch. I've lightly scratched the floorboards on a few occasions but since I had them chromed a while back and would like to keep them that way I'm always very aware of how far over I am willing to lean.

[madmac]

I use MC Enterprises Engine Guard on my 2007 Vulcan 900 LT and the profile of those bars are a litte different than that of the Cobra bars, however I believe that the floorboards will touch down before the engine guards do. I would imagine that this concern is a consideration in the design and engineering of the various engine guards (crash guards) on the market.

[bluestringer]

The Cobra Freeway bar did have problems hitting before the boards on the Vulcan 1500's. Don't know if they have corrected the problem or not. And not sure if the 900 would have the same problem.

[Teamlopez1]

We have a 900LT and If your scrapping your crash bars/gaurds IMO yuor pretty much going down at that point or damn close to it. i have riden my wifes 900 hard and never got close to scrapping her engine gaurds. I'm 240 as well.

[Spazz]

Originally Posted by sheulett

I searched for an answer about how crash bars might affect cornering clearance, but I didn't find what I was looking for. Lots of stuff about bars, though, so I'm sure the answer is in there somewhere. Please forgive me for repeating a question that's been answered if in fact I missed an obvious post.

So, how do crash bars potentially affect ground clearance? I'm looking at the Cobra bars for my 900, but I regularly drag my floorboards. The boards, of course, are built to give a little when they contact the ground so that you don't push the bike off its tires when they scrape. The bars, of course, won't do that. I want the bars to protect in the even that the bike goes over, but I don't want something that increases the chances of that happening. Anyone with these bars on a 900 have info as to whether they would scrape before I ran outta room with the boards?

Thanks!
Steve

If you ever get your bike so low in a corner that you worry about these bars. Well then, my dear fellow it is too late for worrying. You will be sliding on the side of your bike. First off, your floor boards would have been broken off for this to happen. But that would be after they dug in and kicked the rear end of your bike out from under you. They are designed with the curve on the bottom so that this will not happen. Before I gave my 900LT to my wife, I regularly scraped the floor boards. If you have any doubt about this, you should enlist the help of another strong back and lay your bike down on its side. Then you will have no doubt as to how far you can lean before contact. I have Cobras on the wife’s bike.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by bluestringer

The Cobra Freeway bar did have problems hitting before the boards on the Vulcan 1500's. Don't know if they have corrected the problem or not. And not sure if the 900 would have the same problem.

The Cobra "Fattys" on the 1600 do not hit before the floorboards. Dropped the bike a few times and the floorboards have always caught it, no damage to the bars.

[jerkybear]

Originally Posted by madmac

I use MC Enterprises Engine Guard on my 2007 Vulcan 900 LT and the profile of those bars are a litte different than that of the Cobra bars, however I believe that the floorboards will touch down before the engine guards do. I would imagine that this concern is a consideration in the design and engineering of the various engine guards (crash guards) on the market.

I have the MC engine guards on my vulcan, and I have tapped my bars several times. The guards will definately hit before the boards. I came into a sharp curve and had to lean hard to keep from going into the ditch. I tapped the crash bar several times before I got out of the curve. Someone had taken the curve sign down, and I was on it before I could brake enough. I was also forced out of my lane and during the avoidance maneuvers, hit the crash bars. I have yet to hit the floor boards. Just my little story. But they do look good on my LT. Craig

[CycleDude]

Originally Posted by jerkybear

I have the MC engine guards on my vulcan, and I have tapped my bars several times. The guards will definately hit before the boards.

That's funny, because my MC Enterprice bars on my 900 do not. In fact, the ONLY time they've touched the ground was when I dropped the bike in a parking lot and they caught it.

I have dragged my boards many times. My bars are scratch free.