Tusk Handguards

[mattgif]

Anybody have experience with Tusk Handguards? RMATV lists these  D-Flex Pro Adventure Handguards as compatible with the Tenere 700. They're way cheaper than the HDBs and Barkbuster Storms, and seem to be higher quality than Acerbis based on some Advrider threads. 

[BMRT7]

I have them on my WR250F and my 300. They’re not as all encompassing as they HDB setup but they are super tough. The aluminum they use for the guard is very substantial and the plastic guards are tough as well. I don’t like the bar clamps they provide so I am running them with a set of cycra center clamp mounts. 
 

For me, my first preference would he HDB, then Tusk, then Cycra with center clamp mounts. I feel like cycra makes a better mount but the Tusk guard is better. Acerbis is crap. No experience with barkbusters. 
 

I do like the HDB grip bosses that cover the entire end of your bar and grip better. The tusk use an expanding insert inside the bar but it’s a little beefier than others I’ve seen. Finish on the tusk aluminum is better looking than HDB raw finish. 

[AZJW]

@mattgif

Did you get these and install them? If so, pictures and impressions would help others trying to decide which ones to get.  The wife's Beta 125 RR-S has a set, very substantial,  but hers has the 7/8" bars. Thx

[Gstt500]

They won’t fit the Tenere. Finally got mine and tried to install them, the clamps won’t clear the brake master. I’m shipping them back. I’ve used them before on other bikes and they are good handguards 

[AZJW]

5 hours ago, Gstt500 said:

They won’t fit the Tenere. Finally got mine and tried to install them, the clamps won’t clear the brake master. I’m shipping them back. I’ve used them before on other bikes and they are good handguards 

Thanks for the feedback. You saved me and probably others some fitment grief.

[Gstt500]

I did send an email with pictures to the supplier to see what’s up with the fit so we’ll see if maybe they sent the wrong part, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now and see if that’s the case. 
I’ll update when I hear back.

[mattgif]

On 8/22/2020 at 8:59 AM, CAJW said:

@mattgif

Did you get these and install them? If so, pictures and impressions would help others trying to decide which ones to get.  The wife's Beta 125 RR-S has a set, very substantial,  but hers has the 7/8" bars. Thx

I do have the handguards. What I don't have is a Tenere 700. My dealer is still quoting me a nebulous "September" delivery date w/o a VIN. 

My personal troubles aside, I think @sbeck09 has a set installed on his bike. That's what made me curious about them in the first place.

[mattgif]

@Gstt500 Which version did you get? They have an set marked as Adventure, which I are listed as fitting the T700. They also have a non-adv set which likely fits differently and doesn't come up under the T700 offerings.

[AZJW]

51 minutes ago, mattgif said:

I do have the handguards. What I don't have is a Tenere 700. My dealer is still quoting me a nebulous "September" delivery date w/o a VIN. 

My personal troubles aside, I think @sbeck09 has a set installed on his bike. That's what made me curious about them in the first place.

I saw that earlier and posed the question to him so hopefully he has a different version. Bummer on having parts , but no bike to install them on, hope it's sooner than later for you.

[Gstt500]

I looked back at my invoice and I did order the pro adventure. I played around with them a bit more, the only way I could possibly make them work would be to bend the aluminum guards considerably, And there’s just the standard bar end clamps that will probably ruin the threads inside the bars but I’m not going to go that far. From what I can tell these are just the standard Tusk universal hand guards I’ve used before. So far customer service hasn’t been very helpful, and I was told by the rep that they were universal so I will have to pay return shipping. Not real happy with the purchase, going to call them again tomorrow.
I was looking at the Barkbusters and they look like they’re a custom fit, including new bar end weights to fit the large bolt threads in the bars.

[sbeck09]

Ok guys let's tackle this....

 

First off here is the LINK to the exact set I bought just so you can verify we are looking at the same set.

 

Second, here is a photo of mine after install

 

 

To be clear nothing is touching or rubbing, but it is crazy tight on the right (throttle) side.

 

I also noticed that right out of the box the inner bend of these is not correct for our bars. Seems a bit odd to me since these bars don't look much different from your average dirtbike, but after bending the inner portion of the aluminum guard out (toward the front of the bike) about 10 degrees everything lined up right and I was able to correctly bolt it all together.

 

So absolutely they can work and I have no regrets. But you have to put in a bit more effort to save money over the more expensive options. I personally feel that companies like Barkbuster overcharge so the little extra effort here was a small price to pay.

 

Oh...and those obnoxious stickers peel right off which makes them look significantly better.

Edited August 24, 2020 by sbeck09
typos

[Gstt500]

25 minutes ago, sbeck09 said:

Ok guys let's tackle this....

 

First off here is the LINK to the exact set I bought just so you can verify we are looking at the same set.

 

Second, here is a photo of mine after install

 

 

To be clear nothing is touching or rubbing, but it is crazy tight on the right (throttle) side.

 

I also noticed that right out of the box the inner bend of these is not correct for our bars. Seems a bit odd to me since these bars don't look much different from your average dirtbike, but after bending the inner portion of the aluminum guard out (toward the front of the bike) about 10 degrees everything lined up right and I was able to correctly bolt it all together.

 

So absolutely they can work and I have no regrets. But you have to put in a bit more effort to save money over the more expensive options. I personally feel that companies like Barkbuster overcharge so the little extra effort here was a small price to pay.

 

Oh...and those obnoxious stickers peel right off which makes them look significantly better.

It looked like a bit of bending would do it, Do you notice any vibes without the bar end weights?

i don’t mind doing a little modifying, it’s probably more about the poor customer service I got at this point which I don’t need to go into here, don’t have much patience for that. Not going to name names, But I’ve always been satisfied with this retailer in the past.

[sbeck09]

8 minutes ago, Gstt500 said:

It looked like a bit of bending would do it, Do you notice any vibes without the bar end weights?

i don’t mind doing a little modifying, it’s probably more about the poor customer service I got at this point which I don’t need to go into here, don’t have much patience for that. Not going to name names, But I’ve always been satisfied with this retailer in the past.

Yeah you need a good spot to bend them. Thanks to the thick aluminum they use (5/16?) my bench was lifting off the ground when I tried using the vice like I always do. Had to find something heavier to wedge it in. 

 

Forgot to mention vibes...I was very apprehensive about removing the bar weights to make this work since you cannot clear any of the controls with them still on. Well I'm glad to say I notice no difference and the reduced width has made it easier to stop hitting everything with the ends of my bars. This is still the smoothest motorcycle I've ever touched.

[Gstt500]

16 minutes ago, sbeck09 said:

Yeah you need a good spot to bend them. Thanks to the thick aluminum they use (5/16?) my bench was lifting off the ground when I tried using the vice like I always do. Had to find something heavier to wedge it in. 

 

Forgot to mention vibes...I was very apprehensive about removing the bar weights to make this work since you cannot clear any of the controls with them still on. Well I'm glad to say I notice no difference and the reduced width has made it easier to stop hitting everything with the ends of my bars. This is still the smoothest motorcycle I've ever touched.

I just talked with the retailer’s customer service again and they will pay for return shipping now, it didn’t amount to that much but it’s become more of the principle of the thing. They still insisted that they sell them as a universal item and some modification may be needed, I told them they should update their website and make that more clear.

I probably would have just kept them and made them work if it wasn’t for the run around I got.

Definetly right on about the smoothness of this bike, I wasn’t overly concerned about losing the bar end weights aside from the possibility of the Bar threads getting bunged up from the expandable inserts.

I agree with the barkbusters being over priced and you paid $10 less for your Tusks  than I did where I bought mine.

Not sure what I’ll buy now but I need something before I drop the bike and bust a lever out in the middle of nowhere.

[roy826]

I bit the bullet and just bought the over priced Barkbusters. They fit perfectly. Losing the bar end weights with them was not an issue in fact I think it vibrates less now with the Barbusters on verses the bar end weights.

[sbeck09]

1 hour ago, Gstt500 said:

I just talked with the retailer’s customer service again and they will pay for return shipping now, it didn’t amount to that much but it’s become more of the principle of the thing. They still insisted that they sell them as a universal item and some modification may be needed, I told them they should update their website and make that more clear.

I probably would have just kept them and made them work if it wasn’t for the run around I got.

Definetly right on about the smoothness of this bike, I wasn’t overly concerned about losing the bar end weights aside from the possibility of the Bar threads getting bunged up from the expandable inserts.

I agree with the barkbusters being over priced and you paid $10 less for your Tusks  than I did where I bought mine.

Not sure what I’ll buy now but I need something before I drop the bike and bust a lever out in the middle of nowhere.

If I was in your shoes...I'd either buy the cheaper of the Tusks like I did or go even more budget and get something cheap from Amazon. Hand guards are a sacrificial part so they just need to work once or twice. Go cheap and make them fit.

[BMRT7]

3 hours ago, sbeck09 said:

 

I also noticed that right out of the box the inner bend of these is not correct for our bars. Seems a bit odd to me since these bars don't look much different from your average dirtbike, but after bending the inner portion of the aluminum guard out (toward the front of the bike) about 10 degrees everything lined up right and I was able to correctly bolt it all together.

 

That they "don't look much different from your average dirtbike bars" is irrelevant. There are a ton of options and different manufacturers have different bends as well.

 

I typically run HDB but I have a set of the Tusk guards on my WRF. They fit amazingly well with a CR high bend but don't clear the brake banjo without modification with a Windham Mid bend.

 

Here's a list of the bends you can get with Pro Taper EVO bars:

 

 

17 minutes ago, sbeck09 said:

If I was in your shoes...I'd either buy the cheaper of the Tusks like I did or go even more budget and get something cheap from Amazon. Hand guards are a sacrificial part so they just need to work once or twice. Go cheap and make them fit.

I wouldn't call them a sacrificial part that only needs to work once or twice. Maybe if you're on an enduro bike and you have a short ride back to your truck. Not on a multi day off-road camping trip across the country where you need  to protect your levers, and more importantly, the perches they mount on. 

[Gstt500]

All good points to ponder  

[MeefZah]

9 hours ago, sbeck09 said:

Yeah you need a good spot to bend them. Thanks to the thick aluminum they use (5/16?) my bench was lifting off the ground when I tried using the vice like I always do. Had to find something heavier to wedge it in. 

 

Forgot to mention vibes...I was very apprehensive about removing the bar weights to make this work since you cannot clear any of the controls with them still on. Well I'm glad to say I notice no difference and the reduced width has made it easier to stop hitting everything with the ends of my bars. This is still the smoothest motorcycle I've ever touched.

Did you use the rubber expander inserts for the bar ends that come with the Tusk guards?  I assume you used the "smaller" one designed for aluminum bars which probably fit inside the threaded bar end inserts?

[DT675]

@sbeck09 I’m glad you got them to work and thanks for providing the link. They fit like crap on my Honda CRF250 too so I imagine I’d be able to get them to fit the T7 as well. 

[sbeck09]

14 hours ago, MeefZah said:

Did you use the rubber expander inserts for the bar ends that come with the Tusk guards?  I assume you used the "smaller" one designed for aluminum bars which probably fit inside the threaded bar end inserts?

I don't exactly remember now. I just used what came in the package. It was an expanding insert, but I actually think it is metal. I don't expect to ever be able to reuse the stock bar end weights so if the threads get a bit messed up, it is what it is. I could always tap them again.

 

9 hours ago, DT675 said:

@sbeck09 I’m glad you got them to work and thanks for providing the link. They fit like crap on my Honda CRF250 too so I imagine I’d be able to get them to fit the T7 as well. 

I have a suspicion that whatever they designed the bend around is not as common as they think. Fortunately it is fairly easy for most people to bend these however much they need to fit their application. I think for the quality and beefiness at this price, some extra effort is acceptable.

[Moto]

Thanks, Sbeck09, for the tip on bending the inside portion forward. Did that, they fit nicely. I like them. They're sturdy, and good price point. No issues with cables or fitment on the inside aspects.

 

However, one more tip for prospective purchasers: You need to machine down the throttle insert a little bit, and find a spacer (see pic) so that the throttle tube and grip don't rub. I found a spacer, and put it all together, and my throttle was frozen. The plastic throttle tube sticks out past the bar end by about 1 mm. The Tusk insert binds with it, because its OD is about the same as the throttle tube ID. I tried moving the throttle assy a skoch in, but it must have a mounting pin in the handle bar. Won't move. Anyway, with my bench grinder (or a file), I ground down the insert flange OD just a little (see pic) and bob's-your-uncle. All good. 

[Splix]

I'm about ready to return the Tusk set and order the BB set. That said, I like the idea of the handguards matching my crash bars, and I am a fan of Tusk generally. The picture shows where I am at right now, with the inner bend not lining up. I don't have a bench vice to bend the bars, so I may have to run over to a buddies house to try and bend them.

 

I worry that once I bend the guard, the clutch lever will hit. Sure, I can get shorter levers installed, but is it worth it to keep going here? I like the product, the thickness of the bar provides good strength, but the installation claim of fitting the T700, I'm not sure I agree with them.

 

 

[Splix]

Anyone considered the Cycra Adventure Tour hand guards? they don't mount to the inner bar, instead floating from the outside mount. I know this won't be as strong, but it will be a much better fit and far better than the stock plastic wind protectors.

 

VOYAGER ADVENTURE TOUR - Cycra

 

[Splix]

One thing I am really liking about the Cycra Voyager, is that it mounts to the existing weighted bar ends. I already cut my stock grips during attempts of the Tusk install, but replacement grips that are blue/black were always on my want list.

 

I'm about ready to just get the Voyagers, say to hell with the interior mount point and accept that it'll be much stronger than stock but won't hold up as well as bark busters in a big crash. I am not an extreme rider, these may be just what I need.