Hepco and Becker crashbars

[Stolo]

Hi,

 

Some impressions about the above mentioned crashbars.

 

It’s a good looking pair, and the lower part is doing the job particulary well, protecting the engine case from the sharp rocks in the eventuality of a fall (and if everythings goes well, the fall should come).

 

Based on a recent experience, I think it is worth mentioning a design flaw, maybe it will help somebody prevent a potentially costly damage. The problem is with the left side upper segment. It is fastened into the engine case using a 100mm screw. After a couple of falls on the left side, all at very low speeds (when the speed is high enough, this motorcycle refuses to fall, no mater what), I notoced a slight play in the bar. It proved that the thread in the engine case was severely damaged (i.e completely). I had to insert another bolt, longer, to make use of the remaining thread. Unfortunately the HB provided bolt uses only a half of the existing thread, and is a long bolt… A bolt that is 107 mm long is perfect.

 

This was my bike. Today I found out that a friend of mine has exactly the same problem, on the same side, the left one (on the right the bolt is significantly shorter, so less leverage in case of fall on the ceashbar). So I would assume a design flaw.

 

And here is my advice: either put a longer bolt, and use Loctite (the instalation manual or the service manual is not mentioning that), or check frequently the bolt for looseness. 

[Stolo]

One minor update: the left lower bar is built such way that when the bottom mounting points get bent during a fall, the crashbar will puncture the oil pan. It happened to me, and almost happened to a friend who has the same bars. In his case, the oil pan was just scratched, not punctured yet. He’s removing the lower bars too, until is not too late.

 

These bars look nice, the concept is cool, but they damage exactly the things they were supossed to protect.

 

For sure, they are not built for offroad use… Definitelye not TET worthy.

[Stolo]

And a last addition to the topic: Hepco & Becker updated their lower crashbar, and now the lateral mounting points are enforced, so they are unlikely to cause damage to the oil pan in the case of a motorcycle fall o  it’s left side. They were also so kind to send me a free updated replacement for the bars that damaged my bike. The new ones are definitely better.

[TenereCanary]

On 8/5/2021 at 2:24 PM, Stolo said:

Hi,

 

Some impressions about the above mentioned crashbars.

 

It’s a good looking pair, and the lower part is doing the job particulary well, protecting the engine case from the sharp rocks in the eventuality of a fall (and if everythings goes well, the fall should come).

 

Based on a recent experience, I think it is worth mentioning a design flaw, maybe it will help somebody prevent a potentially costly damage. The problem is with the left side upper segment. It is fastened into the engine case using a 100mm screw. After a couple of falls on the left side, all at very low speeds (when the speed is high enough, this motorcycle refuses to fall, no mater what), I notoced a slight play in the bar. It proved that the thread in the engine case was severely damaged (i.e completely). I had to insert another bolt, longer, to make use of the remaining thread. Unfortunately the HB provided bolt uses only a half of the existing thread, and is a long bolt… A bolt that is 107 mm long is perfect.

 

This was my bike. Today I found out that a friend of mine has exactly the same problem, on the same side, the left one (on the right the bolt is significantly shorter, so less leverage in case of fall on the ceashbar). So I would assume a design flaw.

 

And here is my advice: either put a longer bolt, and use Loctite (the instalation manual or the service manual is not mentioning that), or check frequently the bolt for looseness. 

Were you ever able to to find a longer bolt that would work? I had the exact same damage and had to install a heli coil to repair it, however I have the original bolt still. I can’t find any longer bolt anywhere online or even fastener shops in my local area. 
 

Does anyone know where to get a bolt that is longer then the one supplied on the left side?

[Stolo]

Hi,

yes, I found that longer bolt in my area, but that it’s in Romania and might not be relevant for you. It was longer than necessary, so I had to cut it to the right size. Then, because it had a hex head, I also had to cut the crashbar guide that was meant for a cylindrical head.