How many ride without the crash bar?

What's this Engine Guard bs? Sounds terribly PC to me. They've been called crash bars since I was a kid and that's been awhile. I think the MOCo doesn't like the word Crash.
Marsh
 
I'm leaving mine on, but I did find one disadvanate of it last September. An old lady passed me on the right while I was making a right turn and clipped my crash bar and the highway peg mounted on it with her tire. I kept the bike upright and it did not look to be too much damage other than a bent crash bar and peg mount. Well, it tore the tab where the center bolt of the crash bar attaches to the frame, and $4,000 later, I had a new frame instaled on my new 2009 Street Glide with 2,000 miles on it. Seems like a poor design--not sure why this bold could not be made to sheer off before tearing the tab in the frame.
 
a couple of years ago when i bought my 08 streetglide i had decided to remove those goofy grandpa looking crash bars. before i had the chance to remove them, i thought i had the kickstand down when getting home. uh-oh. if it weren't for the crash bar who knows how much damage i'd have had. two weeks ago, i was out in the shop monkeying around with my streetglide, parked to the right of my corvette. thought i had the kickstand down, but didn't. it leaned too far when i went to set it on the kickstand that i thought was down, it wasn't. i was able to lift it back upright. that would have not only caused damage to my bike, but also a big bunch of scratched up fiberglass on the vette. remember, your kickstand may sink in soft ground, and it could go over all the way. you do what you think is right for you, but for me, i'll leave the engine guard on.
 
Here are a couple of shots that might settle the crash-bar clearance discussion. These are at a cop-bike competition and the rider is as low as you can lean a Harley, the floorboards making firm contact with the ground. In the close-up you can see that the crash bar is a good 2" or so off the ground. Hopefully this can be seen clearly on your screen.

What you can't see here is that all the cops in this competition had floorboards and brackets that had been ground down considerably, and the floorboards looked like a machete blade. In fact, they look like you could shave with them. That allows the crashbar to approach the pavement even closer than a bike that has a normal life.

BTW, this rider is in complete control and navigated this course without incident. These guys are amazing, and you haven't seen one of these events you should make a point to attend.
 
mine stays on, it has proved itself more than once (in a big way)
should i ever drag my crash bar i will immediatly go out and buy a ducati 1198..cause that's what i should be doing those tricks on
 
I removed my crash bars 'cause I got tired of them making me crash. Now my cam cover hits first and kicks the tires out. I'm trying to figure out how to wedge a 50cc moped motor in the frame instead of the 96" so I can lean over even farther.
 
If you say so I don't see it unless you clip a curb or some thing. Maybe you're talking the GSXR-Hyabusa crash guard? I dropped my bike and suffered no damage and since it didn't flop all the way over it was easy to pick up too. The rear guard also gave me another good place to grasp and pick up the bike.
 
I take my crash bars off, but I think the funniest thing to see when I go out of state is a rider without a helmet riding a bike with crash bars on it. They realize what the asphalt will do to a primary cover, but ignore what it can do to their skulls.

BTW, I'm not for or against helmet laws. I could give two sh!ts whether anyone wears theirs or not. I just don't understand others "logic" sometimes.
 
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