Grading aftermarket protection options for the Tenere

[Salmon Sam]

Discussion on this is all over the forum, but I thought I would try and gather it here for reference ease:

Maybe we could all grade our aftermarket S10 protection choices in a letter grade fashion with explanations. I will start like this:

Crash bars: Altrider A+ - I have side-swiped a car and done considerable damage to it, but the bars were only scratched (easily painted with Rustoleum) and bike was unscathed.

Skid plate: Altrider C+ - Tends to collect water if bike is washed and on a level surface. Already dented after a single attempt at going over a log. Don't like the engine mounting.

Heel protectors (universal joint guard etc.) F - Cut my pants to pieces. A danger when you stand up a lot and use your ankles in the back country. To ALTriders credit, they refunded my purchase 2 years later. They offered to replace them with "properly milled" ones, but the ones they pulled from the shelf did not seem significantly different.

Haven't yet purchased any other guards that are available and interested in others experiences.

Would love to others experiences with these and other options on this thread.

 

[EdOnS10]

Good Idea...
I too went mostly Altrider protection since I am not a hardcore off-roader, but need protection from gravel, rough road or occasional objects on back/fire roads and trails as I go between camping sites.
Crash bars (Altrider): A - I agree the protection is good, bars are strong and I think they look great on this bike.. The protect the panels, but scratch easy themselves which is why I ping them down to an A from A+... rustoleum covers, but the black coat could be stronger.

Skid plate (Altrider): I'll come back and update my rating in this post after my camping trip in the next few weeks - needs to see more of the tails I bought it for first. Once I got it mounted I think it's good enough for my purpose.

Universal joint guard (Altrider): A - I have not had any issues with snags and compared to the risk of my pant cuff getting completely caught on the OEM guard, I think this one is actually must have - protection is good overall as well.

Rear Break Cylinder guard (Altrider): D - I got this only after liking the joint guard so much, and have to say I am disappointed. It does not seem to cover much more than the OEM and what it covers can now take small gravel compared to the solid faced OEM guard. Honestly, think this is a pass - but no snags and won't necessarily switch back to the OEM.

Side-Stand Switch Cover (Altrider): B - I think switch/sensor guards are key for gravel etc. Nothing worse than a 600lbs bike disabled by a broken pin. It does the job, but gets a B because I had to modify the left side (away from the switch) so that it did not cut in into the bolt head behind it. I just had to hammer the "wing" flat with the face of the guard. - might be nicer if they just bent it down to cover the back side of the switch housing (or at least just kept it off the other bolts)

ABS Sensor Guards (Touratech): B+ seem like nice covers, super easy install and are well designed to purpose. But, I am not sure how much protection this affords so I am only relying on my logic that sensors are weak points and should be protected.. I gave them a B because the bolts that come with them seem very soft metal and my allen wanted to slip/tear without too much pressure.

I'll give my grade on the skid plate after some more "use"

 

[Dirt_Dad]

SW Motech crash bars: D- They did protect the bike from a very slow speed drop into a muddy road. The also bent so badly on the drop side that it was clear these were a one time use item.

Givi crash bars: A Have been tested several times with no damage to bike or bars beyond scuffs on the bars. They get no cool factor cred or awards for improving the styling of the bike. They just work and do what they are supposed to do with no fanfare.

SW Motech luggage rack: F Yes, I'm ranking a luggage rack as protection equipment. Let's face it, if you drop the bike chances are the rack is going to be taking a hit one way or another. Even without taking a hit the SW Motech rack broke on the side that carried an empty case 90% of the time. Which was also the side that never took an impact from a fall. First break was at the top weld when it was about a year old. I replaced it under warranty. The replacement broke on the bottom weld another year after that. Absolute crap rack. Don't need to kick me in the teeth 3 times. It was replaced with a Hepco Becker rack. Too soon to rate that one, but much better made than the SW Motech.

SW Motech skid plate incomplete - I have no specific complaint about the skid plate, but I don't do much to test it. It's taken some hits and rocks, but I would not trust it to take major hits. While I can't give any specific complaints, I will say I have such low regard for the quality of SW Motech products that I do not ever expect to purchase anything else they make. It's just not up to the task.

 

[OldRider]

I fixed the OEM ujoint guard with a rubber hammer. No snagged pants leg for me.

 

[TimLaw]

Great thread! Keep them coming!

 

[Salmon Sam]

Yeah, lets see letter grades and reasons for those for: ACD, Touratech, Rumbux and RideOnAdv skid plates.
Also, more assessments for all those sensor, side stand switch, final shaft drive, and all those other niche guards that Touratech seems to offer - are any of these critical? Rating?
Again, these have been talked about elsewhere, but nice to gather and summarize in one thread.

After we get several grades on each, I will go through and summarize the data on each piece so that we can have a quasi objective ranking. ::26::

 

[HeliMark]

Alt Rider bars: A - Been down in the dirt a number of times with them, and they did a great job protecting the bike. A little black rustoleum and can not tell the difference beyond several feet. Agree that it would be nice to have a better paint coating from the factory, but hate to say what that would do to the cost. Paint can is cheap.

Alt Skid plate: B - I am not a very experianced off roader, and try to stay on the easy stuff. Seems every so often I find myself in stuff that the skid plate has done a great job protecting the bike. Rated a little less as it is a pain to take off for oil changes. I could do it without taking it off, but it really bothers me when I get oil all over the skid plate during the oil change, and can't clean it.

Mark

 

[ABBlender]

ACD Skid Plate : A-
Great plate and love it overall. Only a couple things...very slight ribbing on one exhaust initially and also very slight ribbing on back of oem oil filter. I have it installed with no spacers and the altrider crash bars. I got out the dremel and took off a little aluminum where ribbing was occurring but I am thinking a 1/8" spacer (or less) should correct both these and . Longer oil changes is a minor inconvenience that I have heard people worry about, but I couldn't care less about that...love the protection. I haven't had an issue with tire rubbing.

Altrider Crash Bars: A
Have tested a few times in slow speed, works great. Paid for themselves already I'm sure. An additional guard/plate by radiator would be a nice addition for mud intrusion. Not sure if it's from a drop or just design, but the left side seems slightly tipped in to the bike.

Touratech Heel/Brake Guard: B+/A-
Love the look and functionality. Had to take a small light file and smooth out all edges as they were somewhat sharp. It probably wasn't an issue, but did it anyways on the off chance it could damage my boots/pants (like some have had with altrider guards).

Yamaha Headlight Guard: A
Keep the rubber keepers with a little lube on them and all is good for removal. Easy to clean, doesn't really affect night riding much. Simple and effective.

 

[BarkSlayer]

AltRider crash bars - A+ on fit and finish alone. Haven't tested their crash worthiness...and don't plan to!

 

[snuffcityrider]

Altrider crash bars tested twice, once in a mud hole ( slow tip over) and on a low water bridge crossing. Bike slid about six feet and landed hard. Bars did not bend but now have battle scars. Also my skid plate built by Jaxon did its job on both get offs with only cosmetic ( scratches in powder coat) damage. I also like that I can jack the bike up for tire changes using the skid plate. I was also pleasantly surprised how well my Pelican case mounted on Hepco Becker racks held up on my low water crossing mishap. The front corner of the case is ground down a bit, but that's the only damage done.

 

[MotoMachines]

This is my first hand testing of the Hepco & Becker engine guards, which actually did their job perfectly, leaving barely any damage outside of the actual guards themselves. Went down on a rather tricky slope was saved by a combination of the engine guard and some side luggage I had on. Oops, silly me.

 

[toompine]

Givi crash bars - outstanding' Easy fit, great protection, durable when the bike lays down and takes a nap . Very moderately priced. Excellent value for the dollar A+

ACD Skid plate. Great fit up, excellent mounting points, easy to take off, great protection. Very moderately priced. Excellent value for the dollar A+++

Hepco & Becker Handlebar Protection Set . Not really sure why I got them but probably because it was a really good deal. These are the metal tube ones and they fit over the stock plastic ones. Sort of belts and suspenders. Had to tweak them to work but they are stronger than a car's mirrors (don't ask) I like the Mad Max factor and they have helped in tip overs Give them a B because they had to be modified a bit

 

[fredz43]

ACD Skid plate. Great fit up, excellent mounting points, easy to take off, great protection. Very moderately priced. Excellent value for the dollar A+++

When you R & R your ACD skid plate, do you do it with the bike on the centerstand?

Thanks.

 

[blakebird]

ACD Skid Plate : A-
Great plate and love it overall. Only a couple things...very slight ribbing on one exhaust initially and also very slight ribbing on back of oem oil filter. I have it installed with no spacers and the altrider crash bars. I got out the dremel and took off a little aluminum where ribbing was occurring but I am thinking a 1/8" spacer (or less) should correct both these and . Longer oil changes is a minor inconvenience that I have heard people worry about, but I couldn't care less about that...love the protection. I haven't had an issue with tire rubbing.

I just installed the ACD skid plate. I had the front of the skid plate rubbing one header, but it was easy enough to get my big "pry-driver" (loooong screwdriver) in there and get it 1/8" from the pipe before cinching things down.
I had to drop the exhaust (just loosen at header flange bolts and separate at connection to muffler) to get the left side original bolt out (cat con in the way), that was something I hadn't seen mentioned....but was far from a big deal. Just unexpected.

I looked at all the options for skid plates, and the ACD appealed to me more than any others....mounting points, coverage, etc.
It was only slightly more fiddly to install than I expected, but a very nice piece....all 18lbs of it

 

[SingleTrackMind]

blakebird, you mentioned 18 lbs for the skid plate...eeks! When you add up the crash bars, panniers etc its no wonder the next thing to do is a re-spring/suspension tune.

 

[toompine]

When you R & R your ACD skid plate, do you do it with the bike on the centerstand?

Thanks.

Yep, on the centerstand. easy deal

 

[fredz43]

Yep, on the centerstand. easy deal

Thanks for the reply. A couple of us with 14's have been discussing this in this thread: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=13578.45 and find that since the new collars for centerstand bolts only go thru the inside frame flanges, if you have the weight of the bike on the centerstand, the thread of the bolts will drag on the outside frame flanges if you try to "unscrew" them to get them out, thereby damaging the threads. Workarounds found so far include hoisting the rear of the bike so there is no weight on the centerstand or leaving it on the side stand and in that case the non spring side bolt will slide out, but you must use a screwdriver as a pry bar on the centerstand spring side to take the spring tension off so you can slide the bolt out.

I had not heard of anybody with a 12 or 13 finding this, so I wonder what has changed.

 

[ABBlender]

with the 2013, I always R &R the acd plate on the side stand...easier to remove rear bolts be moving centre stand around unwetghted.

 

[fredz43]

with the 2013, I always R &R the acd plate on the side stand...easier to remove rear bolts be moving centre stand around unwetghted.

Thanks for the tip. That seems like it would work well.