What do crash bars protect

[Kells]

This may seem a stupid question  but on my old Bandit the bars are mounted around the bottom of the engine, so protected all the lower part of the bike, brake pedal, engine casings & gear lever.
On the couple of occasions I lost my footing & dropped the bike  they were the first to touch the ground, also kept the bike off me,only leaving scrap marks on the mirrors & bar end weights they also gave you that split second to hit the red button.(Stopped both times missed footing)

Looking at the crash bars fitted to the Vee & the Wee I'm not sure what they are going to protect.
Looks like the Tank will be safe but the Rider :limp: , brake pedal & gear shift?

Question's are

1. Will they keep the bike off your legs if you drop it.(if stopped, not sliding down the road at 30 mph)
2. Will they save the waterpump as looking at some of the pictures the pump looks to stick out further than the bars.
3. Are they worth buying.
4. If so which ones to buy.
5. Or would the bolt on crash bungs or sliders be better.

Like the look of the Suzuki crash bars but still not available.

All advice welcome, thanks in advance.

[longman]

I have Suzuki crashbars and I think they do the job. Dropped my bike twice, once on tarmac at slow speed and once when I was off roading. Both times bike landed on the crash bars and bar ends and rear foot rest. Tank and lower fairing and engine without a scratch. However during the drop on the tarmac I bent rear brake leaver.

I think givi crash bars are a little bit better as they go higher up the tank, but my tank was safe during both my drops anyway.

[willbo]

definitely worth buying and id make sure I bought the ones that come higher up tt he fairings, like  the swmotech ones and  Givi. I don't know if zuki have brought out new ones. That come up the fairings more but when I got my bike they hadn't

 when I dropped my wee, the swmotech ones did a grand job protecting the fairings and engine. They follow the shape and curve of the fairings and protected the engine well. If I dropped onto a stone or rock though it probably could hit my bike. I think they work best when.dropped onto smooth roads

The brake pedal did get a little scrape, but didn't bend.this was helped by the bobbins on the swing arm. The fairings were also unharmed. My bar ends got scratched up,as did the hand guards and I broke the brake lever. I think they would have helped stopping me leg getting stuck, but not sure as the drop momentum sort of flung me a foot or so away. Depending on which type you get, the more or less gets protected. I've seen engine case protectors, mid high and fairing protectors.

[willbo]

forgot to add. I would get swing arm bobbins but not sliders. A mate had sliders when he came off, and the sliders bent and tore chunks into his engine and fairings. The bolts bent under the force and weight. Also one got caught on something and ripped into the engine area. In this case they probably caused more damage than helped stop. His bike was written off. I'm not saying in certain cases they wouldn't help, but in this case at 30mph they couldn't save his bandit.

[Juvecu]

I had a crawling speed fall on an iced up road, the Givi bars protected the fairings well. The bike falls on the crash bars and the rear pillion foot peg (and in my case the Krauser pannier racks are like rear crash bars.) I had another fall, I high sided at about 40mph and went down hard. Givi bars took the brunt of it, bent inward and put some marks on the plastics, but no cracks and just the paint was scratched. The right foot peg mount snapped (I had SW-Motech foot pegs on) and the brake lever bent. Mad Phil bent the brake lever back and we levered the crash bar out. Other than that the front indicator smashed up as they always do in a fall on a Strom and the bar end was bent with some scrapes on the hand guard. Bar end was bent back and indicator replaced and we set off for the Stromtrekkers II meeting point. Considering how much damage I could potentially have to fix if I fell without the Givi bars I'm more than happy to have spent the  money for them and I would recommend anyone to get them. SW-Motech now makes crash bars for the Wee that come up higher like the Givi ones and I'd buy them if I couldn't get the Givi ones. Suzuki uses this new higher SW-Motech crashbars for the new Wee, they also fit all the old Wee models.

I don't think they would help much to not get your leg caught, but I don't think your leg will be completely crushed either. I've also not had any damage to the engine/water pump and I don't recall anyone on the forum mentioning that they've had trouble with damage like that after a fall.