[Bal]

Good day troopers

Wanted to show you the crash bar after a good crash yesterday. I veered off a caliche/gravel road and ran into a 2ft deep loose pile of rocks which just caught me by surprise and sent me and my bike flying. We hit the hard packed dirt hard and once I picked myself and the bike up I inspected the bike for major damage and found that the factory armor did its job. I have to bend back the crash bars on my right side, but at least it saved radiator and plastics.

 

[DustyStrom]

That looks like one tough water bottle!

 

[Bal]

That looks like one tough water bottle!

Water bottle didn't even flinch, it was tucked away with no damage. Wish I could say the same for me, but will live to ride another day.

 

[DC_Dave]

Congrats on you and the bike staying intact! Thanks for sharing - it's helpful to see effective armor.

 

[Sexyman]

Good war stories developing there. 👍

 

[Rolex]

Find 2 good sturdy poles or trees and use a ratchet strap to pull the crash bar back out.

 

[Bal]

Find 2 good sturdy poles or trees and use a ratchet strap to pull the crash bar back out.

Thanks I was trying to think of a way to straighten it out, it bent around 3 inches compared to the other side. BTW not hobbling around so much today, so plan on riding to my brother's house to pull the crash bar out.

 

[Damirio]

Thx for sharing, now you are ADV certified , when I dropped mine, first thing I did (after the kill switch) is pull out my phone and take a whole bunch of pictures ... you wouldn't have any pics of how the bike landed?
I have a set of Givi's and they did a great job two times, and the Givi panniers protected the rear, lucky it was soft ground.

 

[Damirio]

Thanks I was trying to think of a way to straighten it out, it bent around 3 inches compared to the other side. BTW not hobbling around so much today, so plan on riding to my brother's house to pull the crash bar out.

I think the best way is to take them off the bike and then try cold, or heat and straighten the bent section/ bracket.
Report back with pictures of how you did it, pls.

 

[Bal]

Thx for sharing, now you are ADV certified , when I dropped mine, first thing I did (after the kill switch) is pull out my phone and take a whole bunch of pictures ... you wouldn't have any pics of how the bike landed?
I have a set of Givi's and they did a great job two times, and the Givi panniers protected the rear, lucky it was soft ground.
View attachment 303955
View attachment 303956
View attachment 303954

Thx for sharing, now you are ADV certified , when I dropped mine, first thing I did (after the kill switch) is pull out my phone and take a whole bunch of pictures ... you wouldn't have any pics of how the bike landed?
I have a set of Givi's and they did a great job two times, and the Givi panniers protected the rear, lucky it was soft ground.
View attachment 303955
View attachment 303956
View attachment 303954

Damirio, I didn't think of capturing the moment as I was more upset at how unexpected the crash was. My bike landed same side as yours, but did not have the panniers on. I don't know how factory bars compare to the Givi, but they did work the ground was solid.

 

[Bal]

I think the best way is to take them off the bike and then try cold, or heat and straighten the bent section/ bracket.
Report back with pictures of how you did it, pls.

Will do.

 

[Rolex]

If you take them off you will struggle to get them back on.

Leaving them in place is easy and it works.

When I dropped my Wee I was traveling at speed so when the bars bent in the gravel built up behind them while sliding, this caused lots of gravel rash on my plastics.

 

[Bal]

I strapped one end to frame with orange strap and the bent crashbar to a comealong hand winch both to solid posts. As you see factory is around 1 1/4inch and bent bar was less than 1/2 inch. I bent it back close enough to factory width. I am going to need to buy handlebars because they are bent also, anyone have aftermarket with good results????

 

[Bal]

I ended up buying Tusk T-10 Alu 7/8 Handlebar CR HB Sil Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT Touring 2019-2020. I didn't really want the hassle of changing, but my original bars are toast. Maybe can straighten them off and use for an old dirtbike.

 

[Rolex]

My crash bars not only bent in they bent backwards too.

It was hard to see but the damaged side was definitely forced rearward a bit.

 

[Bal]

My crash bars not only bent in they bent backwards too.

It was hard to see but the damaged side was definitely forced rearward a bit.

The same method I used should work for that just need to re position your strom and make sure it is anchored to the frame

 

[Damirio]

The same method I used should work for that just need to re position your strom and make sure it is anchored to the frame

If comealong doesn't work, use one of these 10.000lbs

That'll fix the stubborn crash bar alright 😂 the rest of the bike alignment may be off a bit, but the bars should be perfect. ...(jk.)

 

[Rolex]

The same method I used should work for that just need to re position your strom and make sure it is anchored to the frame

That was all sorted out many years ago.

 

[Bal]

Installed the new tusk bars for my 2020 Vstrom, 2 down sides were could not use the factory bar end weights or the cheap plastic hand guards.

 

[Damirio]

Installed the new tusk bars for my 2020 Vstrom, 2 down sides were could not use the factory bar end weights or the cheap plastic hand guards.

Looking good Bal

...now stop dropping that nice bike, will ya?

... and if you do, at least strap a 12 pack of Dasani on each side... (your one bottle saved you, imagine what 12 can do)