An alternative to oggie knobs and the likes.

**FROSTY:Me** · 25th September 2010, 16:06

Hey folks. Another thread prompted to start this thread up.
I must say that the vieiws expressed are entirely my own and may or may not line up with other peoples views or experiences.
WAAAY back in time (60's-80's) most bikes were naked.resembling gn250's or hornet 900's. Those of us riding bigger jap bikes had very wide engines to deal with that would dig into the ground and get damaged in a minor crash. So bright sparks came up with the idea of engine protection cages or "crash bars". They were fantastic at protecting the engine in a fall over or a low speed crash.Trouble was in a faster crash the crash bar would act as a single point of contact with the ground and the bike would spin off up the road doing a lot more damage than if the bars weren't fitted.
So the bright sparks had a rethink and came up with aluminium case protectors.
They were usually bent sheets of ally that tightly conformed to the end of the engine case. -problem solved and no more spinning bike.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY-- and we have come full circle. Bikes have lovely plastic fairings that if bumped off the stand get scratched and damaged. In a slow speed crash -more of the same. So along come the inventor of oggie knobs.
BUT -heres the thing. In a high speed or high impact crash theres an issue with oggies. First one being that at speed all the weight of the bike can transfer to a small area of your bike frame causing busted off engine mounts or whatever mount the oggie is secured to. Second--rather than the bike sliding on its nice smooth aerodynamic fairing side it finds its entire weight spinning round one tiny spot and can cause a heck of a lot more damage.
So the circle has closed in a way. Because we are now able go back to not having bits sticking out of our bikes and using case protectors AND fork top protectors (to stop all your adjusters getting munched)
I've got a set of these protectors fitted to my bike and the potential protection and lack of damage to the rest of the bike is really clear.
I genuinely believe they are a much better form of protection than oggies

**robo555** · 25th September 2010, 17:58

but they won't protect bikes with fairings?

**BoristheBiter** · 25th September 2010, 18:08

This was what the guy from haldanes said when we were talking about it when i picked my bike up.

I have come to the conclusion that they are for the "drop off the stand" type of moments where it protects the sticky out bits and a call to the insurance company.
Anything else will be a call to the insurance company anyway so it makes no difference

**yachtie10** · 25th September 2010, 18:28

When I got the new bike I had knobs fitted (not oggi)
They were recomended as they were made with a weakness that they would break off in a high speed crash (therefore not damaging the frame). They have saved the bike from damage in a couple of drops but havnt tested the high speed feature so dont know if its bollocks or not.

**Morcs** · 25th September 2010, 18:34

Ive never payed more than $60 for a set of sliders. Always get them from Ebay out of the states. So long as you get ones which have aluminum inserts, and preferably hex headed bolts, theyll be pretty good.

And yes, I have tested them.

**AllanB** · 25th September 2010, 19:30

I agree with Frosty.

Remember in the 80's when some engines were so wide that they could touch down a engine case when racing - one of the big Suzukis was prone to this

This week I printed out a pile of pictures of case savers like those Yoshi ones above with the intention of making some for the Hornet. You can actually get old school type crash bars for the Hornet but they are really fuggly!

End of the day all of the options - case savers, Crash bungs etc are good for limping home if lucky. Most modern bikes almost appear to be designed to inflict as much damage as possible in a spill!

I was just reading that in the USA the R6 Yammy is now required to have a set of tank protectors fitted prior to racing - apparently too many have damaged and ground open the outer edges of their tanks in a spill - resulting in a fire-ball of a crash.

**Warr** · 25th September 2010, 20:52

Originally Posted by AllanB

............. with the intention of making some for the Hornet. You can actually get old school type crash bars for the Hornet but they are really fuggly! .......

Interested in what you come up with for your Hornet ... following with interest

**PirateJafa** · 25th September 2010, 21:02

Originally Posted by BoristheBiter

I have come to the conclusion that they are for the "drop off the stand" type of moments where it protects the sticky out bits and a call to the insurance company.
Anything else will be a call to the insurance company anyway so it makes no difference

They can make the difference between riding home and making the call to the insurance company, or standing around for two hours waiting for someone to drive past who is willing to give you a lift to somewhere with cellphone reception.

**BoristheBiter** · 26th September 2010, 07:59

Originally Posted by PirateJafa

They can make the difference between riding home and making the call to the insurance company, or standing around for two hours waiting for someone to drive past who is willing to give you a lift to somewhere with cellphone reception.

For sure, i wouldn't not have them on.
I put the bike down last week picked it up and rode home but, its a call to insurance anyway (muffler $3500) and if it had gone another 1/2 meter it would have hit the kerb and i would not have rode it home.

it all comes down to how/when/way your bike goes down.

**FROSTY:Me** · 26th September 2010, 11:54

Anyone with a GSXR 05-10 thyat wants a set of those case savers give shaun a yell

**Gremlin** · 26th September 2010, 14:34

nothing that wrong with the givi crash bars for the hornet! Not sure how strong they are tho...

**gale_wolf** · 26th September 2010, 14:39

I was keen to get those Yoshi case savers for my K6 Thou but found that they only make them for the K7 onwards

Woodcraft / FactoryPro / Vortex make case covers rather than savers, anybody got any experience with those?

**onearmedbandit** · 26th September 2010, 16:29

Originally Posted by gale_wolf

I was keen to get those Yoshi case savers for my K6 Thou but found that they only make them for the K7 onwards

Woodcraft / FactoryPro / Vortex make case covers rather than savers, anybody got any experience with those?

Yup, I've got a woodcraft engine replacement cover, it has a removable slide plate attached to it. Unfortunately for me I tested it at xmas time, and other than some gouges/scratches on the slide plate, it performed faultlessly. Well recommended.

**Kiwi Graham:Me** · 26th September 2010, 17:56

Just order a set of GB racing case protectors, first hand experience of replacing oe cases have proven they will be a good investment

**gale_wolf** · 26th September 2010, 18:43

Originally Posted by onearmedbandit

Yup, I've got a woodcraft engine replacement cover, it has a removable slide plate attached to it. Unfortunately for me I tested it at xmas time, and other than some gouges/scratches on the slide plate, it performed faultlessly. Well recommended.

Thanks for the pic - sorry to hear about your off but it's good to know that at least the cover did its job. What's the other side look like?