Hand Guards

[jeffhei]

I was thinking about buying a set of hand guards. I never put on the [white plastic] ones that came with the bike. I have seen a few people that have upgraded from the stock ones. I like the ones that are attached to the ends of the handlebars. SamM has a pair with this configuration. How hard is it to install a set like these? Are the grips cut out at the ends?

[SamM]

jeffhei,
The install was very easy. Just about 30 minutes worth of work to get them on and lined up. I changed my bars at the same time and this actually made it easier. You may need to trim your throttle tube just a little to make sure it doesn't bind up. The throttle should snap back when released. A heavy pair of shop scissors will make cutting the ends of the grips easier. It's all pretty stright forward. My handguards are the Acerbis Mini Rally handguards, pronounced A-Chair-Bees. They are made in Italy and priced accordingly at $69.95. I have since found them for $54.95 from Dennis Kirk. These are the budget Acerbis and they don't offer a great deal of protection in a real crash but they are lightweight and that's what I was looking for. I just installed a set of Acerbis Pro Rally handguards on my KTM 950, same handguards the KTM factory rally bikes use. These cost me well over $100 with adapters but have aluminum stiffeners cast into the plastic and offer good hand protection in a crash. You pay for it though. On the Viva, I had to rotate my front brakeline up just a little to mount the right handguard. Just loosen the bolt and rotate it up. I never lost any fluid doing it. Be careful though! You don't want air getting in there.

[pumpkin]

instal on mine wasn't hard