MalcolmReynolds
Site Supporter
So I had been looking at some Barkbusters for the bike when I ran across a post in one of the threads here about the eBay Universal Hand Guards and that they fit fine and worked with the Madstad. The price was $15 shipped from China. They looked decent in the pics and you can choose between like 4 colors. They have a reflective insert in the front and side.
So it sounded pretty reasonable and the price was right so I ordered a set of the smoked color ones that look almost like a medium tint windshiled. So it is semi transparent. Well they finally arrived today. There are zero instructions with these so you are left to your own devices to figure out how to put them on. Very dangerous around me to leave me unsupervised with my own ideas about how to do something. It is OK however I managed to get them on the bike, didn't burn down the house, destroy anything on the bike that I know of, and still have all of my limbs. So we are off to a good start.
The hand guards are made of a fairly thick and durable looking material, but they aren't designed to protect you or the bike, mostly for weather protection. I found that due to the angle I prefer my controls that I had to bend the little bar that attaches to the mirror mount downward to give proper clearance inside the guard to clear the controls. I think someone else also mentioned they had to do the same thing. No problem, and easy to do.
The final check however is clearing the Madstad. The hand guards will only clear the Madstad in the lowest setting and straight up(ie no angle back). So while it is true you they will clear a Madstad there is no room for any kind of adjustment. I tweaked the front of the guards in a little bit with the slotted metal band off of the mirrors, but even adjusted all the way in to give a little more room it now only allows about 1/4-1/2" adjustment upwards and really no angle back.
So these look nice and are pretty nice for $15, but if you have the Madstad you are going to have a devil of a time getting clearance for the right handle bar guard. I am not sure if the Barkbusters have this same issue or not as I need my windshield up and angled back to cut down on the wind noise and turbulence. So I think I will be back in the market for some hand guards that will clear the Madstad at various heights. Maybe such an animal does not exist?
If the weather clears up I will pull the bike out and take pictures of these hand guards in case others might be interested in them.
Here is an eBay listing for the same product, just not the same price or the same vendor.
7/8" Motorcycle bars Handguards Pattern Hand Bar Guards Protectors Universal
So it sounded pretty reasonable and the price was right so I ordered a set of the smoked color ones that look almost like a medium tint windshiled. So it is semi transparent. Well they finally arrived today. There are zero instructions with these so you are left to your own devices to figure out how to put them on. Very dangerous around me to leave me unsupervised with my own ideas about how to do something. It is OK however I managed to get them on the bike, didn't burn down the house, destroy anything on the bike that I know of, and still have all of my limbs. So we are off to a good start.
The hand guards are made of a fairly thick and durable looking material, but they aren't designed to protect you or the bike, mostly for weather protection. I found that due to the angle I prefer my controls that I had to bend the little bar that attaches to the mirror mount downward to give proper clearance inside the guard to clear the controls. I think someone else also mentioned they had to do the same thing. No problem, and easy to do.
The final check however is clearing the Madstad. The hand guards will only clear the Madstad in the lowest setting and straight up(ie no angle back). So while it is true you they will clear a Madstad there is no room for any kind of adjustment. I tweaked the front of the guards in a little bit with the slotted metal band off of the mirrors, but even adjusted all the way in to give a little more room it now only allows about 1/4-1/2" adjustment upwards and really no angle back.
So these look nice and are pretty nice for $15, but if you have the Madstad you are going to have a devil of a time getting clearance for the right handle bar guard. I am not sure if the Barkbusters have this same issue or not as I need my windshield up and angled back to cut down on the wind noise and turbulence. So I think I will be back in the market for some hand guards that will clear the Madstad at various heights. Maybe such an animal does not exist?
If the weather clears up I will pull the bike out and take pictures of these hand guards in case others might be interested in them.
Here is an eBay listing for the same product, just not the same price or the same vendor.
7/8" Motorcycle bars Handguards Pattern Hand Bar Guards Protectors Universal