Touratech upper crash bars. Booooo

After a 3 week wait I received my upper crash bars today. I was not impressed. As careful as I was I could not keep from scratching the lower bars all to hell due to the little metal tab and sleeve design that barely even fit together, then when I had it mocked up before tightening, I realized that the top of the left bar was touching the tank cover, and the lower mounting bolts were touching the tank. No possible way to adjust it otherwise. I did not fully tighten the hardware because I did not want to puncture my tank or subject it to rub at the contacting areas. Promptly removed them and placed them back in the box. It is also clear that these are almost purely cosmetic. I am sure that in almost any case of dropping the bike, these would actually cause more damage. Newp. Expensive lesson learned, Now to see if I can recoup some of it on ebay. ugh.

The feedback I got about the TT bars wasn't good when I was going through that decision process. That same connection to the lower bars you were fighting apparently fails easily when the bike takes a nap as well. I went with the Rumbux upper bars.

yes, very poor design, you made the right choice.

Thanks for this review. I've been considering a set, but after hearing this, and with so many positive reviews of the standard "R" lower bars' durability on tipovers, sounds like there's no need for them.

I unfortunately have to agree with Mike, i too tore up the paint on my lower bars and one side seems to be MUCH close to the tank than the other. If the throttle side looked like the clutch side I would be happy.

I have mixed feelings about touratech gear. The panniers are a staple of the adv market, and the bash plate on my 1190r seems like it could take a pounding. But these upper bars don't excite me, and the GPS mount vibrates badly. I had also purchased the white hand guards because i liked the look but found that they were very small and I had serious concerns that if i needed to reach for the clutch my fingers may be inhibited.

Yep, its true, when i got my 1190r i became a touratech slut....coming from street background i didnt know any better. Just like other companies however, some products are good and others are crap.

Just my two cents....

I just put a set on and I agree the job is a two person so you don't scratch the KTM bars, but i just took my time and it fit fine. The nuts that are close to the tank I am going to put something there so it won't contact the tank. Before i bought i talked to the Touratech guy at the Cycle Show and told him about the fitting stories and he said they have improved and mine did fit good. I would send them back and ask for a full refund. I got mine more to hang lights and some small bags on. I think the KTM lowers protect fine.

Alt rider is supposed to be coming out with a similar set. hopefully fit better..

Mine work fine. Rumbux makes good gear and you can order direct from them. The TT uppers have done the job I have asked of them. Small scratches to the lower bars....probably but it's a minor issue for me as mine gets lots of scratches and if I see one on the bars..... well aren't there supposed to be scratches there

I wanted to hang some bags on em as well as have a bit more protection, I would bet money that these will do more damage than good in a fall. Rumbux look very solid, but not willing to pay the price they are asking. From what I have seen, the stock lowers and the handlebar do a damn good job by themselves.

My Rumbux upper bars, custom in stainless steel, were $450 all in shipped to my door. Their standard upper bars are not much more than the TT's and well worth the money in my opinion.

I mounted mine this summer and have been happy since I got them installed.

That said installation was a chore. First those little metal brackets had sharp spiked edges on them so I took my time and ground them all down on the grinding wheel. I don't believe I should have had to do that for the price paid. After that I did need another hand to get it connected with the small bolts. Then it just took some time and to adjust it to my liking.

After many miles on and off road I am happy with them although I have not field tested the crash worthiness of them.

Eric

You forgot that they also look like a bag of arse.

Yes the stock bars work well and are more than adequate.

Not to hijack this crash bar thread, but can you PM me / go into detail about this? I just ordered the touratech GPS cradle & gauge cluster mount, it's pricey but I've heard good things, and I like that it locks the GPS in, the OEM 590LM cradle does not..

Thought I would post a few photos of my Rumbux bars. They are definitely robust, and as I'm sure you will notice, not the tight fit that the TT bars are so they should take a good hit without making contact with the tank. It should also make it easy to remove the tank with the bars in place. Alas all is not well though. There is a fitment issue on the right side though with there being 1/2" more clearance between the bar and the tank than on the left. If they both fit like the left I would be a happy camper. Also, the clamp to the lower bar is very strong and clearly superior to the TT setup in my opinion, but the clamp really should be 1/4" narrower for a proper fit. I've emailed Eric about these issues and hope to get them sorted so future customers don't have o deal with this.

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I was one of the very first to receive the TT-upper bars. I used bicycle tube cut-outs between the plates and the lower crash bars to avoid scratches.

TT re-assured me that the attachment points were strong enough. Well, they are not...





With this drop, the lower crash bars got scratched as well, so no more worries there...

I used shorter bolts on mine - the supplied set looked like they were just waiting to puncture the tank. I still don't like them though, and the one time I dropped it the only things that hit the deck were the stockers and the handlebars. I suspect they'll be on ebay soon

I'm glad I found this thread. I had the 1190 (standard) on some singletrack a couple weeks ago and went down on the left side. I had the KTM lower crash bars installed, but the impact happened just above those, on the side faring. Just some scratches on the faring, but i hit just where the faring attaches to the radiator, puncturing the radiator. New radiator and thermostats are gonna cost about $900 installed. Wow!

It sounds like Rumbux upper crash bars are the way to go, I see that AltRider hasn't released theirs yet. Any other options?

You could also go with Hepco-Becker -


Or try the SW-Motech



Or you could go with the GIVI/Kappa complet chrash bar...



They are great. A friend of mine has them installed and they look extremly durable and have plenty of space to the fuel tank.

Thanks!

Installing the upper crash bars is way easier with two people. I cut the mounting bolts a little shorter so they didn't touch the tank. I had my suspicions that these would not be up to the task of protecting the bike in a tip over. I was dead wrong. They have been great. My buddy bought the Rumbix system, but I didn't want to add that much weight to my bike. Having had these on the bike for over a year, and testing them a few times, I would say TT did a great job balancing weight and strength.


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