Help Please - Rivco or Tiump OEM Crash Bars/Engine Guards?

Help Please - Rivco or Triumph OEM Crash Bars/Engine Guards?

Hi folks - I just posted on classifieds looking for some Rivco engine guards - and HellFire suggested we start a thread so we can all benefit from some opinions...

Anders

.020 Over
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: St Petersburg FL, Henley UK
16 Posts


WTB Rivco crash bars/engine guards...
Hi Folks,

I'm doing a Ride Like A Pro course soon and think I had better get a set of engine guards just in case I do a tipover round the cones! Knowing my luck I might do just that and I don't want to ruin the paint job on my bike - cheers! Anders


Yesterday, 10:08 PM #2
HellFire



Turbocharged
Mildly modified '08 Rocket III
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Newark, Delaware
667 Posts



I couldn't tell you which is which, but there has been alot of discussion here about different manufactuers and quality. You may want to either look back in the history or start a new thread in accessories asking opinions. Some were having fitment issues with Rivco and some were complaining that Triumphs older parts were not thick enough. I'm interested in getting some bars myself and was thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask around for opinions and experience with the parts. There were serious issues with the Rivco center stand I installed last year and I got alot of help from others here on the site.

It would be interesting if one Captain had owned both the newer OEM and the Rivco. I have the Rivco and it's plenty sturdy but I like the look of the Triumph bar better.

I did do some searches here for advice on engine guards - seems that Rivco have had some problems with fitment, bottom holes did not line up and needed reaming etc etc - Rivco says it is a snap to fit them, but it actually could be quite tricky as an engine top support bolt needs to be removed, which means supporting the engine with a jack etc etc - in my case I don't have many tools in the USA, they're all back in the UK, so I'll have to get either my local Triumph dealer to fit them at 85 bux + tax per hour, or there's a local Chopper outfit that seem pretty competent at 67.50 per hour - should be a straightforward job with the right tools etc.

Generally I don't like engine guards as I think they detract from the beauty of the beast! BUT, I've had a few near misses, twice now my kevlar jeans have caught on the footpegs when stopping, and I nearly dropped the bike, so I am very careful stopping now - also, when riding the bike from TN to FL I stopped and got a bit lost in downtown Atlanta - at one T-junction leaving a private estate I almost broke my leg when I went to put my left foot down - there was a bloody great drain hole about 18 inches +++ deep that I nearly stepped into - I missed it by a few inches, had I stepped in it I would have gone over to the left and I'm sure the weight of the bike would have done me a serious injury - anyhoos the Rivco's seem to be 'slimmer' with more cutaway at the base for a better lean angle on cornering - maybe some folks can confirm? Whereas the Triumph OEM bars seem to 'stick out' further - I am really looking to get bars which blend in as much as possible with the bike. And the latest Triumph bars are thicker?

Any comments from folks who have fitted either type would be great!

Cheers!

Anders

snuffcityrider said:

It would be interesting if one Captain had owned both the newer OEM and the Rivco. I have the Rivco and it's plenty sturdy but I like the look of the Triumph bar better.

Click to expand...

Cheers! I've yet to see either in the flesh as it were - maybe OEM Triumph is the way to go?

I did some due diligence and have decided to go with Triumph's bling. Supposedly, they are stronger and have slightly better quality chrome.

This is the skinny...

The original OEM 'Tip Over Bars'...They really aren't crash bars at all, they keep the bike from receiving carnage to the handlebars, mirrors (shift lever assembly...read expensive) and other bits if you drop the bike.....saved my ass in Eureka Springs at the motel on the gravel parking lot.....

Anyway, the original OEM bars were weak, That is, with highway pegs attached, they flexed.

I understand the new version are/is much more rigid.

The Rivco bars are rigid. Problem is the fitment. Like all Rivco stuff, they may fit right up or they may not. Mine didn't. I had to take a die grinder and relieve the lower holes to cleat the peg rails. The other problem is that when you install the bars, you re-use the upper engine mounting bolt and the added thickness of the upper tabs on the Rivco bars eakes up most of the available thread space on the bolt and only allows the self locking nut about half it's useable depth to secure the upper engine mount.

The fix is to buy a longer 8.8 upper engine bolt from a supplier like McMaster-Carr. The longer bolt should be supplied with the Rivco bar set. It isn't or at least it wasn't with my set.

So...

Rivco bars are more rigid
Rivco bars also stick out a bit farther
Rivco bars ain't cheap
Fitment can be a ***** (like most Rivco stuff)
Rivco Chrome is good, not as good as Kuryakahin, but good.

OEM bars are flimsy (old style) not sure about new style
OEM bars mount differently so there is no issue concerning the upper engine mounting bolt.
OEM Chrome is as good or better than Rivco
You might be able to weedle the dealer out of a set cheaper than Rivco
OEM bars are Triumph authorized, Rivco ain't.

Any bars is good, better than nothing. if you don't believe me, drop the sucker, especially on the left side and you'll see just how much carnage there is. If the peg or floorboard folds and allows the shift selector shaft to contact terra-firma (as in concrete) and it pushes the selector shaft in, you are in for a case splt job at the very least and possibly a new case if the drop is a sliding one. The only thing between you and the shop is a pressure die cast case with a small bolster holding a steel shaft. Tip over bars are real cheap insurance whether, in fact, you like the looks or not.

Long ago, I had the chance to carry Rivco Products. I decided not to based solely on my, less than desireable experience installing the tip-over bars. I'm of the philosophy that if it's not right for me, I'm not gonna sell it.

Funny you said you got caught on the pegs, happens to me every time I wear loose fit jeans. Once at a stop light in down town Philly, I caught my pant leg and was struggling to keep it off the ground all tangled up, when two guys jumped out of their cars and helped me right it . Talk about embarrassing. Decided right there that I needed floor boards.
I was going to buy Rivco floor boards, brake pedal cover and heel-toe shifter, but after pricing them and requesting a discount (was refused), I realized they cost more ($468.85+shipping) than the Triumph parts after Gengras Triumph in Florida gave me a $100 discount (shifter, brake, boards, brake line and lower engine guards included - $359 shipped). They should arrive in a couple weeks, so that little problem is solved. I'm still up in the air about the engine guards, Flip didn't like the way Rivco's fit and I remember someone complaining that he had an older set from Triumph that were paper thin. I think the conversation led up to someone stating that the new version was much better, but I'm not sure.

We Need Help !!!

(looks like I took too long writing this ... thanks Flip)

i have had both triumph crash bars on my 05 classic i had the first set was weak had the bike for bout a month and the right side had broken and never had been laid down at that time had them replace with the new ones and had no problems with them except for getting bent when i totaled the bike i think i posted some pix of it ater the wreck if you wanted to try and find the it was posted in may of 09 i think

Good post, Flip, but I'm about stymied about the Rivco bars being more rigid that the "new & improved" Triumph ones, especially since the Rivcos are wider. I would assume that would mean that they would have a greater tendency to torsional deformation or instability under load and I think both products are using the same gauge steel.

Thanks people, some GREAT information here, I am now kinda leaning towards the OEM Triumph, I know they upped the diameter, and I presume the chrome will be better, I'll do a little more digging and see what I can come up with - saw a v funny Japanese video where the guy had front and rear crash bars installed (looks like he had every single Triumph accessory installed LOL!), I'll see if I can find it...