Caladin
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- Mar 24, 2008
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- Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Even with heated grips and a heavy pair of winter riding gloves I still inevitably end up with my hands cold on the outside yet roasting on the inside.
There are many different options to solve this problem. You can use various handguards with different methods of mounting, or you can use a product like Hippo Hands.
I chose to use handguards over Hippo Hands because I didn't like the idea of having them left on the bike sitting in the rain all the time. I thought they might be annoying to get my hands back inside them while riding (eg. if you have to adjust a strap/zipper on your jacket, press a button on the GPS or take a picture while riding). A hippo hands type product may also cause problems for me due to my GPS and spot tracker that are mounted on the bars. Most bikes that use Hippo Hands seem to have their accessories mounted on a separate bar near the windshield.
There are many handguards that will work with the FZ6. A good number are made with sport bikes in mind. But some work better then others. If you have a naked FZ6 then virtually anything will work, this is mostly written for those with a fairing. Some handguards attach via replacing the bar ends (Acerbis Dual Road Handguards). This method is great for many people as the handguards can flex against the fairing more at the end when the bars are tuned to full lock. If you use a throttle lock like Throttlemeister then you must use one that mounts to the bars with a bracket.
The Barkbusters Storm Handguards are larger then some of the other guards and offer more wind protection. They are a little pricey and do require modification to fit a stock bike if you want to be able to go full lock turn. If you have a riser on your handlebars you may be able to mount them without any modification!
Without modification on a stock bike you will lose a fair amount of your final turning range at slow speed tight turns. I hit the lock many times while doing tight parking lot U-turns. If simply bolted up I would be concerned of doing damage to the fairing or handguards should they hit the fairing at speed. It's also annoying when rolling the bike around the garage to not be able to turn the bars fully.
As stock mounted the point of impact is here. These guards do not flex! So you cannot force a turn to lock. A hard impact will do damage. You may also be unable to use your steering stem lock.
Now to modify them to fit!
This is the stock bolting location for the guard to the bracket. You can see there is a fair amount of room at the bolting point to slide the bracket in more by drilling a new hole. That alone is not enough room though. You must shorten the bracket buy cutting off tip.
I marked if off at an angle matching the slant of the plastic guard. I used the original hole as my guide for where to cut.
No turning back now!
After cutting I mounted the brackets back up to my bars and aligned them. I turned the bars to full lock with the handguards just barely touching the rubber base of the mirror.
I used a marker to mark the location of the new hole to be drilled on the bracket. I also tested that I would still have enough room for my fingers while wearing my heavy winter gloves. There was no problem with space for my hands.
Drill your new mounting hole.
Perfect! The clutch side fits without any issue.
The throttle side requires a little more modification to fit. You can drill the hole via the same method but you will likely have to remove a little from the bracket due to the larger brake lever base.
This is the frame that holds the guard. You can see the lower piece does not interfere with the brake.
The top part however does just barely touch the brake lever. While it did not press in on it, it is still to close, should something bump hard into the handguard it would interfere with the brake.
I decided to remove the top mounting points to give as much clearance as possible.
You could remove just the inside unused mounting spot perhaps. But I think this is best.
There are many different options to solve this problem. You can use various handguards with different methods of mounting, or you can use a product like Hippo Hands.
I chose to use handguards over Hippo Hands because I didn't like the idea of having them left on the bike sitting in the rain all the time. I thought they might be annoying to get my hands back inside them while riding (eg. if you have to adjust a strap/zipper on your jacket, press a button on the GPS or take a picture while riding). A hippo hands type product may also cause problems for me due to my GPS and spot tracker that are mounted on the bars. Most bikes that use Hippo Hands seem to have their accessories mounted on a separate bar near the windshield.
There are many handguards that will work with the FZ6. A good number are made with sport bikes in mind. But some work better then others. If you have a naked FZ6 then virtually anything will work, this is mostly written for those with a fairing. Some handguards attach via replacing the bar ends (Acerbis Dual Road Handguards). This method is great for many people as the handguards can flex against the fairing more at the end when the bars are tuned to full lock. If you use a throttle lock like Throttlemeister then you must use one that mounts to the bars with a bracket.
The Barkbusters Storm Handguards are larger then some of the other guards and offer more wind protection. They are a little pricey and do require modification to fit a stock bike if you want to be able to go full lock turn. If you have a riser on your handlebars you may be able to mount them without any modification!
Without modification on a stock bike you will lose a fair amount of your final turning range at slow speed tight turns. I hit the lock many times while doing tight parking lot U-turns. If simply bolted up I would be concerned of doing damage to the fairing or handguards should they hit the fairing at speed. It's also annoying when rolling the bike around the garage to not be able to turn the bars fully.
As stock mounted the point of impact is here. These guards do not flex! So you cannot force a turn to lock. A hard impact will do damage. You may also be unable to use your steering stem lock.
Now to modify them to fit!
This is the stock bolting location for the guard to the bracket. You can see there is a fair amount of room at the bolting point to slide the bracket in more by drilling a new hole. That alone is not enough room though. You must shorten the bracket buy cutting off tip.
I marked if off at an angle matching the slant of the plastic guard. I used the original hole as my guide for where to cut.
No turning back now!
After cutting I mounted the brackets back up to my bars and aligned them. I turned the bars to full lock with the handguards just barely touching the rubber base of the mirror.
I used a marker to mark the location of the new hole to be drilled on the bracket. I also tested that I would still have enough room for my fingers while wearing my heavy winter gloves. There was no problem with space for my hands.
Drill your new mounting hole.
Perfect! The clutch side fits without any issue.
The throttle side requires a little more modification to fit. You can drill the hole via the same method but you will likely have to remove a little from the bracket due to the larger brake lever base.
This is the frame that holds the guard. You can see the lower piece does not interfere with the brake.
The top part however does just barely touch the brake lever. While it did not press in on it, it is still to close, should something bump hard into the handguard it would interfere with the brake.
I decided to remove the top mounting points to give as much clearance as possible.
You could remove just the inside unused mounting spot perhaps. But I think this is best.
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