Crash Protection: SW-Motech Crash Bars

For adventure bikes or perhaps even sport tourers, puck-type frame sliders don't necessarily provide meaningful protection. But crash bars do. In this video, we take a look at SW-Motech's bars for the BMW S1000XR.

On a new bike costing north of $20K, it's natural to worry about what-ifs like a tip over or a low side. Even if the get off is mild, it can  do hundreds if not thousands of dollars of damage to plastic, the frame and engine parts. Traditional puck-type sliders provide some protection, but they also have a habit of snapping off, perhaps doing more damage than would have occurred with nothing at all. In this video, Motorcyclist contributor Paul Bertorelli takes a look at an alternative: crash or engine-protection bars from SW-Motech (twistedthrottle.com), a respected German accessory manufacturer.

For a very reasonable $239.95, SW-Motech’s bars are less than half the price of competing choices. As you’ll see in the video, these bars are well made and blend into the bike without looking like a bad afterthought. With about an hour’s work, you can install the bars and be back on road, secure in the fact that you’ve got better protection for the expensive bits than you would ever expect from puck sliders.

For more information on SW-Motech products or to see if they have a crash bar for your motorcycle, visit twistedthrottle.com here.