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Engine Guards for the Tenere

Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
443
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170
Location
Austin
First Name
Karl
Last Name
Haywood
I've plundered the piggy bank. Searched through the couch for loose change. Saved my paper route money. I'm now ready to order a set of engine guards for my 2014 Tenere.

The question now... Which crash bars to select?

Rumbux, AltRider, SW-Motech, Givi, and more....

I like the price range of Givi, but also like the AltRider for easy of install, number of hard points...

Youtube has many install video's but not much for testing/comparing various brands.

My riding style right now is 80% highway with 20% off road. The most technical off road I see myself doing isn't much more then Old Ore Rd. in Big Bend. Rocks, sand, mud, two tracks. I don't see myself forging a new trail through the back country of Alaska.

Anyone have some real world experience they would like to give me?

Kman198
 
Rumbux , because that's what I have. LOL. I haven't been down with them but they look super stout.
 
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Yeah..the Rumbux setup is the most robust & incorporates a quik removable skid plate to get access to lower engine for service...etc. Liteitup has them on his Ten....tested tough
& there was a set on my 14 when I bought it...also tested by prev ownr...but I sold them cuz I also had some Altriders....which Im using now. 2nd choice of the brands

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Laid my Tenere down on a dirt road in Pike's Peak nation Forest at about 40 mph, and other than scraping off all the coating I saw no structural damage to my AltRider engine guards.
 
Rumbux here. I've dropped mine several times, all low speed. No damage whatsoever. I beat the crap out of it last year on a couple of sections of the Continental Divide Ride. Took a lickin and kept on tickin.

Six easy to get to bolts to change the oil and filter. You can't use the longer filters though.

I'd buy one again.
 
No, I haven't bought/installed either the T-Rex crash bars or the skid plate. Most of my riding is on the pavement so will stick with what's on the Tenere for the time being.

I did buy the T-Rex luggage guard bars for the '14 FJR that I previously had and they were nicely made.
What skid plate do you have?

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What skid plate do you have?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Still have the OEM plastic "skid plate" that Yamaha put on the m/c. Poor excuse for protecting the engine sump but again my off-road riding is limited. The Tenere has been down a few unpaved roads: Pandale road from out of Sonora to Langtry, across about 25 miles of unpaved road of an Indian reservation in New Mexico (never put complete trust in your GPS:trust:), and a ride up Moki Dugway in Utah. Also, I'll occasionally meander down a new-to-me unpaved road here in the hill country.
So far, no damage thankfully. I'll probably end up buying a skid plate and am leaning towards the T-Rex brand.
 
Okay... Here's my take on engine guards for my Tenere.

It's pretty safe to say "...some is better then none..." Every post I've read, here and elsewhere, the bars, regardless what's been installed, did as designed. No one has mentioned the results of a truly "hard" fall. I'm guessing that's because crash bars were the least of problems after a hard fall.

Comparing prices. It appears crash bars covering smaller areas (upper or lower only) are not measurably cheaper then bars covering both. This is assuming the installed skid plate is compatible with the desired crash bars. If not... that's more $$$.

I think AltRider is likely to be the... standard? Their construction, design, and material quality seems to be very good. Combined with easy of installation and some measure of "coolness." It's a very popular brand. Givi, Heed, Mastech, Touratech, and many of the others are nearly equal to or less then AltRider in most respects. Again, the price difference between Altrider and these other brands is small... I personally, will hold out for Altrider.

Rumbux... This should be in a completely different category. Something more attune to "armor?" My son drew up a cartoon of my bike with Rumbux. It included mounted M16's flring down streets filled with zombies. Funny... But it did help me come to a resolution.

If I'm riding in dirt, mud, sweat, and blood more then 60% of the time? Rumbux is probably the better choice.

If I'm riding 80/20, street and dirt. Altrider would server me very well.

90/10? Givi, Heed, these somewhat cheaper brands should be okay too.

So... As I worked through all this. Checking out mounting points, tools will be needed... I discovered a tire issue that must be corrected now. Will have to come back to guards next year.

Thanks for everyone's input.
 
Rumbux might be overkill but if you're doing both skid plate and engine guards it will cost you less than Altrider. The Rumbux is a simpler installation and also makes for much easier oil changes. I will never do an oil change by letting the oil drain out onto the skid plate. I'm not worried about cleanliness and seldom wash my bike but oil residue on the skid plate won't work for me.

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Rumbux might be overkill but if you're doing both skid plate and engine guards it will cost you less than Altrider. The Rumbux is a simpler installation and also makes for much easier oil changes. I will never do an oil change by letting the oil drain out onto the skid plate. I'm not worried about cleanliness and seldom wash my bike but oil residue on the skid plate won't work for me.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk

Agreed... On both counts...
 
Karl,
If you decide to get the Rumbux, EricV on the Yamaha Super Tenere forum is a vendor. Don't know if he's cheaper than anyone else but seems to treat folks well on the forum. The Heed crash bars from Poland seems to do the job and save a few bucks. I still like the looks of the T-Rex.:-)
 
Karl,
If you decide to get the Rumbux, EricV on the Yamaha Super Tenere forum is a vendor. Don't know if he's cheaper than anyone else but seems to treat folks well on the forum. The Heed crash bars from Poland seems to do the job and save a few bucks. I still like the looks of the T-Rex.:-)
Thanks for the heads up.

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