So, finally got my sorry ass over to the see the guys at R&G in Alton this afternoon to do a trial fit of the Barkbusters handguards to the 13 now it has the Helibars fitted.
We already know that the Barkbusters will fit the K1300S with standard bars, witness TomK1300S's post on the subject. And we know that the fabric 'muffs' will fit the bike with Helibars albeit with a little nudge against the screen support on full lock.
Not being as manly as Ron and therefore able to carry off the 'girly muff' stuff, I wanted to know if the Storm Barkbusters would fit my bike. The guys at R&G had agreed to let me do a trial fit at their place rather than post them to me and have me post them back if they didn't fit satisfactorily.
Well, the great news is that they do fit, they don't foul anything whatsoever and although they make the bike look like a spaniel with floppy ears when viewed from the front, they are definitely a winter fitment so who cares.
These are the 'Storm Bar End Mounted for handlebars with fixed internal 6mm or 8mm threads' at £84.99 from R&G (other suppliers are available). Both standard bars and Helibars have 8mm threads.
These guards have plastic covers but for the flush among you, or indeed me if I was keeping them on all year round, there are carbon ones available. The fixing is a single point on the bar end with no fixing whatsoever on the inner end. The solid aluminium flat bar is very solid and the sliding fitment between the bar end and the flat bar allows for either of two forward/backward positions. I have mine on the rearmost hole and think it might just fould the screen support on the forward position.
Anyway, here are the details and some piccies so show the finished results.
This is the kit you need....
....and the details from the label....
Finished view from the seat....
....and from the front....
Some general shots of the guards....
Shot showing the clearance on the right....
....and the left....
All in all I am delighted with the quality, the finish and the fit, even though the sun seems to be here for a while.
On the downside, having these fitted means I have to sacrifice my cruise control throttle lock thingummy from the right bar end but that really only gets used in summer on long tours so no great sacrifice really!
There is also a gap between the fitting and the end of the grips but if this starts to annoy me it can always be covered with a bit of flubber!
These fit so well that I am sure that even my very picky MoT tester won't be able to find fault with them.
First test ride with these fitted will be tomorrow in 16 deg heat so I will wear my summer gloves and report back when I have put some miles on them.
Brian (who now has toasty fingers wherever he goes, even without the heated grips on
)
