Trackside Aluminum Handguards

I've been living with those crazy bat wing hand guards that came stock on my 2016 KLR650 for over a year now. Crappy things, the left side actually came loose and would flex back into the clutch lever and actually engage it; couldn't tighten it, finally got it to stay in place with a zip tie.

Anyway, I had a little incident that forced the issue of a handguard upgrade. I was riding my bike into my garage the other day, slipped and did a low side slide down. Normally I stop and dismount in my drive and push my bike inside. Why I was riding it in, I'm not sure. I have a special surface garage floor, it's not "supposed" to be slippery. Since I have Nomad front and Dirt Racks rear side guards the only damage from the fall was the right bat wing, which got crushed and cracked.

That was the damage from the fall. Then what happened was every time I tried to pick the bike up, it slid on my garage floor. It was like picking it up on a skating rink. I couldn't get it up. So I slid it against the freezer and as I lifted it the side of the freezer started caving. Damn! Well, I just left it until my son came home so we could do it together. UNFORTUNATELY, the tank leaked and the secondary damage from the fall was a couple spots of paint burned of the tank where the gas leaked. Snap!

Well, the tank repair is for another post. This post is about my handguard replacements. Normally, I do a bunch of research on my bike accessories, but in this case I have experience with the Trackside Aluminum Handguards at Cycle Gear. I'd purchased a set earlier this year for my 2016 DR650 and like them a lot. These guards normally run $100; however, in each case I got the sets on sale for <$50.

The Trackside handguards are as solid as any others. I've had Barkbusters and other popular brands that are three-four times the price of the Trackside. The Tracksides get the job done and I think they're really well designed for universal applications.

The best feature of the design that I can point to is the multiple points of adjustment. The more adjustment points the more applications and the easier the installation. Below is a photo with some notes reflecting adjustment points.

As also noted in the photo above, the KLR bar end isn't an open bar like most, so the expansion anchors are not used in the KLR application.

If you find removing the bar end weights to be difficult, yes that's "red" threadlocker on the bolt!

Okay as for the installation...

On each side of the bar is a plastic wire tie. I removed it on both sides. I resecured the wires with zip ties after my installation. Those wire ties just pop out of the bar with a screw driver. That left little holes on the top of the bar that I sealed to avoid water getting in there and promoting rust.

Some sealers shrink. Devcon Metal Patch and Filler doesn't. That's what I used to fill the holes.

On the left side of the bar is a metal guide. Unfortunately, that had to go. It came off with a hacksaw. Then I ground it down to smooth and treated the bare metal.

Here is the right guard bar installed. There are no wiring or cable issues.

Here is the left guard bar installed. The install worked best routing the clutch cable above the guard post and all the other wiring below the guard post.

As you see in the photos, I've left the bar end weights on...for now. You do not need to leave them on if you don't want. I'm not sure if I want to keep them installed or not. They do add a little additional protection. I think I'll ride it awhile before making the decision to take them off or leave them on. I'll post an update either way.

With the aluminum guards installed, the deflectors were mounted and I tweaked the final adjustments. The main things that I considered was that there was absolutely no contact when the bar was fully turned either way and there was no interference with cables and wires. Once tweaked a quick test ride confirmed the install was effective.

Really, the Trackside Aluminum Handguards are good looking and effective guards. Good deal at <$50, too.