Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

OK, what do you think of crash knobs?

Dave #3 just got a set (right AFTER he threw his new ride down the road, scratching the right side up) and while they don't look too obvious, they are still noticeable.

I'm still undecided.
On one hand, they protect your fairings if you drop your pride and joy at slow speed.
On the other hand, they look like you've got a roller skate shoved under your fairings on either side.
On the other, other hand, repairing fairings isn't cheap
On the... ummm...(my mum did too many drugs in the 60s)... fourth hand, it's kind of like leaving the plastic coverings on your lounge, or having a 'car bra' on all the time.

So what say you? Are you a fan, or not? What's your thoughts/reasoning?

Big fan ... if only I'd put them on earlier

My last off at 60 kmh, they helped cause all the damage, made the bike sit up and spin stuffing the front and the rear as it hit the gutter.

Great for those "Gee I'm a tool" moments like foot slips or missing the side stand........c'mon ya know we all have them!!!

i've got em...i'm a fan of anything that might protect my fairings in a spill.

They would have protected mine if I had them when I dropped it.

Cath I have a different style of crash, they're not the skateboard style, don't know how well they work but they look better
If you're interested I'll post a pic for you

i've also heard they can cause more damage due to all the shock transferring to teh frame instead of being absorbed by the panels, twisting/cracking frames???

Great for those "Gee I'm a tool" moments like foot slips or missing the side stand........c'mon ya know we all have them!!!

Hmmmm....there was me after all the hard work on the plastics on the bike, pinned to the fuggen garage floor after a disasterous entry thinkin I knew I should have put them "crash things" on.
We learn by our mistakes, still don't know wether to get some though

Cheers, Tanya, I'd appreciate a pic if you get a chance. As I said, I'm still undecided, so am enjoying getting all these different opinions.

Any of the high speed wrecks i have seen they didnt help much but if you drop it off the stand or it falls over when parked I believe they are the way to go.

Cath what are you fitting them too, they may look a liitle funny on some things but i have a green 6r and i have green knobs so they just blend in.

Need to be fitted with a bolt(less strength).....ok not very technical talk that is designed to snap off on impact.......really there to save frame otherwise like someone just said will launch bike causing more damage but good for just dropping bike off stand etc.

I agree with Gav , on anything other than a low speed or fall of the stand etc they DO save alot a greef, but anything over say 80kph for example they do tend to bend frames, making the bike a possable writeoff anyway.

but in times like this one yesterday from an ozfirestorm run around the mountains that i missed out on, nothing would of helped

He goes in for surg this morning ..... left ankle broken , right ankel broken ( 3 spots ) broken pinkie finger, all else ok just heaps of bruiseing ALA Ronster

Still waiting to hear exactly what happened and how .

It depends on the crash. I've seen quite a few high speed turn one crashes at the creek that damage has been greatly reduced by crash knobs. I had one myself at over 200kph, the crash ground away and the only other damage was to the engine case.
Lowside on a smooth surface and they are great, as are race stand pick ups on the swingarm. In a high side, they won't do much and may point load the impact onto your frame. There is a belief that on rough surfaces they can dig and flip the bike, I haven't seen that though...
In my experience at the track, seeing lots of crashes and being involved in a couple myself , I'd definately recommend them.

I'm sure Damo wished he a set on when he had the big off.... in his garage..

Whahahahahaha, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist, Mr Madkaw.
May get myself a set just in case of any more "high speed spills".

There are a number of manufacturers and styles on the market, and the differences can also depend on your bike. I've seem some that use a free mounting point on the frame, and some thay use the fairing mounting points.

The ones that use fairing mounting points can break the fairing even at low speed and aren't worth the money. The frame mounted ones are great for low speeds but will cause frame damage at high speeds.

Really it's about time the manufactures started putting design into reducing low speed repair costs. Bad exapmle of this is spew who have put indicators in the mirrors of the GSXR1000 (as the mirror alone wasn't expensive enough)!

i installed them on the 7r just incase, after some long thinking.