J3’s polls, #1, engine guards

[dave]

Worked in the motorcycle industry for 17 years. Never saw engine guards prevent a bike from being totalled. At most they might save an outer engine case on 1 side usually. Engine guards do nothing when hitting a left turner or rear ending a vehicle ahead of you. They dont do anything if you are rear ended. At best they help in a standing still drop or in a low speed low side. I have seen bent frames from being dropped on an engine guard.

Hey I am not trying to discourage others from using them, that is their choice. My choice is not to use them.

55 years, 31 street motorcycles, untold miles, I just have never found a use for them, and yes I have dropped several bikes. What is the cost of an outer engine case compared to a set of case guards?

I've ridden many years, and have owned 25+ motorcycles myself. I've had two minor spills on my 1976 CB750F where the case guards saved my engine. At the very least, the case guards saved me from having to have my bike towed home due to a broken engine case and all the oil leaking out, and they saved me hundreds of dollars in repair expenses (I don't put full coverage on my motorcycles, and this alone saves me thousands of dollars over the life of my bike).