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V85 Engine Guards -- a review of all of them, more or less

DesertPilot

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Messages
29
Location
Mountain View, California, USA
Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I was in a position to review function and installation of different engine guards for the V85 TT. As of today, 25-Oct-2020, there are four main options: the Givi, Hepco & Becker, SW-Motech, and OEM. Second-hand reports suggest the Givi is overkill – a baroque titanic assembly of bars that completely encases the cylinder and may prevent access to the valve covers. IMHO the Hepco&Bercker looks too effette – a whimsical curlicue some dandy might have his butler attach for venture to the club. That leaves the SW-Motech and OEM. I have now tried them both, and here is what I learned.

Coverage
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.

Looks
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.

Materials and fit
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.
.
Are they good enough?
Yes. I have determined experimentally (see note above about ‘circumstances beyond my control,’) that the OEM unit is entirely capable of destroying the front bumper of a Mercedes SUV, then taking a substantial hit to the pavement while protecting the cylinder from even the slightest scratch.

What’s different about them?
1) The lower front strut of the SW-Motech bolts to the frame, and shares the lower front engine mount bolts. The lower front strut of the OEM unit bolts to a tunnel (!!!) the Guzzi engineers whimsically provided through the sump because hey, why not put a tunnel through the sump to mount the engine guards? Other motorcycle manufacturers are so unimaginative!

2) The installation instructions that come with the OEM unit actually describe how to install it. The installation instructions that come with the SW-Motech unit assume an element of Teutonic independence and resourcefulness on the part of the installer. You’re also on your own guessing one Fairly Important Torque Setting (see below).

Installation
Installation on both units is basically the same. For the SW-Motech, it's

1) Pry out the 4 plastic caps that cover the bolt holes for the upper front and rear struts and save them for your Obscure Parts From Old Motorcycles collection.

2) Unbolt and move aside the rear brake fluid reservoir. It won't leak.

3) Remove the lower front engine mount bolt on the side you’re working on. I did one side at a time, rather than find out the hard way what might happen if I pulled the bolts on both sides.

4) Loosely fit the bottom strut and bolt using the new longer bolt and spacer SW-Motech provides . Do not tighten it at this time. Trust me!

5) Loosely fit the upper front and rear strut bolts. Unless you tightened the bottom strut bolt, in which case you’ll have to loosen it again to get everything to line up. How do I know this, you ask?

6) Tighten everything in whatever order seems right. I did the bottom strut first. You’ll have some fun doing the left rear strut bolt with a hex key, exactly one flat at a time. You might even want to bend the key with a hammer so you can tighten the bolt more than one flat at a time. I used a crow’s foot wrench to avoid similar drama on the right.

7) Torque everything down. Which requires you to know the Fairly Important Torque Setting for the engine mount bolts. Which Guzzi and SW-Motech both seemed to feel must be kept secret. I guessed 50 NM, which seems about right for an M12 bolt . If I was wrong and the engine falls out, I’ll let you know.

8) Do the same on the other side.

9) You’re done!

10) No you aren’t! Bolt that rear brake fluid reservoir back on.

11) And you did use blue Loctite on everything, right?

Installation for the OEM unit is covered in the installation instructions and is basically the same, except that since both units share one bolt at the bottom. you install them both at the same time.

NOTE: The instructions recommend you pull the heat shields from the exhaust to install that bottom bolt. This is not necessary. But if you don’t, you will wish to pad your tools so you don’t scratch the heat shields. (See note above about ‘How do I know this, you ask?’)
 
Great write-up. I went with the Givi bars simply because they were in stock and the rest were 6-8 weeks for delivery. I agree that they seem to be overkill, and after watching a few videos of installs for the oem bars, a real pita to install comparatively. Took me about an hour and a half total. I removed the horn to make part of it easier. When I removed the rear brake cylinder, I pulled it all the way to the side. Looks like there is more than enough clearance to remove the valve covers, so that is not an issue. Wish I had faster access to oem, but ya gotta work with what you can get your hands on sometimes.
 
The Guzzi shop manual for the V85TT does, in fact, specify 50 Nm for the motor mount bolts (all of em).

Personally, I think the SW-Motech is slightly more attractive looking than the OEM. I think this has something to do with that hole going through the engine block, which just seems really weird to me and I want to pretend it doesn't exist.

__Jason
 
OK... I just dug out the SW-Motech kit that I'm planning to install this weekend and wanted to clarify the torque thing:

For the (2) big screws that replace the OEM motor mount screws, those SW-Motech specifies they are M10 and should be torqued to "OEM" spec (which is the 50 Nm I mentioned previously). However, for the (4) smaller M8 screws, SW-Motech indicates those should be 23 Nm. Medium threadlocker all around.

__Jason
 
Hahaha! Yeah, so... after installing the SW-Motech crashbars today, I now realize how silly it was to obsess over the torque specs. Yes, the motor mount bolt was successfully torqued to 50 Nm as required, but... I had zero chance of getting any of my torque wrenches into the tight spaces for the top and rear screws, so all I could do was Loctite and guesstimate the torque.

In addition to removing the rear brake reservoir, I also removed the horn to gain more space up front to work with.

Additionally, I put caps on the hole in the crankcase where the OEM bars mount. Included a could dabs of silicone adhesive on them as well so that (hopefully?) they stay in place.

Upload 2021 6 12 18 58 37

__Jason
 
My assessment Is that the Givi has the best cylinder coverage but the upper frame mount is weak. The Hepco and becker has the best
mounts the upper frame mount wraps around the frame tube and the main crash loop is a larger D.O.M then the others, in a crash the mount pushes into the frame but the cylinder coverage is weak. The SWmotech seems to be the best compromise similar mounts to the
H&B but with extra coverage. My advice is to download the install instructions. H&B needs the update their design like SWmotech did.
 
Well, I was told last week that the Guzzi engine guards are out of stock and was therefore considering the Givi ones. Then, out of the blue the Guzzi ones showed up. Will be installed by the dealership on Monday and I will pick up my 2021 V85 Travel on Thursday finally. Three cheers!
 
Due to some circumstances beyond my control, I was in a position to review function and installation of different engine guards for the V85 TT. As of today, 25-Oct-2020, there are four main options: the Givi, Hepco & Becker, SW-Motech, and OEM. Second-hand reports suggest the Givi is overkill – a baroque titanic assembly of bars that completely encases the cylinder and may prevent access to the valve covers. IMHO the Hepco&Bercker looks too effette – a whimsical curlicue some dandy might have his butler attach for venture to the club. That leaves the SW-Motech and OEM. I have now tried them both, and here is what I learned.

Coverage
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.

Looks
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.

Materials and fit
They’re the same, There’s nothing to chose between them.
.
Are they good enough?
Yes. I have determined experimentally (see note above about ‘circumstances beyond my control,’) that the OEM unit is entirely capable of destroying the front bumper of a Mercedes SUV, then taking a substantial hit to the pavement while protecting the cylinder from even the slightest scratch.

What’s different about them?
1) The lower front strut of the SW-Motech bolts to the frame, and shares the lower front engine mount bolts. The lower front strut of the OEM unit bolts to a tunnel (!!!) the Guzzi engineers whimsically provided through the sump because hey, why not put a tunnel through the sump to mount the engine guards? Other motorcycle manufacturers are so unimaginative!

2) The installation instructions that come with the OEM unit actually describe how to install it. The installation instructions that come with the SW-Motech unit assume an element of Teutonic independence and resourcefulness on the part of the installer. You’re also on your own guessing one Fairly Important Torque Setting (see below).

Installation
Installation on both units is basically the same. For the SW-Motech, it's

1) Pry out the 4 plastic caps that cover the bolt holes for the upper front and rear struts and save them for your Obscure Parts From Old Motorcycles collection.

2) Unbolt and move aside the rear brake fluid reservoir. It won't leak.

3) Remove the lower front engine mount bolt on the side you’re working on. I did one side at a time, rather than find out the hard way what might happen if I pulled the bolts on both sides.

4) Loosely fit the bottom strut and bolt using the new longer bolt and spacer SW-Motech provides . Do not tighten it at this time. Trust me!

5) Loosely fit the upper front and rear strut bolts. Unless you tightened the bottom strut bolt, in which case you’ll have to loosen it again to get everything to line up. How do I know this, you ask?

6) Tighten everything in whatever order seems right. I did the bottom strut first. You’ll have some fun doing the left rear strut bolt with a hex key, exactly one flat at a time. You might even want to bend the key with a hammer so you can tighten the bolt more than one flat at a time. I used a crow’s foot wrench to avoid similar drama on the right.

7) Torque everything down. Which requires you to know the Fairly Important Torque Setting for the engine mount bolts. Which Guzzi and SW-Motech both seemed to feel must be kept secret. I guessed 50 NM, which seems about right for an M12 bolt . If I was wrong and the engine falls out, I’ll let you know.

8) Do the same on the other side.

9) You’re done!

10) No you aren’t! Bolt that rear brake fluid reservoir back on.

11) And you did use blue Loctite on everything, right?

Installation for the OEM unit is covered in the installation instructions and is basically the same, except that since both units share one bolt at the bottom. you install them both at the same time.

NOTE: The instructions recommend you pull the heat shields from the exhaust to install that bottom bolt. This is not necessary. But if you don’t, you will wish to pad your tools so you don’t scratch the heat shields. (See note above about ‘How do I know this, you ask?’)
Hello; I decided to go with the SW Motech on my recent purchase of a V85TT and when I came to an intersection and turned right; the nature of the bike carrying its weight a little high and me being an older guy; it dipped and I couldn’t overcome it and dropped it; and I was heart broken to scratch the side of the tank on that beautiful Centenario silver color; I’m considering the set of Givi crash bars because they seem to offer more protection even though they seem to be overkill and ruin the lines of the engine; The kicker is nobody has the paint code to touch up the scratches Piagio or my dealer; watching a 69-year-old struggling to pick the thing up was a whole other story! John
 
I think the OEM ones are the most "elegant" but ...
Maybe I am too picky but could it be that the attachment to the sump leads to increased vibrations?
 
Just my curiosity; I'm suspicious about a blocking skid plate type protector where gear box has build in fins to get air for cooling.
Also is there anybody that has a crash experience with any kind of steel tube type engine protector? they must work in theory,tough.
 
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