Safety Bars

I want to share my version of making crash bars, which I installed on a Jawa motorcycle and which have been serving reliably for more than a year now.

Fellow motorcyclists became interested in their design: they took measurements, the shape, and so on. So I decided to offer them to the magazine’s readers.

Many people install crash bars to protect the legs and the motorcycle itself in a fall, as well as shields on them. However, not everyone manages to choose the correct shape and dimensions of this simple protective device.

The crash bars I propose are at the same time a spacious reservoir in which you can keep a permanent oil reserve (1000—1500 g).

To make the bars, you need a steel tube Ø 30— 35 mm, preferably stainless steel. To prevent a “concertina” when bending, the tube must first be packed with dry sand, and wooden plugs — stoppers — driven into both ends. After that, at the bend point the tube must be heated around the full circumference to a red glow and bent immediately.

The shields can be made of transparent acrylic, vinyl plastic, or thin sheet metal; the shield is fastened to lugs welded to the bar.

For the bar mounting plate, sheet steel 3 to 5 mm thick is used (dimensions — as in the drawing).

The plugs for filling and draining oil are turned on a lathe; they may have various designs.

The bars consist of two identical halves, but before welding on the plates they must be separated into right and left. The arrangement of the plates and plugs is shown in the drawing.

After installing the bars on the motorcycle, they proceed to making the shields: these are fitted to the bars and the exhaust pipes. For better engine cooling, the upper end of the shield is bent.

“M-K” 7’75, I. GAVRILIN, Grodno