To address / answer a few statements / questions in the above posts:
- On 2nd gens with the Barkbuster bike-specific kit you
do have to remove the OEM bar end weights. If you are fitting the kit
with the OEM weights you're doing it wrong and sacrificing a level of protection. To each their own, but my thoughts are if you pay a premium for a bike-specific kit you should use it the way it was designed; if you want to use the OEM bar end weights you can get by with a Tusk generic handguard kit for $50 and have a better level of protection. By using the Barkbuster kit
and the OEM weights, the inner mounts by necessity get moved too far towards the ends of the bars. This doesn't allow adequate clearance for brake and clutch reservoir, and also puts the inner mounts on the outside end of the bend in the bars, which contributes to weakening the design.
- The bar ends come off with a 12mm allen.
- Watch how you route the wiring from the left and right hand controls. It seems appealing to route it above the inner mount and nestle it in that little divot of the inner mount, but the way that the wiring exits the controls (on the bottom), this can cause extra tension on the wiring and chafing. It's less visually appealing but more efficient to route the wiring under the inner mount.
- While not specifically mentioned in the thread, a lot of people mount handguards incorrectly. They need to be, essentially, parallel to the ground, not facing significantly up or down. Either direction can contribute to injuries (broken wrist if guards rotate up) or damaged levers and controls in a crash.
