fredz43 said:
RomKnight, I read Greg's report of the SW-M bars and he said he could just barely remove the right side cover with the bars on. He never reported whether he could remove the left (radiator) side, but I assume that he could not do that with the bars in place. I say this because he had pics showing the right side being farther away from the bike than the left side. There is interest in whether both sides can be removed with bars in place, as you have to have those covers off to remove two bolts to raise the tank to service the air filter. If no bars can accomodate this, I think the next important thing is how difficult is it to remove the left side to get that cover off. Of course, you don't have to get to the air filter that often, but it is a point of interest.
I know that you can remove both covers with the Yamaha bars, but they provide no protection to those panels, so I would not consider them.
I never tried to remove the L/H side cover as I am 99.99% sure it will not happen with the SW-M bars in place.
In fact, I have my doubt's that the L/H cover could be removed with just about any manufacturers full side cover bars (Yamaha O.E.M excepted of course) installed.
The thing that must be considered is that the L/H side cover is one full (assembled) piece, as opposed to the R/H cover being in two pieces.
To remove the right cover you only need to loosen the four qtr turn fasteners and pull the cover away a minimal amount before it can be slid sideways between the bar and electrics. The removal of the L/H side however requires that the entire panel is removed in one piece and pulled further away from the body to clear over the radiator.
Good luck to those who are working on this at the moment.
To be honest, I have never really had a concern over the ability or lack off to remove the covers with bars installed.
If I plan on touring or traveling a goodly/remote distance from home I would be carrying the minimal tools required to remove the bars + sump guard + wheels etc.
Besides guys, this is a Yamaha not a Beemer :
Greg