Motorcycle crash protection buying guide | Prevention is better than a cure so consider these options for your motorbike

Put simply, motorbike crash protection can make the difference between picking your bike up and riding away after a spill or having to write it off. Even the best-built modern bikes are increasingly made from lighter, thinner and more plastic components and they won’t tolerate a slide like they used to.

Best protection at a glance

• Off road protection: Acerbis Rally Pro hand guards
• Track protection: GBRacing engine covers
• Brake lever guard: Evotech lever guard

Crash protection can range from subtle bobbins that keep metal components off the tarmac through to full crash frames, like the kind you see on stunt rider or riding school bikes.

How far you want to take it will depend on the kind of riding you do, where you do it and – as stupid as it sounds – how likely you are to crash. If you have a 24-inch inside leg measurement and you just bought Yamaha Ténéré Extreme, you are probably going to drop it at some point.

Similarly, regular track day riders accept that a spill is inevitable sooner or later, especially if you’re striving to improve your lap times rather than just having fun. Full sets of plain, replacement plastics can be bought so you can save the originals when it happens.

Light protection and road riding

Many owners fit radiator guards to their road bikes, and you don’t even need to crash for these to do their job protecting your coolant system from stones or other debris.

Model specific bolt-on engine bars, crash mushrooms and frame protectors are the next step after that.

Off-road motorbike crash protection

Hand guards can protect your digits in a crash, but heavy-duty versions also save your levers and mean you can retain the use of your front brake and clutch after a drop.

Bash plates protect your sump and possibly exhaust downpipes depending on the routing from rocks or tree roots, too.

Track protection

A front brake lever guard has been a must-have for going on track for a few years now, and although it’s predominantly a safety feature, the stronger ones will also protect your brake lever.

Engine covers fit snuggly over the external components of your engine and generally call for you to use or replace the OE engine bolts. You ought to do this with a torque wrench to make sure you adequately tighten without overdoing it.

In a very long slide – the kind you are more likely to have on a race track – the tarmac can grind through your engine, damaging internal components and letting all your oil out. At the very least, engine damage is unsightly and easily avoided.

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