Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - HEED Engine Crash Bars (F650GS Twin) Review

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I had Heed engine bars before, on a Suzuki V-Strom; they were easy to fit, looked fine and performed well (I dropped the V-Strom several times over the three years I had it. Top-heavy bike + short-legged owner = drops). So track record alone made choosing Heed for the GS a no-brainer plus product photos of bars on the GS looked great.

They make two styles, Bunker and Basic. I went for Basic at €104 (£75). See website for details. They’re made and supplied from Poland. You can order direct or through Ebay for £81 inc. post.

Fitting is straightforward although the upside down HEED logos on the side pieces confused things a bit. The product photos helped. They take about 20mns to fit, just 10 bolts altogether. The ones on the bottom of the engine were tricky to align; a case of slightly out measurements/machining. But I’ve met much worse cases of this, all from ‘top’ brands. Once on the bars look like a natural progression of the BMW frame. Yes, the finish is slightly different and the welds, although reasonably neat, are not polished off. But then these bars are a bargain compared to others out there. And you could easily re-finish them to exactly match the bike if you were minded to.

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In use… well I haven’t given them a true drop test (yet!). But I had a gentle drop in a car park. More of a ‘put down’ than a drop. The bars fully protected the bike. Only the bars themselves suffered some scratches. The Givi pannier frame did bend and needed some TLC. I know some bars are thought to cause vibration at times; these ones don’t. They’re rock solid. In the next few weeks I’m going to fit a pair of running lights to them. I’ll soon notice if there’s any vibration then.