If you have every seen a Harley, an adventure motorcycle, or stunt sport bike, then you live likely wondered what the funny stubs and bars are wrapping around the motorcycle. In some cases, they look like a little knobs protruding from the motorcycle. These are crash bars.
Riders should put crash bars on their motorcycle. Crash bars improve one’s riding by increasing their confidence. Crash bars provide many benefits such as protecting the engine, faring, making it easier to pick up the motorcycle when it’s dropped, and protecting the rider in case of a crash.
There are a lot of things to consider with crash bars. It’s not as simple as throwing them on the bike and heading down the road. The motorcycle rider should consider different facets such as the intent of the intent of the crash bars.
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Are Motorcycle Crash Bars Necessary?
Crash bars are necessary from a convenience perspective. It will save your bikes from scratches and damage to other parts of your motorcycle. Perhaps it adds unnecessary weight to the motorcycle. You will be happy you have them.
I would counter that assertion by stating the benefits significantly outweigh the few extra pounds it will add to the machine.
But as I just mentioned, they provide many benefits and will save you physical harm, aggravation, and potentially money down the road.
We should also consider the least common, but one of the most important benefits of crash bars.
Crash bars will improve your riding by increasing confidence. You will not ride as stiff with increased confidence. You will give the motorcycle a little extra room to move around within its natural state.
I didn’t realize how important this was until I was running drills in a parking lot one spring afternoon. It was early in the season, and I knew my skills needed to be sharpened from not riding during the winter months.
My first three trips around the parking lot were stiff, and everything felt unnatural. I did not have a high level of confidence and was worried about dropping the motorcycle.
However, after realizing the crash bars would prevent significant damage to the bike, I realize there was a lot less to worry about. I relaxed and things felt more natural, and the drills became easier.
When Do Crash Bars Really Help?
For the quick and lowdown of how crash bars help check out the table below. If you want more details read further for more information beyond the table.
| How Crash Bars Help | What Is Protected |
| Protects engine in slow speed crash | Engine |
| Protects the tank and engine when motorcycle is dropped | Tank, Engine, Feet, & Legs |
| Great location for highway pegs | Creates comfort for long rides |
| Protects fairing by not letting bike fall all the way over | Fairing and Handlebars |
| Reduces lean angle for picking up a dropped motorcycle | Your Back |
Slow Speed Crash
In a slow-speed crash, it’s not uncommon to see scratches and chips taken out of your motorcycle. Your engine is the most vulnerable, particularly the part of your engine cases closest to the ground.
Crash bars essentially act as a barrier so that your engine does not end up scraping the ground.
A couple of years ago, the crash bars on my dad’s motorcycle protected his engine when I accidentally dropped his bike in my driveway. Horrified, I picked it up, but in the back of my mind very relieved the most I would have to pay for a set of new crash bars.
Dropping the motorcycle
As I just mentioned, I dropped my dad’s motorcycle a while back. After reflecting on this incident, I realized those crash bars protected a lot beyond the motorcycle.
What would’ve happened if I drop the motorcycle and it would’ve landed on my foot or my leg? Can you imagine the amount of pain and damage that would’ve caused my body?
That is not something that brings a smile to my face. Again I was thankful those crash bars are on his butt on his bike. My family was fortunate those crash bars were on his bike. I would not have been able to work with a crushed foot or leg.
Great location for highway pegs
Crash bars are also a great place to locate your highway pegs. Here is the best way to use highway pegs and your crash bar.
By mounting your second set of pegs, hear you create additional options for you to move around and keep blood flow to your feet and legs on those long rides. This increases the comfort of your motorcycle overall.
Because of the way most highway pegs work on cruisers, you have multiple options and where to put your highway pegs.. I would encourage you to try many locations to find the best level of comfort.
Crash bars protect your fairing
Sometimes the crash bars wrap around tightly on the motorcycle. If you look closely on adventure bikes, you’ll notice that they wrap around some fairings.
Where the crash bars wrap tightly around the motorcycle you’ll find larger amounts of tubing which adds more weight but protects you from having to do fiberglass or carbon fiber work because of busted parts.
The reason they wrap many of these crash bars so tight it’s because of the desire to keep the motorcycle as narrow as possible when riding off-road.
Crash Bars help with picking up your dropped motorcycle
Crash bars reduce the lean angle in picking up a dropped motorcycle. It’s the difference between having to bend over and touch the floor or bend over and touch the seat of a chair.
We won’t get into the techniques of how to pick up a dropped motorcycle here, but what you will know is that it saves significant pain and stress on your back.
Choosing A Motorcycle Crash Bar Or Highway Bars
The language through this article and other articles you read use multiple terms for the same thing. Specifically crash bars, highway bars, and sliders. They refer to the same thing.
They are additions to a motorcycle that provides the protection we’ve talked about in this article answering why add them to your bike.
The distinguishing factors behind these terms are:
1. Most people refer to crash bars as those items that wrap closely around the engine and or faring.
2. We find highway bars on cruisers and look like big chrome rings in between the front down tubes in the front wheel. They also have highway pegs mounted on them.
3. They put sliders on sport bikes and found mostly on stunt sportbikes. They allow the motorcycle to lean way over and look like knobs protruding from the edge of the motorcycle.