Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories 2007 America Engine Guards

I'm looking at installing engine guards on the bike and Triumph has 2 types. The "triangle" shaped set (part# A9758042) and the "new" square shaped set (part# A9758059). I like the looks and the "slidding down the road" protection the new guards would appear to have and I think highway pegs may in my future as well.
The question I have is with forward foot position of the America, it appears from the pictures I have seen that there is a possibility the bars may interfere with the gearshift lever and getting you foot comfortably under it.
Any experiences or suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks everyone....
Regards,
Gerry

Just fitted the triangular dresser bars to my '07 America. No problem on clearance, in fact the bars are well clear and way above the foot controls.

When I ordered the bars I asked about the "New" style and the dealership said the square ('08), dresser bars would not fit pre EFI bikes. Apparently the oil cooler inlet/outlet positions have changed...?
Couldn't verify this but to be honest, I liked the triangle ones better so I went with the flow.

Have in mind to fit some adjustable highway pegs at some stage, there are plenty of non Triumph options out there and It looks like the angle of the bars would enable it. I haven’t explored this yet.

Piece of cake to fit, looks good, not sure it would offer a great deal of protection beyond the tank but it was one of those easy/high impact kind of evening jobs.... Oh and they give you something else to polish.

L

Ive got the Bellacourse Square bars (Newspeedmaster sells them now i believe),no problems with any clearances . i liked them better than the Triumph triangle ones . one thing with them is where they attach up top at the horn bracket ,dont look to sturdy, but easily remedied.

I got a set from BELLACOUSE last year and when i had a OFF in OCT 07 they saved me a lot of grief , first thing i ordered was a new set but got them from NEW SPEEDMASTER this time , don't know if they are the same make but the second were not as good a fit i had to drill a new hole in the mounting bracket it was about 1 inch out of place not a big deal but not what you want when you buy something that should fit
ian

I just bought an 07 America and the PO gave me the Dresser bars new in the box.

Why do the instructions tell me to support the bike on a jack? Is this necessary? Thanks

Probably to take the weight of the engine as you may be undoing the front mounting points, so it would be hanging on the back ones and may overstress them.

i like the solid mount of the triangle crash bars, but it looks like clearance might be an issue if I ever wanted to drop my turn signals to down below the driving lights.

Anybody run into this?

It works. I've got about 1/2" clearance...

The 08 model I observed at Daytona last month had the new engine guard installed. The sickle was not fuel injected. The attachment points for the redesigned bars were at frame load points.

2008 specs scroll down to bottom of page after clicking on this link.

Thanks Moe. It would seem then that the new bar should fit all models America and Speedmaster.

Some things I have noticed

2008 Model Year
Fuel is 19.3 litres (5.1 gallons) as opposed to 16.6 liters (4.4 gallons) for the prior models.
Analogue speedometer featuring LCD odometer and trip information
Stainless steel headers as opposed to the 2002 prefires having chromed headers.

Just to add a query while we're on the topic of the bars...

I'm also looking into buying some of the crash bars (the triangular ones) for my '07 America.

Simple reason being, i want to protect the bike for when i (some would say inevitably) drop it. Specifically i want to protect the costly guts of the thing to save me forking out repair costs in the future.

So the question is, how much protection do you think the triangular bars offer in the case of a drop?

Thanks for your time.

Anthony

The triangular bars do not give much protection, if you drop the bike, They will of course protect the engine, but the floorboards etc will take most of the hit.

Thats cool with me, i imagine they're much cheaper to replace.

i take it the square (ish) engine bars offer more protection?

(you can tell i'm gearing up for that first drop can't you? )

Anthony

Might give you an idea Anthony of what they look like on and what they would save

Just put a straight edge along the line of the rear peg area the dresser bar (triangular) and handlebar. I reckon without any deformation, the dresser bar will protect the tank, headers and crank/sprocket covers. About the same on the left side.
As Ray said, pegs/controls and floorboards would be history.
I still think It's worthwhile but clearly not as effective protection as some other bike set ups i've seen with both front and rear bars.

To me they look good are fairly minimal and just like the reason I bought the bike... Different.

As said, I couldn't verify the dealers info on the non-interchangability of '08 bars and pre EFI bikes, but It wouldn't make sense to change the design without a reason (unless there's a big expectation in the aftermarket highway peg market...). Maybe it's a reverse compatibility issue?
Anyway whatever you do, ask the vendor. So if you do end up taking em back, you can at least abuse someone..



L

I've dropped both mine with the boards on.

The boards are most definately not history. They protected the tank - it was the day after getting my flame tank... - and most of the other parts. I have a couple of scratches on the mirror and the clutch lever is slightly bent.

I don't have the bars however.

I have the triangular bars fitted and unfortunately have tested them out .

I had a 15mph slide...the right side of the bike slid along the tarmac for approx 6-7mtrs.

Damage to the bike....

Scratched front mudguard
Small dent in tank
Damaged front indicator
Bent floorboard and bracket
Bent rear brake lever
Bent speedo
Dent in headlamp bowl
Scratched mirror
Scrapes on exhaust can
Scuffs on panniers
Bent brake lever

The triangular bars do not give much...if any protection to your legs.....when I fell the weight of the bike fell on the inside of my right knee. My knee was crushed between the cylinder an the road surface. I was wearing protection at the time of the accident...unfortunately the protection in the trousers that I was wearing only protected the front of the knee....not the sides.

I had no bone damage only severe swelling and fluid build up but I was off work for 5 weeks and 6 month later the knees still giving me problems.

I’d prefer to see Triumph produce bars that are a few inches wider and also make sets for the rear available.

Having said all that it could have been a lot worse without the bars.

Sometimes its luck of the draw. I did not have dresser bars on my 07 America on my 15mph slide. My damage was not as bad. I think the floorboards actually provided the most protection to foot/knee as they limited the amount of weight on the foot/knee by supporting the bike. The bars came "into" the fall. So the end of the bars/grips had the weight on it.

My damage:

Bent floorboard and bracket (easy to straighten in a vice)
Bent rear brake lever (easy to straighten in a vice)
Damaged brake pad (replaced $6US)
Scratched mirror (Plan is to get the 08 aftermarket mirrors)
Scrapes on exhaust can (under the bike, no one knows they are there except me)
Scuffed rear tailight (picked up a replacement from the kindness of a forum member)
Scuffed throttle cables (just a little black enamel paint)
Scuffed bar ends (Going to use Kurlyan Grips so no big deal)

Knee swelling/sore for a few weeks.

Biggest surprise was how mild the steel was on the brake lever and floorboard mount. I thought I would have to get the oxy out to heat it up. But ust a little leverage in the vise and it bent pretty easy. Little bit of chrome damage under the floorboard mount but thats it.