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.
