Was it painted, or powder coated?

[Scott9999]

I picked up some inexpensive crash bars (a.k.a. head protectors) on Amazon, about 1/3 the price of most others.   Seeing as the return window for this item is closing soon, AND I've finally re-discovered my garage floor, I'm going to take a swing at installing them this weekend.  I intend to do a pictorial review, for the benefit (and/or caution) of others. 

 

I received the bars, and am impressed by the construction and welds.  The finish on the luggage protectors is a bit different than the front, i.e. less gloss.  The front are a "glossy matte", not quite semi-gloss, and definitely not flat black.  The rear or more like a "flat matte", not flat black, but more like a matte black one would expect.  Both front and rear look pretty good.

 

In any case, as part of the review, I'd like to be able to verify what they used on the finish.  Are these painted or powder-coated?  Is there any way to tell for certain?

 

Thanks.

[Geekmaster]

Do you have a link to the crash bars on Amazon?

[dirtrider]

8 minutes ago, Scott9999 said:

I picked up some inexpensive crash bars (a.k.a. head protectors) on Amazon, about 1/3 the price of most others.   Seeing as the return window for this item is closing soon, AND I've finally re-discovered my garage floor, I'm going to take a swing at installing them this weekend.  I intend to do a pictorial review, for the benefit (and/or caution) of others. 

 

I received the bars, and am impressed by the construction and welds.  The finish on the luggage protectors is a bit different than the front, i.e. less gloss.  The front are a "glossy matte", not quite semi-gloss, and definitely not flat black.  The rear or more like a "flat matte", not flat black, but more like a matte black one would expect.  Both front and rear look pretty good.

 

In any case, as part of the review, I'd like to be able to verify what they used on the finish.  Are these painted or powder-coated?  Is there any way to tell for certain?

 

Thanks.

Afternoon  Scott9999

 

Are these painted or powder-coated?  Is there any way to tell for certain?--  Probably so, try  calling the manufacturer. 

 

I have a powder coating set up but I usually can't tell baked paint from powder coating if both applied properly.

 

Most similar motorcycle things are powder coated now.   

[Scott9999]

30 minutes ago, Geekmaster said:

Do you have a link to the crash bars on Amazon?

The link I purchased from (now defunct).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0915MCBXP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Originally, they had these labeled 2014-2017.  I explained that I believed that there were no frame changes between the 2017 and 2018 year models, and bought these.  I noticed that they apparently updated their advertisement to add the 2018 year.

I sent a follow-up about the defunct link.  There were 18 originally in stock, and none seem to sell for a month (i.e. I bought one, and it showed 17 in inventory after that).  Maybe they've sold a bunch, who knows?

 

Which is interesting, because this is the link I see now:

https://www.amazon.com/Worldmotop-Engine-Highway-Protector-R1250RT/dp/B08XZFXQS8/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B08XZFXQS8&psc=1

I don't know if there were any frame changes between the wetheads and shiftcams, and these describe "2018-2021".  So, these might fit.

They show only 2 in stock.

 

By the way, they now also show FREE DELIVERY, whereas I had to pay $60 (shipped from East/West coast warehouses).  So, that's a +++.

 

Here's link to BMW bars:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/8860FBF2-075B-4D59-B9F6-9A82BF95E5E5?ingress=2&visitId=afac5e86-2242-4073-8103-3fcf4ed92b57&ref_=ast_bln

 

One last thing:  While these knock off bars may or may not be a good fit, they don't have anyone drawing engineering documents.  When I asked for directions, they sent me a "scrapped" set of Wunderlich instructions.  Other reviews complained about no instructions, so I guess that's how these guys roll.  (I expect that someone in a Shanghai garage or village in China is busy knocking out copies, probably manually welding them.  They're shipping from a common China distributor front, probably specifically set up for Amazon sellers.)    

[Scott9999]

39 minutes ago, dirtrider said:

Afternoon  Scott9999

 

Are these painted or powder-coated?  Is there any way to tell for certain?--  Probably so, try  calling the manufacturer. 

 

I have a powder coating set up but I usually can't tell baked paint from powder coating if both applied properly.

 

Most similar motorcycle things are powder coated now.   

Manufacturer Rep said that these are powder-coated, but as I explained in my last post, that while the respondent seemed like a nice person, my guess is that she's a English speaking college student doing their "support" front and advertisements as a part time job.  (Just my interpretation.)   I didn't want to post that they "ARE" powdercoated, if they are not.  

 

This is just "me", making mountains out of molehills. 🙄

[Geekmaster]

As you said, they're probably knock-offs of Wunderlich, so that's why they sent the same instructions.  It's hard to tell from the photos on Amazon, but the texture appears to be painted rather than powder-coated (at least from my experience with powder-coated accessories).  I think the most important concern is the strength of the steel (or iron, as the description says) and the geometric strength of the design.

 

Let us know how your impressions of the fit, finish, and strength once you get them installed!  Good to have fellow riders willing to try out other options!

[Scott9999]

2 hours ago, Geekmaster said:

As you said, they're probably knock-offs of Wunderlich, so that's why they sent the same instructions.  It's hard to tell from the photos on Amazon, but the texture appears to be painted rather than powder-coated (at least from my experience with powder-coated accessories).  I think the most important concern is the strength of the steel (or iron, as the description says) and the geometric strength of the design.

 

Let us know how your impressions of the fit, finish, and strength once you get them installed!  Good to have fellow riders willing to try out other options!

I've just gotta get my tail moving and install 'em. 

 

Here are some preliminary pictures I took, FYI.  You can see the difference in the finish between front and rear.  I was describing from (poor) memory what the pictures could have demonstrated a lot quicker.

 

(Psst:  Secret is, the Wunderlich directions are crap, anyhow.  My High School Deutsch is rusty, so it's nice that they threw in a few helpful English words here and there like "driving direction". 🙄 So, you'll have to do some "figuring out" during install no matter what.   As long as the bars line up at the places they're supposed to attach, I'm good.  I did some dry fit, but I have to pull some of the tupperware off to be sure.) 

 

 

[RTinNC]

From the Amazon site ....