Heed vs Wunderlich Rear Protection Guards 2015 R1200RT LC

[Dreamer]

Hello, I want to mount rear protection Guards, not Illium, but look on heed and wunderlich. One aspect is if it is easy to uninstall if want ride without the bags. Anyone any experiance on one of these bars en their assembly and quality?

Question is because I dropped bike at slow slow speed, turning and want to prevent the cost of having need to repair damaged bags. 

[Scott9999]

4 hours ago, Dreamer said:

Hello, I want to mount rear protection Guards, not Illium, but look on heed and wunderlich. One aspect is if it is easy to uninstall if want ride without the bags. Anyone any experiance on one of these bars en their assembly and quality?

Question is because I dropped bike at slow slow speed, turning and want to prevent the cost of having need to repair damaged bags. 

This should answer some of your questions, about Heed vs Wunderlich rear bars.

 

 

This was the original review I did on the Wunderlich (clones, but identical design and as far as I know, construction).

 

By the way, the last post I made on the original thread above, has a picture of the Illum rear bars.  They avoid the potential conflict with a smaller rear/pillion rider's legs I describe in the post on the Heeds.  The illum's are cut down, giving the pillion rider more room, but they lack the forward stabilizing bar that the Heed design features. Interesting, i.e. the differing design solutions to arrive at similar products to solve the same problem.

[Dreamer]

Hi Scott, thanks! I understand Heed is stronger because of the extra sidebar. And prisewise Heed is almost half the price then Wunderlich Rear Guards. The Wunderlich bars look more easy to uninstall. Did you uninstall them for porpuse of driving without the cases and is so, is it easy uninstall?


 

[Scott9999]

19 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

Hi Scott, thanks! I understand Heed is stronger because of the extra sidebar. And prisewise Heed is almost half the price then Wunderlich Rear Guards. The Wunderlich bars look more easy to uninstall. Did you uninstall them for porpuse of driving without the cases and is so, is it easy uninstall?


 

They are both equally difficult or hard to install.  I know of none that are "easy to uninstall".  I have mine in black, and my 2018 RT is the sport version in red and black, so the bars don't look bad in black.  They are,  however, just one more thing to get your leg over.  But I fixed that.  I added a Sargent back rest, and now the bars are the least of my concerns, when trying to get my leg up over that bike. 🙄  It's kinda like the opposite of graceful ballet.🙃😖

 

That said, if I were to remove the bars, there's no need to remove the black, triangular support plate.  So, removal requires just two bolts on either side, with the Wunderlich, but three bolts (i.e. plus the third bolt up forward support bar to the frame), for the Heed.  That greatly simplifies removal, but it's still likely to be a 15 to 20 minute process (though I suppose an battery powered socket wrench would spin those bolts faster, and ...ah.. strip 'em too - known feature).

 

My wife is an occasional pillion rider, so I considered the removability issue when I first started looking at these.  In the end, however, while I drop my 49L top case unless with her or touring, I nearly always have my side cases attached, and these bars are their protection.  I don't use the side cases much, i.e. my tank bag is enough most of the time, but neither do they bother me.  I'm not trying to imitate a sport bike/cafe racer.   It looks like what it is, i.e. a sport-touring bike.

 

One last thing, regarding:  "I understand Heed is stronger because of the extra sidebar."   It's more than that.  The bolts may use the same wrench size, but the Heed bolts are a whole class larger, i.e. thicker (as shown in the side by side comparison picture).  The triangular plate is made of much thicker stock.  The tubular bars are larger in diameter (i.e. I don't know what grade tubing either company used, but the Wunderlich bars didn't flatten out or fold due to tubing strength in the tip-over, so I consider both products of adequately tubing strength).  The Heed are stronger every way you look at them, from the design to the materials to the welds, to the weight.

 

One last, LAST thing, i.e. disclaimer:   Remember, I am comparing Wunderlich "clone" bars to the Heed.  I've never had a actual set of Wunderlich bars in my hands to compare.  It's possible the real deal uses thicker stock for their plates, and stronger/thicker bolts.  No one with the Wunderlich rear bars has responded to my question (other thread) yet, and we'd have to use micrometer's to compare, in any case (i.e. no side by side pix).

[Dreamer]

Hi Scott, thanks for the detailed reply with information that I can consider, like getting off the bike with the Heed guards mounted, the uninstall of both and the better quality of heed vs Wunderlich copy. Very helpfull, quick and extensive reply. 

[strataj]

Can the valve covers of a 21+R1250RT be removed without the removal of the Heed bars? 

[Scott9999]

3 minutes ago, strataj said:

Can the valve covers of a 21+R1250RT be removed without the removal of the Heed bars? 

I couldn't tell you, for certain.  (a) I have a 2018 R1200RT, and (b) I mounted the Wunderlich (clones) front and rear, before I replaced the W rear with the Heed.  

Their web page (for the black bars) doesn't say:  https://heedshop.eu/en_US/p/Front-and-rear-crash-bars-for-BMW-R-1250-RT-2018-2020-black-/472

 

Recommend you contact Heed directly, and ask:  https://heed.com.pl/en/kontakt_en

 

Hint:  If you end up on the Polish version of the Heed website, lick on the upper right icon for Britain, e.g. "English" translation.  I'd make it clear that you are shopping from America.  They shipped my rear bars in something like 4 or 5 days, quicker from Poland than I could get something from the East coast of the USA. 😏)

[strataj]

47 minutes ago, Scott9999 said:

I couldn't tell you, for certain.  (a) I have a 2018 R1200RT, and (b) I mounted the Wunderlich (clones) front and rear, before I replaced the W rear with the Heed.  

Their web page (for the black bars) doesn't say:  https://heedshop.eu/en_US/p/Front-and-rear-crash-bars-for-BMW-R-1250-RT-2018-2020-black-/472

 

Recommend you contact Heed directly, and ask:  https://heed.com.pl/en/kontakt_en

 

Hint:  If you end up on the Polish version of the Heed website, lick on the upper right icon for Britain, e.g. "English" translation.  I'd make it clear that you are shopping from America.  They shipped my rear bars in something like 4 or 5 days, quicker from Poland than I could get something from the East coast of the USA. 😏)

I had the real Wunderlrich on my 14R1200RT,  no problem removing the valve covers, I wouldn't want bars to interfere with that since I've been checking my cam lobe's at each oil change (6,000 sMiles) .  I did have them front and rear, I didn't have any problems with the rear although if you ride 2 up I think your passenger will,  just saying...  

[Scott9999]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I won't have problems with my front bars, in regards to removing the heads, but I haven't actually tried yet.  In fact, I believe Wunderlich may have redesigned their bars at some point to avoid the problem, since I read (older) documentation where Wunderlich was stressing to the effect, "Tell the service department to only LOOSEN the front bars to remove the head covers, they don't need to remove the bars".  That info is no longer in their install docs.    From the pictures, I kind of think the head covers will clear Heed front bars as well, but I can't be sure (i.e. no hands on experience with the Heed front bars).  I think I've read of someone experiencing scraping on the Heed bars during extreme turns, and again, from the pix, I could see how that might be a problem.  However, I don't ride like that, and I like the Heed design (Illium looks best, but big $$$$) and of course, sturdy construction, so they'd be my choice if I replaced the front W. clone bars that I now have installed.