RT rear guard bars ....Illium vs. Wunderlich

coastal said:

... I have a metal tray with casters designed to let me rotate my bike 180 degrees in the garage so I can ride it in, spin it, and ride it out... the tray with casters sliding sideways once the rear wheel attempted to enter...

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I can't say if it is true for your unit as you didn't identify it, but the one I have and the ones I've seen, are not supposed to be ridden over. The casters/bearings/plate are not designed to handle that type of load. IIRC, the directions specifically state that you are to rest the bike on the side-stand, and only then place the turn-table under the bike and bring the bike up onto the center-stand. I've found that doesn't work as well as liked, and appreciate that having something that is ride-on ride-off is far more practicle.

Alan, you are correct - the manual does say "... push the motorcycle on the dolly.".

I don't recall where I purchased this "motorcycle dolly" but it matches the one sold by "discountramps.com" for reference. I have the smaller of the two, listed as "Black widow steel cruiser & chopper motorcycle dolly 1,250 pound capacity". It is just a long steel trough with casters and then a "T" sticking out, also with casters, that catches the side stand. Really small ramps front and rear that will swing down for loading/unloading.

With the Suzuki 650 I could put the front and rear ramps down and then roll the bike on. The first time I tried that with the BMW R1200RT I got it on up to the back tire and then the tire hit the edge of the dolly, that broke the dolly loose and the front scooted sideways. That brought the bike down - luckily resting on the Ilium guards so no damage done.

I did not recall the instructions for the ramp as it was quite a long time ago that I assembled this. With the lighter bike I could push it on. A couple people might with the BMW but not likely I can do this myself. The original design just used the friction of the front and rear metal ramps to keep the ramp from moving when loading or unloading the bike. This was never real secure. Marginal for the lighter bike. I found it did not work for the heavier bike. If the back tire hits the dolly frame it will instantly move. My solution was to pin the front and rear of the ramp so it cannot move when I put bike on or off. That lets me ride on very slowly. I also painted a white line from the position where the ramp is pinned out about 6 feet making it really easy to line up the bike as I ride it on. So far that technique is working for me.

And as far as the front and rear guards go, I am very happy with their performance and while I hope to not use them often I think they will help protect from a zero speed drop.

I've got a similar dolly from Harbor Freight. I had one incident similar to the one you mention (dolly didn't move but tire hit the side of the trough and pitched me over to one side) and then decided to put a mirror on the wall in my garage directly in front of the dolly to help me guide the bike onto the dolly in a straight line. I haven't had a single issue since (using it this way for two years now). I used to use this same ramp with my wife's previous ride (07 Honda VLX) but since that had no fairing, I could easily see the dolly in front of the bike and had no issue keeping things aligned. Oh, and I almost always ride the bike up on the dolly ... I think it's safer and easier to do it that way (extremely slowly of course) when you don't have someone there to help you. I did roll it on by hand the first few times but the slightest hit on the edges of the trough would cause the bike to either pitch toward or worse, away from you. I never dropped it but felt that it was inevitable if I kept doing it that way.

Vibrations from engine guards

I have purchased a 2018rt and am looking at the Ilium engine and rear guards. I have had experience with another bike that the engine guards caused a vibration. Any such issues with Ilium or Wunderlich engine guards? Thanks

rpr1200rt said:

I have purchased a 2018rt and am looking at the Ilium engine and rear guards. I have had experience with another bike that the engine guards caused a vibration. Any such issues with Ilium or Wunderlich engine guards? Thanks

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I have Ilium guards front and rear and haven't experienced any vibrations as a result.

I put Illium on the rear and Wunderlich on the front because I liked the better protection around the cylinder head. I have a 2018 RT and they both fit really well and look good in that they blend in well with the black engine.

Thanks for the advice!

Cornering

Hi everyone,

I’m looking into rear guards for my ‘05 RT. Do either result in cornering being affected?
The Illium looks like it could be an issue in close lean angles.

Thanks for any insight.

jbnrt said:

Hi everyone,

I’m looking into rear guards for my ‘05 RT. Do either result in cornering being affected?
The Illium looks like it could be an issue in close lean angles.

Thanks for any insight.

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Can only speak to the Illium rear bars on my 2016 and NO cornering issues whatsoever.

Engine Guard Discussion

Recently upgraded from a 2006 to 2014 RTW and need to install engine guards (and possibly case guards). I had the Ztechnik guards and was very happy with them but none of your threads offer an comments on them if they are out there. Also, have found it difficult to obtain them in Canada, all distributors state on back order with no date. Who is the best US ( on line distributor) ?

Also while looking at upgrades. I had the V-stream touring windshield on 2006 and wondered how it compares with the Areoflow. V-stream is polycarb while Aeroflow is acrylic ( any thoughts) ?

Many thanks

David

I have the Z-Technik bars on the front and the Ilium on the rear. 2016 RT. Love them. They've paid for themselves twice now. No regrets.

Stebe said:

I have the Z-Technik bars on the front and the Ilium on the rear. 2016 RT. Love them. They've paid for themselves twice now. No regrets.

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Got any pictures?

Ztech Engine guards

Thanks for feedback. Think I will stay with Ztechnik on engine guards and
Go with Illium on back as you did.