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Engine guard or cylinder Head cover

W

Wethead

New member
I am wondering what to use this time on my RT: the engine guard or them cylinder head cover.

Here is speculation: I don't like attaching engine guards to engine bolts cause I have had bad luck with that. And I am under the impression that unscrewing them factory engine bolts may yield more vibration up the motorcycle frame no matter how well they are torqued back in afterward.

I have my reluctance with cylinder head cover cause it seems to me they block what little air cooling is provided to the cylinder by osmosis.

...appreciate your thoughts on this
 
I personally can't stand engine guards. I'm personally not going places where I'm going to be repeatedly dropping the bike, nor are rocks are going to be a problem (the whole purpose of full guards). The wet head cylinders do not get hot enough to need any extra cooling across the face of the valve cover. Engine guards add weight and additional wind resistance. For me, head covers will save the heads in a tip-over on pavement or bare gravel, and will probably save them in a short slide. Anything that will do more damage than that is going to do enough damage regardless of a cage around the bike to total the bike. I'd rather go minimal, and plan on it not happening than add the weight in the hope that it protects the bike should it happen.

Realistically, the bike will be totaled with or without engine guards or head covers in any accident that I can see myself having based on how I ride - and would be from impact with another vehicle that wasn't where it was supposed to be, and no way to anticipate that it was going to be there...
 
I don't think so. The engine is a stressed frame component, so there's only so many places you can connect to.
The Ilium bars as well as the Wunderlich bars attach at the top front frame lug.
They are the 2 red circles near the engine mounting bolt #2. The single red circle is not seen on the other side, but is seen in the next picture below.
Image 1-18-21 at 18.15.jpeg

They both attach to the lower forward threaded bolt hole that is vacant in the side of the engine half. That's in the tight bend of the exhaust header.
The Wunderlich bar attaches to the frame lug that is used to hang the rear lower part of the engine as well. These bolts are just shown here in the red circles as well.
IMG_5772.jpeg
 
r0ckrat said:
I personally can't stand engine guards. I'm personally not going places where I'm going to be repeatedly dropping the bike, nor are rocks are going to be a problem (the whole purpose of full guards). The wet head cylinders do not get hot enough to need any extra cooling across the face of the valve cover. Engine guards add weight and additional wind resistance. For me, head covers will save the heads in a tip-over on pavement or bare gravel, and will probably save them in a short slide. Anything that will do more damage than that is going to do enough damage regardless of a cage around the bike to total the bike. I'd rather go minimal, and plan on it not happening than add the weight in the hope that it protects the bike should it happen.

Realistically, the bike will be totaled with or without engine guards or head covers in any accident that I can see myself having based on how I ride - and would be from impact with another vehicle that wasn't where it was supposed to be, and no way to anticipate that it was going to be there...
Click to expand...

I thi k I am with you on this Rockrat...I am going with the head covers...I had envine guard on my previois RTs its time for a change
 
If you ask a handful of BMW service managers who have seen a variety of protection solutions at their worst - re: engine & sub-frame protection specifically, you will likely get a unanimous nod for the OEM Valve Cover Guards, for a handful of objectively solid reasons.
 
RYD1WD said:
If you ask a handful of BMW service managers who have seen a variety of protection solutions at their worst - re: engine & sub-frame protection specifically, you will likely get a unanimous nod for the OEM Valve Cover Guards, for a handful of objectively solid reasons.
Click to expand...

...and what may those 'objective solid reasons' may be?
 
I have always used valve cover guards on my RT's and actually on my GS's as well. While I have not had the opportunity to test them recently in the past on my 1150GS they plastic guards worked perfectly and did their job. Today I have MAM Cylinder guards on my 2016RT and have the BMW guards on my 2018GS. Unless you are doing a lot of serious off road riding I don't believe the crash bars are necessary. In addition on both bikes I am able to use the BMW light mount bars which you can't do when you use Crash bars.

RT.jpg


I really like that on the BMW Cylinder guards you can replace that black rubber part for $20 and THAT is where the bike will land should it fall.

GS.jpg
 
yeap, I think I am going with the head cover and not disturb any of them engine bolts


BTW, on my last RT I put the engine guard that are used on the RTP...ugly as they are, the fit like a glove on an RT cause they are made by Beemer land for the RT configuration.
 
Wethead said:
yeap, I think I am going with the head cover and not disturb any of them engine bolts


BTW, on my last RT I put the engine guard that are used on the RTP...ugly as they are, the fit like a glove on an RT cause they are made by Beemer land for the RT configuration.
Click to expand...

Yep ... have to agree that nearly ALL BMW accessories fit as designed. However, for me a good % of aftermarket parts just don't fit as well. Sometimes I will make the adjustment to the part but most times I will simply return them. Not saying they don't fit just that they sometimes need a little "encouragement" and for me that is usually a show stopper.
 
Engine Guards

Personal preference, but I like the OEM engine guards on my GS. Only drawback is that it takes an extra 10 minutes to get them out of the way when doing a valve check, but that's only once every 12k- not a big deal. Maybe could have gone with other aftermarket brands that allow for valve cover access, but I like the way the OEMs look.
 
I got the OEM guards with the bike new in February 2014 R1200RT. I had a low speed drop. My mirror housing was damaged it needed replacement, the rear saddle bag was damaged, it too was replaced (the case not the painted trim). As for the guard it did protect the cylinder head, the plastic guard was damage but I was able to just replace that part. I wasn't happy with the protection of the bike. At the time Wunderlich was the only manufacturer of protection bars for the Wethead RT. I got front and rear, they are ok but with today's choices I'd buy a different set of protection bars.
 
Engine Guards vs. Cylinder Head Protectors

I think the "best solution" might depend on what you're trying to achieve and where or how you ride. Off-road requirements might be different than on the road or track -- and trying to avoid any scratches or nicks to expensive parts versus trying to ensure the bike still operates after it's dumped might result in different solutions. Having become an expert in "laying her down", what I can tell you is that the BMW engine guards, while a perfect fit, will fold under heavy load or impact and press against the cylinder head. The reason for this is the BMW guard lacks any bracing near the top and the back of the guard -- several other aftermarket alternative do not have this shortcoming. I will be addressing it shortly as Touratech offers a brace for the OEM engine guard that ensures loads are transmitted and absorbed by the frame. Of course, that opens things up for a whole different discussion as a high enough impact will bend whatever you mount things to -- and frames are not cheap to replace!
 
My first RT was an '04 and I put factory head guards on it. Thankfully in 8 years I never dropped it. I have the MAM covers on my '20 RT and full engine guards on my '11 GS. I ride the GS off pavement and occasionally drop it. They do their job when that happens.

I really hope I'm not jinxing myself here but I feel like it is less likely I'll drop the RT. If I do drop it while stopped or at very low speed the MAM covers will save me some damage. If I crash it at speed, engine bars would protect more than the MAMs but there will likely be far more damage anyway and frankly, bike damage will probably be the least of my worries. At that point I'll let insurance sort it out.

I've still considered adding lower bars to the RT but don't like the idea of adding weight and don't really like how they look.
 
when I bought the bike (2016RT) I had the head covers added. I believe they mentioned that they were basically only good for low speed/no speed drop...as I delved into the aftermarket world I was impressed with the ilium front/rear guards- which I purchased and installed. I happened to drop the bike at a stop sign (road sloped and I put my foot down against solid nothingness)the result was NO damage to ANYTHING- rear case un scratched even! (well, ego was scuffed up a bit) I never got around to removing the engine cover...so I have bopth and prefer the bars.
 
rick601 said:
when I bought the bike (2016RT) I had the head covers added. I believe they mentioned that they were basically only good for low speed/no speed drop...as I delved into the aftermarket world I was impressed with the ilium front/rear guards- which I purchased and installed. I happened to drop the bike at a stop sign (road sloped and I put my foot down against solid nothingness)the result was NO damage to ANYTHING- rear case un scratched even! (well, ego was scuffed up a bit) I never got around to removing the engine cover...so I have bopth and prefer the bars.
Click to expand...

With the BMW Cylinder Head protectors and Illium Works rear bag bars the outcome would be about the same ... but all you need to do is replace the scratched plastic pads on the cylinder guards and priorly touch up the rear Illium bars.
 
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