Staubwolke Rear Handles
To be perfectly honest I was a little reluctant to install this on our bikes. After riding two different F800GS’s for more than 50,000 miles much of it off-road I never really found a need to be able to grab the rear axle. I was also concerned about adding extras that aren’t really needed and increasing the overall weight of the bike.
While the rear handles do add a bit of weight it is really only noticeable when you compare the parts removed with the handles in your hand. We’re talking mere grams positioned low on the bike. The handles are deceptively light. This does not however mean they are delicate. The amount of engineering Staubwolke has put into them has certainly paid off as the handles show no sign of flex or fatigue at this point.
Their shear size will do far more to protect items like the rear sprocket, rear brake rotor along with the ABS sensor. This level of protection was my biggest reason for using this product. The main purpose of a rear handle was secondary in the decision but proved to be the first use in reality. The handles worked as the perfect tie down point while securing the bikes in their crates for their flight to Africa, for example.
As a finishing carpenter I also pay close attention to fit and finish and these handles are second to none. For more information follow the link to Staubwolke
Staubwolke Crash Bars
The best products create simple solutions for a multitude of problems, some of which you never really acknowledge. Its only after using such products you really appreciate the design and how it integrates into your life.
Pros: The Staubwolke crash bars for the F800/700 GS are just such a product. The premise is to mimic the 1200GS cylinder head crash bars to prevent the bike from falling over flat. When the bigger adventure bikes go down the hardest part of picking them up again is the initial lift from flat. By mimicking the 1200GS the bike cannot lay flat thus reducing the effort to lift. Heather has been able to lift her bike unassisted, both with and without full adventure gear.
Pro: Other benefits for not allowing the bike to lay flat are increased protection for the handlebars and upper plastic. While there are certainly scenarios where objects could come into contact with the upper plastics and/or bars these scenarios are reduced. The crash bars negates the need for upper crash bars reducing weight up high, cost as well as simplifying maintenance work.
Pros: These crash bars also work great as highway pegs. The unfortunate nature of adventure travel is pavement. Lets face it, the world is developing for better or worse and this means highways linking the good riding together. This reality is why Heather and I chose the F800GS platform in the first place. Most highway peg options are just a generic bolt on item that is meant to work on everything. Like a crescent wrench they will fit everything equally poorly and could cause significant damage. Having such a structural part serve so well as a comfort part is great. I have no fear from bolting a damage multiplier onto my bike. The angle from the trailing to leading cross bar is perfect to rest your legs on while riding.
Installation can be either very straightforward or quite in-depth depending on your bike. Heather’s bike being the standard F800GS was straightforward with easy to understand instructions and well-developed parts. Everything fit well and all holes lined up nicely. In the past I have worked with parts that were said to be purpose built for the exact model but fit poorly. I appreciate parts that fit as they should.
Cons: However, the install for my bike, the F800GSA, was not straightforward and is not for the faint of heart. While the parts do bolt right up the complication comes from the side fairings, both left and right. They are also not the same left and right so working out a solution for one side does not help the other. It is all do-able you just need to take your time and think things through. When re-fitting the plastic fairings remove small amounts at a time and “creep up” on the crash bar mounting brackets.
Summary: There are only two things I would like to see changed with these crash bars. While stainless steel is used for the bars, the silver finish is paint. Paint scratches and peals while a shot peened finish just scuffs. I feel this allows the product to remain looking its best longer. I also feel it would show off the great weld quality as well.
The second critique is the amount of difficulty in a GSA install. I would like to see either GSA specific mounting brackets or a change overall so brackets could be used on both a GS and GSA without modification. I’m not sure how many GSA owners will feel confortable cutting the 4 pieces of plastic, 2 of which cost $190 USD each. I would hate for other riders to miss out on such a great product due to this.
With the install complications for the GSA aside, Heather and I can honestly say these are our favorite crash bars for the F800 platform we’ve used. While other manufactures make great products as well, they all seem to have negatives the Staubwolke bars do not.