Here's my brain dump of the installation. I've been running with these for over a month now and they certainly make a difference. My heated gloves work better -- but I'm not going to bore you with the same stuff you read everywhere. I elaborate on installation.
Copied this link from above and it's where I got them; there's a link on the installation too that I reference below. Took over a week to get (I hate mail order!) everything should come within two days and free shipping! -- rant over. I'm over it.
https://www.fjrgoodies.net/VStrom_Handguards_p/handguards.htm
https://www.fjrtech.com/getdbitem.cfm?item=30
The kit comes with:
* 2 plastic hand guards
* 2 combo shaped bolts -- with a screw hole in one end (sized to fit the phillips head screws described below) and 12mm hex on the other
* 4 washers
* 2 phillips head screws
* 2 shaped nuts
* 2 nylon nuts
The instructions in the link mentioned above talks about using a dremel; go ahead and follow that (but first get a fit test). The annoying thing is that it has no instructions on how to install the hand guards -- only some pictures and info about dremeling. Maybe a picture should be sufficient but I figured for some it's not so that's why I'm writing this.
I just read these instructions after having created them almost a month ago and I think they make sense -- but they make more sense with the parts in front of you and looking at your bike's brake and clutch levers. Hopefully they aren't too confusing.
Installation instructions:
* Note to yourself to do this one side at a time
* Remove the bolt which serves as the pivot for one of brake or clutch. This bolt has a flathead screw on the top and a 10mm nut on the bottom. Unscrew the nut (lefty loosey looking at the nut as if laying on the ground looking up at the nut). Then unscrew the screw part from the top.
* Immediately (because once that OEM bolt is out, if you move your hand even a little, the lever will get out of alignment and it will be tricky, but not that hard to get it back into the hole without first re-aligning it. If you do the swap quickly, there is less change of this happening) replace the OEM bolt mentioned in previous step with one of the combo bolts supplied in the kit. The hex side of the combo bolt shows on top. Note the OEM bolts are different in size -- specifically, the brake side is shorter. The kit came with two bolts of equal size. Also note that because the brake side OEM bolt is shorter, when I installed the bolt from the kit, it sticks up maybe 5mm too high.
* Insert one of the kit washers onto the down facing end of the kit bolt (that has already installed) and screw in a shaped nut (or the nylon nut -- not sure which is better); tighten with 10mm wrench while using 12mm socket on the top. Ensure the brake or clutch works (whichever side you're working on).
* Repeat this procedure on the other side.
So at this point, you're almost there. Also, from what I can see, you can leave the combo bolts installed like this permanently (or until you sell this farkle to raise money to buy another). This is also a good time to bag and tag your OEM bolts in case you want to use them later (with the OEM nut installed on the end and to note the shorter one is for the brake side).
* Next, we install the hand guards…
* First dremel or cut (refer to the pictures in the link) as you see fit to allow the ends of the hand guards to rest onto the bar ends. I didn't have a dremel so I just cut with a wire cutter until the shape was close enough. I figure I could add a little filler and maybe a rubber strip later to neaten things up.
* There are several pictures in the link above so you should be able to figure out which hand guard goes on which side. There is a hole on one side (the top side) of each hand guard. It is through this hole you thread one of the phillips head screws (with washer first) and then screw that into the hole in the hex side of the already installed combo bolt. To do this, just line the holes up after fitting the hand guard and use your phillips head screwdriver to drive the screws in.
Test that the hand guards don't hit anything or prevent anything from working -- e.g., braking works, clutching works, any throttle locks work, etc.
As noted before, you can't just squeeze the hand guard plastic between the bar end and the handlebar or the throttle will not return; so adjust accordingly. Also, I have grip puppies -- so that soft stuff cushions the plastic so there is zero rattle.
Dennis
