EE Hand guards

[jeff03064]

Anyone running the EE handguards from American Beta on their 2010+ 450RR?

I got a set and tried to install them but the clamps don't seem to fit very well where they clamp onto the handlebar. (It's a stock Beta handlebar) I read the directions and made sure that the letters stamped on the clamp are towards the center of the bike. I even looked closer at the inside of the clamp (off the bike) and can see where they are tapered and the wider part IS near the center of the bike as it should be. It looks like they should fit but they just don't. It's like the inner diameter of the clamp is to small to wrap around the the handlebar correctly. Although it looks like I could just tighten them a little more and they would fit they are actually pretty tight in the photo's. I just would have thought a product made specifically for a Beta would fit better. Are others having similar results with this product? Here are a couple of pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. (I wrote to Enduro Engineering directly but have yet to hear back. I will post their reply if I get one.)

[ChasM]

When you slide the clamps up and down along the tapered portion of the bar, is there any location at which a proper fit is found? Did you by any chance shorten the bars? If so, you may need to shorten the inside length of the bark buster where it attaches to the clamp.

[Haychip]

The EE handguards from Beta fit excellent. Do the clamp pieces have "BA" stamped into them? Like Chase said there is a spot that fits the taper excellent. Also there is a right and left, if you get them reversed they won't fit.

[jeff03064]

To answer your questions:

I did not shorten the bars. It was a demo bike though. It seems unlikely, but possibly they did shorten them. If someone can give me a tip to tip measurement I'll double check.

I think they would fit if I slide them outwards onto the narrower part of the bar. However, when I do this it gets right in the way of the hydralic tubing for the clutch. There doesn't seem to be enough room to bolt the 1/2 moon clamp on the back of the bar.

Yes, they do have "BA" stamped on the clamp. They also have the Beta "B" logo printed on the exterior of the bar. In the directions it says to keep the stamped letters towards the center of the bike. (Which I did) When I open up the clamp and look at where it clamps onto the bars I can see the taper. It is wider on the side with the letters stamped on it.

Here's a link to a 2 minute video of me trying to install them. It's not the best quality, but between the pictures and video I think you get the idea.
http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/...t=GOPR0744.mp4

I'm certainly no motorcycle mechanic but this really shouldn't be this challenging. Am I doing something wrong? And again, if someone could send me a tip to tip measurement of their bars that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help!
Jeff

[jeff03064]

Ok, so I measured the bars when I got home. I measured the shortest distance tip to tip which is also the tip of the handle bar furthest back and closest to the rider. With the EE handguards in I measured just shy of 32-1/4". I then removed the EE handguards and measured from tip to tip of the handlebars directly and it was just shy of 31-1/2". If someone could take a quick measurement for me to see if they get the same results I'd appreciate it.

They don't appear to have been cut down either. They appear to have a nice factory beveled edge on the end of the handlebar. It also has the matte black finish where I would have expected it to have been shiney aluminum showing if it had been cut.

I also took a look at the markings on the handlebar and along with "Betamotor.com" it also had the number "220391000" and Patent "EP 1577205".

[jeff03064]

Just got an email from Enduro Engineering. They weren't sure what was going on but offered to send me some larger clamps to try. :-)

[happy seal]

It's that simple. Your clamps were mispackaged or improperly machined. They are too small!

[jeff03064]

HS... based on everything I looked at, that's what I think too.

Just got a follow up email from Enduro Engineering... they're sending out the bigger clamps today. :-)

Once I get them I'll post results.

[jeff03064]

Got my new bigger clamps from Enduro Engineering yesterday. They look the same as the other ones but had "RE" and "7" stamped into them.




They fit perfect now!







Originally I was thinking that it was a factory defect from Enduro Engineering but I really don't know. Another possibility I thought of after the fact was that whoever demo'ed the bike before me may have swapped bars with another Beta model. I really don't know. What I do know is that now they fit perfect and look great. (I think) Thank you to all who threw out suggestions trying to trouble shoot this. A huge thank you to Enduro Engineering for standing behind their product. One politely worded email of frustration from me and I had new bigger clamps within a week. No questions asked. That's customer service!

[happy seal]

They are good looking Jeff. Now you need to bring them down to Ct to scratch them up.