Sounds like a tarmac drop? I.e., a hard surface?

Crash bars are weight that you hopefully never use, but it is weight so it'll impact your riding even if you think "they are not that heavy".

On 950/990s they are utterly pointless, as the bike crashes so well. If anything, crash bars make things worse as they tend to make the bike flip when you crash off-road.
On my 1190 I left them on, as those bottom lobes of the tank are delicate and right in the smash-zone. But I hated them.
890... Dunno sorry, but are there not huge bashplates that come all the way up the sides, giving some protection that way? I'd rather have a bash plate any day than engine bars.
This sort of thing:

 

Sounds like a tarmac drop? I.e., a hard surface?

Crash bars are weight that you hopefully never use, but it is weight so it'll impact your riding even if you think "they are not that heavy".

On 950/990s they are utterly pointless, as the bike crashes so well. If anything, crash bars make things worse as they tend to make the bike flip when you crash off-road.
On my 1190 I left them on, as those bottom lobes of the tank are delicate and right in the smash-zone. But I hated them.
890... Dunno sorry, but are there not huge bashplates that come all the way up the sides, giving some protection that way? I'd rather have a bash plate any day than engine bars.
This sort of thing:

View attachment 54454

The only thing is they don’t protect the radiator. At over £400, the fact it got bent is a concern. And that’s what I’m now thinking about how to protect? Thanks

 

Also, in the case of 950/90 at least, crash bars can actually cause damage at the fixing points (and make servicing a pita)

Its a case if weighing up what can be tolerated as more sacrificial during a drop.

I took them off my 990.

 

How did you do all that?
Seems quite a list of damage

 

How did you do all that?
Seems quite a list of damage
[/QUOTE

How did you do all that?
Seems quite a list of damage

All done off road. The first on a tricky climb, I picked the wrong line and binned it onto rocks. The second in some muddy ruts, lost the front end, went over suddenly and hit the bank. Leg trapped under for a minute and a bash to the back of my head for good measure. The bike may even have hit the bushes I was lying in.

 

Or of course just get the upper crashbars.

I'm just against them for the weight, width, look, and also I had one come off it's frame mounting point on an old 990 Adv (damaging the frame) and ram itself into the rear cylinder head (damaging that too). All that force hitting the crashbars has to go somewhere - what will bend/sacrifice. And often the crashbars are stronger than other things = sacrificing your frame/mounts etc..

 

Or of course just get the upper crashbars.

I'm just against them for the weight, width, look, and also I had one come off it's frame mounting point on an old 990 Adv (damaging the frame) and ram itself into the rear cylinder head (damaging that too). All that force hitting the crashbars has to go somewhere - what will bend/sacrifice. And often the crashbars are stronger than other things = sacrificing your frame/mounts etc..

Exactly, that’s why I’ve not used them. I’ve had the bike a year, with countless tumbles and I’m not sure why this weekend was different, but it was. I’m just trying to work through the various risks.

 

I had a quick look, and that was my point about buying a beefy radiator guard like the altrider one, and then adding some extra support - just some simple aluminium strap/bar that follows the guard curve side to side, maybe some alloy angle plates on the end.

Just a thought, were your radiators leaking? I've had many bikes (including my SEs) where the radiators ended up being banana shaped, but they stayed that way with no leaks. A typical dealer, servicing what generally most people ride solely on the road, may be needlessly replacing them.

 

I’m not sure. I thought it was leaking, then realized the expansion tank hose was split and had leaked. The bottom hose clamp needed nipping up. And the paint had cracked around the filler neck. I’ve blown the rad through with an air line and left it to dry out. I’ll run it tomorrow with my fingers crossed.

 

All you need is something that looks kind of like this:

 

All you need is something that looks kind of like this:

View attachment 54464

Thank you for all your advice.