One of the weak spots in a 690 or 701 is that if you drop it, you might bang the radiator and cause a leak.
There are products that wrap around the radiator to stop this from happening but I like the crash bar a little better. Tomm got a set for his 701 made by Outback Mototrek. They tie into the two motor mounts and it’s a pretty clean set up.
The problem is that they don’t make them for the prior years (like my 2014). Ugh! I asked a few times and it was a solid no. Nothing old stock, just nope. Buy a 2019 or newer, eh?
So I was looking for someone who made something similar. Touratech makes something that protected the bottom half in stainless. I was going to go that way… Hey, it would match the rear racks, right?
But then I saw a Craigslist ad for a 2014 690 that had bars that looked similar to Outback Mototrek.
I messaged the guy, wished good luck on the sale, said I had a ’14 like his and wanted to know where the bars came from. He emailed back that they came from a place called TRex Racing and he liked them. I looked them up, found the product and asked them if it was in stock – they said it was and so I ordered a set! While they look a little more like they are built for stunting or supermoto, they’ll do the job for me offroad. I might even make up a small bag to hold a tube for each side. We’ll see.
I had a choice of colors (black, orange or white) and so I looked at the bars on my 950 for guidance. My 950 has a black frame and the bars are also black. The 690 has an orange frame so I went the same way and did orange bars. The product is well made and has a great finish. I figure I’m just going to scrape them up anyway but oh well.
The kit came with bolts and spacers, everything I should need. I was worried on the install that they were going to not fit. They come very close to the stock aluminum skid plate. It turned out that it actually hit the skid plate! I might have to add a washer there to bump it out just a tad.
Overall, I think they are perfect! I did add a washer under each bolt as a built it. I just couldn’t see torquing on the bolt and it marring the nice orange powder coating.
You can see that they do not connect the same way Tomm’s does as the bolts are just not in the same place. That’s why they have to go down to the lower part of the motor mount instead for strength.
All in all I couldn’t be happier. Thanks T-Rex Racing!
Just a few more mods left… What should I do next?
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, had a big cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and is currently building a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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