TR650 bash plate and crash bars installation

With the way we use these bikes they can use a bit of extra protection. The Terra has some oil lines running underneath the engine, a rather exposed water pump, an oil drain plug protruding quite a bit from the crank case bottom and the radiator is only covered by a bit of plastic. A bash plate and some crash bars will do us nicely.

Sofie’s Terra already had a Husky OEM bash plate installed when we bought it, but mine is still butt-naked. Both will be fitted with SW Motech crash bars, my primary choice over the Altrider crash bars that are fitted higher up and offer better protection to the radiator, but less to the water pump.

I wanted a bash plate with a reasonable width and height, so the OEM Husqvarna, Touratech, SW Motech and Motosportz didn’t quite do it for me. The Altrider option looked pretty close to what I was looking for, but the bash plate from Scheffelmeier Metall looked nice as well and was the cheaper option, especially taking into account shipping to Belgium. But I wasn’t sure whether it would fit with the SW Motech crash bars.

So I got in contact with Stephan from Scheffelmeier Metall. He couldn’t give me a definitive answer, but suggested he would get some SW crash bars and deliver them together with the bash plate and any necessary modifications. I get what I need without even having to place a separate order for the crash bars and he gets some extra turnover for his business. That’s a win-win in my book. 2 weeks later a very big box is delivered to my doorstep. So I get to work.

The bash plate comes completely pre-assembled, but I figured it would be easier to get to the mounting bolts of the bash plate and the crash bars if I mounted the brackets separately.
Bash plate brackets installed

The brackets aren’t symmetrical so if you do this make sure to install them correctly. Ask me how I found out, I dare you…

After the brackets, the crash bars can be fitted. They have 3 separate mounting points so to make alignment easier I cooked up this super high-tech positioning tool.
Crash bars in position and ready to be fixated

At the top, the top engine mounting point is used. At the lower engine mounting point the bash plate bracket bolt is shared with the crash bars. The 3rd point is where both crash bar halves come together.

I did the same on the rhs and then connected both halves of the crash bars.
Both halves installed

After that the bash plate can go on. It is a simple matter of 2 rubber dampened bolts on the front and 2 clamps at the back. Note the extra notch in the bash plate to allow for the crash bar.
Bash plate fitted

Everything fit nicely, but the clearance between the bash plate and the crash bars was a bit too close for my comfort.
Pretty tight clearances

After some deliberation with Stephan I tried to put some extra washers between the brackets and the plate. I had to use slightly longer bolts. That made for a perfect fit.
Perfect

Stephan said he would slightly modify his design and kindly offered to send me a replacement bash plate. But I was happy enough with the current setup.
All done

Jo Written by:

Roamer, wanderer, nomad, vagabond.

Keen and curious adventurer who feels just as much at home in IT as in the workshop tinkering on bikes. Loves exploring the world, its people and himself, preferably on 2 wheels behind the handlebars of his beloved bike. Lucky to have found a partner in life and on the road to share this with.