I had those Outback crash bars, that I had to wait 2 months to get,, but I ended up removing them, and replacing them with the type that protects the lower portion of the fairings on the bike., since that is the part that tends to crack and get messed up the most. But the main reason I chose to make this modification is because the crash bars that protect the lower portion of the bike also add an extra level of protection surrounding the gear shifter. I personally didn’t feel like the aftermarket shift levers were going to prevent shift shaft damage in the event of a lay down that impacts the shift lever in such a way that I have witnessed it damage several other 300l’s at this point. WheeledGeezer had to take the right side of his gear box off because he laid the bike over on the shifter going 0 mph. Wider foot pegs may or may not also add an additional layer of protection to the gear shifter, now that the lower crash bars are in place because the shifter is surrounded by both new parts. I went with the Zeta foot pegs, which are like a platform to stand on vs the stock pegs.. If I really wanted to, I could even weld a small bar completely around the gear shifter now if I felt it necessary, because the lower crash bars offer additional mounting points on the front, as well as the back of the gear shifter. I probably won’t do that, but technically it is possible now. Additionally, the hand guard protection that I also just recently re-modified, by replacing the mounts that attach the hand guards to the handlebars, with the ones that attach them directly to the triple tree, seem to protect the upper portion of the bikes plastic fairings just find, and the hand guards will not twist so easily like I have had them do a couple of times in the past when I dropped the bike. There is actually a RU-vid video where a guy installed the Outback crash bars to his Rally, and then later added the lower crash bars, and welded the two together in such a way that he can still remove them from the bike simply by unbolting them. He did an exceptional job in my opinion. I just don’t care for the extra weight... My next mod will be radiator protection, probably flat land racing. Also I will mention that if anyone is on the fence about the 550 performance ECU upgrade and air box mod, I would recommend doing it. I have chosen to keep the stock exhaust at this time, but even with the 87 stock improved flash, I noticed a significant amount of throttle management with smoother throttle increase with better control in acceleration. My buddy has a stock 300l, and my bike just pulls away from him in 1st-3rd. And 550 performance will reflash the ECU for me in the future for free if I decide to upgrade the exhaust. It was $160 well spent, I wish I would had done it 1500 miles ago. You do a fantastic job at putting your videos together by the way.
