Report on K-Guard Fabrication Expedition

[rkildu]

Well folks, I made the run thru Memphis yesterday to Tony's and we spent the day fabricating a set of K-Guard equivalents for the K1100LT. I left home at 7:00 am, arrived there at 10:30 am and headed home at 7:00 pm. I now have a set of prototypes on my bike. They were made of white plastic and spray painted black to show what the final ones will look like. The production models will be made from a black pebble finish plastic. Tony is going to make a new set of molds from the last prototypes and mail me a black set when complete. At that time I will post more pictures.









This is literally a back yard operation but now that we have master molds he can make a set fairly quickly. Since they are small enough to get both sides out a 2 x 2 piece of plastic he can make them at less cost. He is talking about $100 per set. The original K-Guards went for $99 so that isn't half bad.

[Mystic Red]

I like!

[Flying Duck]

Thanks for the update and for doing this.

Do they stick up under the side cover or is there a seam there between the guard and the side cover?

Do you find they actually reduce rider heat?

Think we could talk his price down on a group buy?

When's he doing the RS version?

[rkildu]

Questions, Questions...

Flying Duck Asked:
--Do they stick up under the side cover or is there a seam there between the guard and the side cover?

There is an overlap of about 1-2 inches.

--Do you find they actually reduce rider heat?

Temperature was in the 90's when I headed home, I felt some heat down there. I was thinking some of that aluminum foil stick on insulation might be in order since they actually trap the heat. I am not running any of that, but I may pick some up in the near future.

--Think we could talk his price down on a group buy?

That might be a possibility but I can't say for sure.

--When's he doing the RS version?

He still need an RS to work with. He is pretty sure he can use the original molds we made and it would just be a case of trimming them down to correct shape.

Another thing, to mount them you have to remove the alternator cover on the right to place the mounting bracket (provided, it'ds just a flat right angle bracket bent to fit). On the left we removed the plate below the coils and the accesory plug mounting plate on top. It uses those screws to mount on that side. We just moved the accessory plugs and mounted them directly on the K-Guard.

[owrstrich]

thanks rkildu...

i know it was an all day deal... i really appreciate you taking the time to take one for the og...

you are a fine human being there rkildu...

getting closer to reality...

j o

[Scott_Anderson]

I like!

Ditto.

[Sonu]

Friends,

I've had K-guards on my bike for years and I'm very happy with them. I installed them primarily for appearance. In my experience they do not make any difference as far as the heat issue is concerned. For that the Johnny blanket helped.

Sanjiv

[Mystic Red]

In my experience they do not make any difference as far as the heat issue is concerned.

[rydor]

I can take my RS to Memphis in 2 weeks if nobody else wants to. Can I get this guy's contact info?

[owrstrich]

info sent by pm...

good luck... really appreciate your efforts here...

i was hoping they would extend down and back past the y frame down tubes to the inner rear fender which would channel all the heat out by the rear tire...



johnny

[rkildu]

Ryder,

I sent you some additional info by pm.

[drmalacarne]

Nice job, Rod.
Looks like OEM.
Guilherme.

[rkildu]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

They look pretty good but the contours around the engine are not quite as sharply defined as the original K-Guards. He used an original K100 set as the primary mold so what we have here are second generation, as it were. He had to cut up a second set and do some splicing to extend them forward too. That required some cleanup on the plaster molds. The mounting bracket on the right side is not not like the original either, but it works fine.

Just for the record, it took us 7 moldings to get the right side looking good. We got the left in 4, I guess we got the hang of it. The basic mold was very close, it was all in the trimming.

[rydor]

It's a go for this Wednesday... I'll let you all know how things shape up...

[rkildu]

For those of you who are interested in these, he is ready to go production :

Tony Tabat
901-314-0143

It would be best to call him weekends or evenings as he does have a day job as a house painter.