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Givi Handguards (HP1121) Review
Installation Date 30 Oct 2017
By Pocketpete
Winter is on its way and I was digging out my thicker gloves when I found a nice picture of the CB500X with the Honda handguards. I had forgotten about the magazine.
I decided after seeing Ren's handguards they might be just the thing to keep the gloves that little bit dryer. My gloves don't leak but do get a little bit soggy on the outside which eventually soaks inside.
After a bit of research it seems the Honda ones are rubbish. The Puig ones are expensive. Barkbusters are the best but expensive. So I selected the Givi ones at a reasonable price with decent reviews.
After much looking I found them for £90-100 at various online outlets. I couldn't find a video on fitting them except for an NC750X which is similar. It looked fairly easy.
I saw BykeBits had them at £79. Seemed cheaper than anywhere else so I ordered them and guess what - not in stock. What a surprise...
I get an email several days later saying sorry and would I be prepared to wait a week or so. I said yes reluctantly. A week later they email saying they are still waiting. Would I like a refund? I decided to wait and 4 days later they email saying they are now in stock. They arrived safe and well a couple of days later.
I decided to fit them today and the instructions appear simple. Once I open the packet I realise the images simply don't show enough detail to identify the washers. Omg...the instructions are pants.
Eventually by a process of elimination I realise which washers go where, the NC750X video on YouTube is quite clear, although a few bits are different.
I have to remove both mirrors that's easy enough. Then the bar end weights have to be removed. Undo the screw and they pull off. No way can I get the screw on either side off. I had a look on the forums. So many people have struggled to get them off. People have drilled them off, used blow torches and god knows what else.
I saw an alternative method. Wrap the weight in electrical tape, lots of it, then hold with mole grips and use a ratchet Allen key to turn the screws. Very difficult but eventually they snap open.
I get the guards, but I realise the cheap plastic top washers are rubbish, they turn and won't tighten so I replace them with some metal ones and a fibre top washer.
The guards seem fine. I had a little ride they seemed OK. They are not very solid and rather plasticky I don't think they will survive a crash.
We'd like to share your motorcycling experiences here at Bikes And Travels. Drop Ren a line - ren@bikesandtravels.com
Reader's Comments
Pocketpete said :-
Taken the bike on the motorway suffered a small rain shower drove to Bolton and back. The guards are still on still working. They do seem to make a difference with my lightweight summer gloves I get no draught and no rain got to my hands.
Be interesting to see how they are on a really cold day. They do look the part. But Seems a lot of money for two plastic cups but I'm pretty happy so far
01/11/2017 17:37:05 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
They do look very smart.
If you purchased them to protect your levers in the event of a fall then they'll only make a tiny difference, they're not substantial enough. If you bought them to help keep your hands warm they will help. How much is another matter.
They do seem expensive to me. That said everything seems expensive to me.
02/11/2017 06:31:32 UTC
Stuart said :-
I think half the battle to less cold hands is to keep the wind chill off. It looks as though they'll do the job and looks like a neat job.
I could do with some of those but they are quite a high % of the value of my bike!
02/11/2017 09:26:24 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
£79 is very expensive.
I had a pair which had an aluminium bar inside so are strong enough to protect the levers (not that I ever needed that facility.....) They were around £25 on ebay.
You may tell me that they're made in China - well I'd be 90% sure the Givi ones are as well.....
Of course you can always go down the Ren route and save a few bob. Ren's version has the advantage of making your bike less attractive to thieves.....
02/11/2017 10:41:52 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Yes £ 79 is expensive for a bit of abs plastic. A few bolts washers and screws.
I think they look good but if I was a but more practical I would have bought some cheap chinese ones of fleabay. And tried my hardest to get them to fit.
I saw some for £25. Probably would have done the job.
02/11/2017 20:04:29 UTC
Bob said :-
I used to fit cheap Ebay gaurds and they worked really well for keeping my hands warm, but every time I dropped the bike they'd shatter. I started keeping a couple of sets in stock for quick replacement.
Eventually I'd had enough of that and fitted (still cheap) MX style "bark buster" type guards, these don't break when the bike goes down but they don't offer anything like the same warmth - so now I'm looking round for plastic sheet I can cut and bolt to the gaurds to extend the wind protection.
08/11/2017 08:42:03 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
My plastic came from some old place mats my mother was throwing out Bob. And the metal offer *some* degree of protection for the levers. I can't imagine why Ian Soady thinks they might put thieves off with such quality craftsmanship as these.
08/11/2017 11:19:03 UTC
Bob said :-
Wow, that's the very definition of style!
I remember dispatchers running round with cut up plastic bottles.
I'm looking for something a little more discrete....
09/11/2017 08:24:21 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Discrete you say? I never had you pinned as the quiet shy retiring type Bob.
09/11/2017 10:35:30 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Far be it from me:
[pedant mode]
discrete: individually separate and distinct.
discreet: careful and prudent in one's speech or actions, especially in order to keep something confidential or to avoid embarrassment.
[/pedant mode]
09/11/2017 14:12:08 UTC
Borsuk said :-
I would never have thought it would be possible to make a Pooh coloured bike less attractive but Ren has managed it in style.
09/11/2017 16:14:35 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Ren has actually hit upon a cunning system. He makes his bike as ugly as sin and instead of someone stealing it they will take my much more attractive givi displaying bike....
Crime prevention at its best.
09/11/2017 16:32:51 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I thank you all for your constructive, helpful and supportive comments. Pffffft!
09/11/2017 17:53:08 UTC
Borsuk said :-
And he wonders why Sharon trembles in fear when he says he has altered her bike.
09/11/2017 22:30:09 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
I can imagine some nice handguards on Sharon's bike made and fitted by ren.
Then I imagine ren stabbed to death by a sword wielding hobbit on the warpath. Rather a lord of the rings episode.
10/11/2017 07:16:35 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
After the scowl I received when I put a beer can on her radiator cowl cover I think her look would kill me long before she ran me through with her hobbit sword.
10/11/2017 10:02:51 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Handguards update. Very wet in Manchester the guards proved very effective at keeping the rain off. My gloves were hardly wet but they do spray water over the tops which tends to go up the arm from the elbow joint.
This hasn't gone through my top layers but was noticeable in the heavy but fine rain this morning. No vibration from the guards. They are still pretty well attached.
Glad I invested in them. Even when my bike wasxstoien and abandoned in a grass verge they remained intact.
20/11/2017 22:40:26 UTC
Borsuk said :-
That's a bugger Pete, when was your bike stolen.
21/11/2017 03:59:26 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I saw the videos you put on FaceAche Pocketpete. I'm guessing the garage now has big locks on it and the bike is chained to the floor?
21/11/2017 10:35:48 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
It now has a new steering lock the 15 year old their had no problem breaking the old one. I have ordered a nice heavy duty disk lock. I didnt know the steering lock was easy to replace. The shop did it without a new lock which amazed me.
21/11/2017 21:29:55 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Steering locks are a total waste of time. Every 12 year old knows how to break them.
I never even apply them as they're so much hassle to fix when they're broken but use an Abus disc lock instead.
22/11/2017 10:37:42 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I *think* a good disc lock or chain and lock will stop a typical scumbag youth from pushing your bike away. However video footage of slightly more organised youths armed with battery powered small angle grinders shows how easily these things can be overcome. I'll add a link to my video of me cutting a quality lock with nothing more than a cheap Dremel.
A lock on the door, a lock on the bike, a chain to something immovable all help to slow thieves down and deter them but they all can be overcome. Alarms are oft ignored as lets face it they're always going off. I doubt you can stop a determined thief.
bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=872...
22/11/2017 12:14:59 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Yes nothing will stop a determined thief you can only just make life a bit harder for them.
Wish I had set the garage alarm.....
Oops i forgot to set it don't tell the police and insurance company..
At least my cameras activated.
22/11/2017 19:05:28 UTC
Glenn said :-
A classic example of how it's sometimes better to spend the money the first time.
I have Barkbusters fitted to my DL650 and my CRF250 the Strom has hit the ground several times with nothing but scratches on the plastic parts of the BB's, they will last longer than the bike, I have absolutely no doubt.
And I am the original tight arse.
03/06/2018 07:15:20 UTC
Bill said :-
Ren you must ride in some torrential rain, looking at your picture of your bike with homemade handguards you also have a lifebelt and rope on your rear carrier
03/06/2018 13:00:58 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Glenn I've heard lots of good reports regarding Bark Busters but they're not cheap...so I made my own.
Bill I live in North West Manchester. That's the rainy bit of the rainy city in the rainy north west. I think we'd be better off with a jetski.
04/06/2018 12:18:56 UTC
Steve said :-
Why did you not buy the HP1111 which are made for the NC750X?
GIVI HP1111 Handguards to fit:
Honda NC 750X (2016-2018)
Specifically made for the NC 750X.
Made of ABS Plastic
24/08/2018 19:45:55 UTC
Johnny said :-
Really easy to take screws out with an impact screwdrive
03/11/2018 14:50:10 UTC
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