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Belt guard

813 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  vrodjohn, 
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Any advise on replacing the black belt guard, what model looks the best, and where is the best place to purchase. Also I have thought about the coolant hose, does the chrome cover look OK?
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You can purchase and install the HD chrome belt guards. I had those but decided it makes the side of the bike to bulky.

Rizoma makes a nice upper guard and you can just leave the lower off. This is what I have done now and I am very satisfied.

I think both the braided hose and the chrome cover look very good over the coolant hose. I flipped a coin and installed the chrome cover.

Here are some pics of members bikes, first one is HD Chrome Guards, second one is the Rizoma.

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The H-D chrome belt guards look good- IMHO they nicely balance the great glob of chrome of the mufflers on the other side of the bike. You can get them through most any H-D dealer - some will offer a discount, ranging from 10-20%. I looked at the Rizoma guard, and while it is nice, I'm not sure that it provides as much functionality as the H-D set. If you ever ride your V-Rod in the rain - you'll be glad you had the full set. If you only ride on sunny days - well you have more options.

The coolant hose running right between the cylinders fairly begs to be covered up. H-D gives you two options - the solid chrome cover, which is cheap and easy to install; and the braided covers - which are neither. Personally, every time I see the chrome cover I think: "There's a guy who cheaped out" - but then I'm a judgemental SOB... If you do decide to get the braided set, do yourself a favor and have the dealer install it; unless you are very handy doing this sort of work. I've even heard some dealership technicians complain about what a difficult job this can be to do right.
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Regardling appearance.

Personally I think the chrome coolant hose cover nicely complements the lines of the stock exhaust/muffler. Braided hose cover looks good too, a little more raw and streamlined.

I have the HD chrome belt guards and I can't wait to get rid of them. To me they look like fisher price parts. The Rizoma looks much better IMHO, primarily because it uncovers more of the bike.
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Vrod-tlam
I thought the chrome was a little much myself. I took off the lower guard & modified the upper guard a little. I trimmed it & stripped the paint, then polished a little to look like the anodized skins. :mrgr:
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The rizoma belt guard seems to be the best option i organized a group buy.......this may hurt a bit..........for (149.95) the price is reallly around $240. Call joe @ motostrano.com and tell him about the group buy and how you missed it and see if he can give you a break.

As far as the coolant hose...my dealer tried to talk me into the cover cuz they didn't want to deal wiht the work. To Fu--en bad i put the hose on and am glad i didn't take the ez way out. I'd rather not hide what i don't like...I want to get rid of it.
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vroddrew said:
The H-D chrome belt guards look good- IMHO they nicely balance the great glob of chrome of the mufflers on the other side of the bike. You can get them through most any H-D dealer - some will offer a discount, ranging from 10-20%. I looked at the Rizoma guard, and while it is nice, I'm not sure that it provides as much functionality as the H-D set. If you ever ride your V-Rod in the rain - you'll be glad you had the full set. If you only ride on sunny days - well you have more options.

The coolant hose running right between the cylinders fairly begs to be covered up. H-D gives you two options - the solid chrome cover, which is cheap and easy to install; and the braided covers - which are neither. Personally, every time I see the chrome cover I think: "There's a guy who cheaped out" - but then I'm a judgemental SOB... If you do decide to get the braided set, do yourself a favor and have the dealer install it; unless you are very handy doing this sort of work. I've even heard some dealership technicians complain about what a difficult job this can be to do right.
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Cheaped out? What's the cost on those braided ones, including install? $500? That just seems stupid, especially for something that is eventually going to over time turn to a darker color...Also remember if you ever have it serviced by the dealership and they take off the hose you will have to buy another braided line ...

Its a tough call. I still haven't made it and still have the black hose. But I took off the belt guards, and seem to have more black on my bike than most (with the gas tank showing, various cables) so I don't think it looks too bad. Just waiting for a good option!
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B
Alot to think about with belt drive........
1. stones destroy belts
But , deep groove tires kick up more stones than , say, the tire type generally used on V-Rods. So that is good.
2. Never , while handling should you bend a belt very tightly. It greatly reduces its' life.
With that said , and have being stranded once for a couple hours due to a stone getting lodged in the rear pulley of a Road King.I learned that maybe belt guards were a necessity.
The black ones look cheap, The chrome ones are a bit big(although the same as stock-they could have trimmed it back a little) - but at least chrome.
The Rizoma looks so cool ! But I have my favorite person in the world on the back of my scoot and never want my daughter hurt.
This is just my opinion. It is narrow sighted , but honest. :2cents:
BobT
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tymiller said:
Cheaped out? What's the cost on those braided ones, including install? $500?
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The dealership charged me an hour labor ($60) to do it back in 2002 - it may have gone up since then. The labor chart shows 1.1 to "replace coolant pipe, engine in" - I'm not sure if this covers the whole operation, but at most they would charge you for two hours. Even paying full retail for the braided cover ($80) thats a long way from $500.

I've had mine in for almost two years - and it still looks great. To be sure, it has acquired a very slight yellowish patina. But I look on that as a badge of honor - that my bike gets ridden, rather than just sits in the garage.

As far as longevity is concerned, I'm not too worried. I'll flush the coolant every two years, so the hoses shouldn't rot out from the inside for a very long time. And if the bike ever requires such major surgery as to require removal of the hoses, I'd have to pay for the install of new ones anyway.
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vroddrew said:
The dealership charged me an hour labor ($60) to do it back in 2002 - it may have gone up since then. The labor chart shows 1.1 to "replace coolant pipe, engine in" - I'm not sure if this covers the whole operation, but at most they would charge you for two hours. Even paying full retail for the braided cover ($80) thats a long way from $500.

I've had mine in for almost two years - and it still looks great. To be sure, it has acquired a very slight yellowish patina. But I look on that as a badge of honor - that my bike gets ridden, rather than just sits in the garage.

As far as longevity is concerned, I'm not too worried. I'll flush the coolant every two years, so the hoses shouldn't rot out from the inside for a very long time. And if the bike ever requires such major surgery as to require removal of the hoses, I'd have to pay for the install of new ones anyway.
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Well put. I meant to say $250, but according to you its probably closer to $150. I saw one that was on for a few years, and the "yellowish tint" was pretty distracting...no longer looked in tune with the rest of the bike's schematics.
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0992
Since my bike is white--I'm letting the factory guards on. The black guards with the white bike make the bike look sharper. I'm putting on a braided hose this weekend with the help of a local bike mechanic...we should be able to handle it.
I chose the braided line because I have braided clutch and brake cables and that will give me a nice match.
I think those crome hose covers looks like you tried..but never made it. I think the braided ones are much sharper looking.
The braided hose cost was not bad at surdyke.com..20% off.

That's just my opinions and that's what I'm doing.
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mjw930
tymiller said:
..Also remember if you ever have it serviced by the dealership and they take off the hose you will have to buy another braided line ...
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Not sure I understand you on this one. I've installed and removed braided SS lines dozens of time without having to replace them. It's not a high pressure fitting.

Another route is to simply order a length of SS braided line from Jegs or Summit along with the proper fitting cap. Total cost for 3" of hose and caps is ~ $30.00



http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=/main.asp&l=SPE
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Hose: The chrome cover complements the exhaust pipes, designer appeal, no difficult install or braid discoloration. The braided hose looks sharp on its own, technical appeal, and you get to say nanny nanny boo boo to the chrome cover guys.

Belt Guard: Has anyone seen any other nice options besides the Rizoma?
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vrodjohn
diomedes said:
Personally I think the chrome coolant hose cover nicely complements the lines of the stock exhaust/muffler.
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I agree, the theme of the bike for me is chrome. Just about every accessory offered by HD is some type of chrome add-on. While I have no problem doing most mods to my bike, I would not even consider opening up the cooling system to replace a hose. Especially while the bike is still under warranty. I never really cared for the braided look anyway.
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