Hepco & Becker Lowers/ Crash Bars for Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports

Quick 5-minute close-up look and review of the Hepco & Becker Engine Protection for the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports.
*Unlike most aftermarket crash bars for the Africa Twin, these work in combination with the OEM uppers and skid-plate.*
**Note: I say in the video that I did not have to remove the muffler shield (that covers the catalytic converter). I didn't video the process but I did take pictures and looking back through them recently, I see I did, in fact, remove the muffler shield. But it really wasn't a big deal. The shield comes off with a few screws and it just made it easier to slip the muffler and pipes off the bike. With the shield off, the whole shebang is in one piece - header pipes to muffler.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions.
Review and close-up look - Hepco & Becker Lowers/ Crash Bars for the 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports.
I love these H&B Lowers on my Africa Twin Adventure Sports motorcycle. They fit seamlessly with the OEM uppers and skid-plate yet offer excellent engine protection for off-road riding.

[@sameermoto]

Hi, can you share the Torque specs you used to install the lower bars? Thanks

[@fifthsymphony3221]

It's been a while now. But I'm pretty sure that for the main two front mounts for the H&B lowers, because they go through the engine mount stays on the frame, I stuck with the original (CRF1000/A/D) Honda Shop Manual specs for those 8mm engine mount bolts, 32 N.m (24 lbf.ft). For the rear H&B lower mounts, the M10 bolts, because I could find no real specific values for them, I thought “good’n-tight” would suffice but went ahead and used the “standard torque values” from the “General Information” section of the manual for (otherwise unspecified) M10 flange bolts, 39 N.m (29 lbf.ft). So far, everything is holding well and looking good. If you don’t have a shop manual, a careful google search should lead you to a downloadable .pdf. That’s how I got mine. Good luck! Keep us posted.

[@sameermoto]

@@fifthsymphony3221 sounds good. I got them installed them a few months ago and recently I started feeling vibration around the footpegs around 3k rpm. Even the engine guards buzz pretty bad at the rpm. So not sure what's going on. Will tighten them again using specs, the dealer tightened them originally.

[@f18a]

Great idea on the bar bag. Perhaps it would be even better to substitute useful stuff for the rags: rain gear, dry socks, jacket, etc. Might as well...

[@binxbolling9608]

Right... yeah, I carry all sorts of stuff in those bar bags. Rain gear and extra socks etc. are a good idea. But I always make sure they have something soft and bunched up in there (extra gloves, bandanas, wipe-down rags) - something to take up the energy of a fall.

[@ee00151]

Hi I installed also in my ATAS the lowers I have a question for you. Dont you think the bars will hit the engine in case of a fall where the engine doesnt hit the ground? Thnks for your video

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Hello Jose, Thanks for watching. I've looked at just about all the engine protection bars out there for the ATAS. Speaking strictly about the lowers (engine protection), it appears to me that the Hepco & Becker lowers are some of the best out there - in design and construction. No bars can guarantee protection in any or every type of crash, esp. high speed crashes. But the H&B lowers look and feel to me like they can take quite a hit without bending or folding (and hitting the engine casing) - in fact, they look like they protect the engine as well as any manufacturer's lowers available for the ATAS, better than most, I'd say. And I'd say the spacing (distance from engine case on either side) is just about perfect--not too wide or far away, and not too close to the casing. I went over pretty hard on the left side, a fall and slide, and the bars didn't move a millimeter. Other than scratches, everything was as before--and the bolts/ mounting still nice and tight.

[@Smiling_mike]

Are you going to keep the stock upper light bars or change them out?

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Hey Mike P, thanks for the comment/ question. The OEM uppers (along with the H&B lowers and bar bags on the OEM uppers) proved themselves capable for me so far. The bar bags make a big difference (end of video). But then again, I don't go nuts on the dirt. I'm in my 50s and bruise a whole lot easier than I used to. I love the fact that I can go just about anywhere on this bike--I don't feel like I have to do it fast or crazy anymore. Slow and easy, for the most part. But then again, the bike's "dirt-DNA" is so confidence inspiring, it tempts me every time!

[@plcsurfer]

Hey what panniers do you have?

[@claudiomartins3595]

Have you considered the oem uppers stiffening bar from hepco and becker? I am on the fence about that...

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Claudio, thanks for pointing it out! It must be fairly new - I had not yet seen it. Hepco & Becker make great products, always exceptionally mindful and well-designed. And now that you have pointed it out to me - thanks again - I might just order it. (It's like a wish come true - I've often wondered about a way to buttress the OEM uppers to make them more like real crash bars, and H&B now come to the rescue). The price doesn't seem too bad either. I will definitely think about it. I'll keep you posted.

[@billiebuckamer8189]

i ordered the stiffening bar. It will take about 6 weeks to ship. I will report back on it. I'm impressed with the lowers and upper hepco bags.

[@claudiomartins3595]

@@billiebuckamer8189 Hi Mine should arrive in next 2 days.... Will install and let you know :)

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Looking forward to your thoughts. I'd love to see it up close and get your opinion on how well it buttresses the OEMs. Thanks, FS

[@claudiomartins3595]

Hi I've installed the stiffening bar... It makes a noticible improvement to the rigidity of the front of the oem light bar, but not enough to the back side since that still flexes quite a bit... Unfortunately the parcel arrived late and wouldn't you know it, I dropped my bike in a loose shale and rock 4x4 downhill the weekend before, forcing me to replace side panel when oem bars flexed into panel. So for my type of riding which is quite extreme, this simply won't be good enough... If anyone does more light offroad, then this looks to be a good idea :)

[@ShooterMedic1818]

Have you knocked your bars out of alignment yet? I did on a small spill and now they are off.

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Have gone down just the two times in dirt so far; once pretty hard but was a long, low slide. No bending or movement. Checked the bolts after and all appears good and tight still.

[@Gussief1]

When are you going to do a video with you riding the bike?!

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Still working on helmet setup. Soon though.

[@Gussief1]

@@fifthsymphony3221 can't wait

[@fifthsymphony3221]

Recently picked up some new microphones for the GoPro. Should work OK but still working out where to mount the cam and mics so I can get both live voice narration *and* the wonderful sound of that 270 degree crank engine - powerful music to my ears. I want the videos to be decent, with a good perspective. So, I'm still in test mode. But soon. Real soon. Even if I have to throw out a few imperfect videos to start.

[@Gussief1]

@@fifthsymphony3221 good I'd rather them be high quality then put out quickly, take your time

[@MagicAyrtonforever]

They don't match the rear ones though