Kawasaki Versys Forum banner

Rear mudguard

8K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Kris 
#1 ·
Hi guys, I would like to ask if someone has experience on the rear mudguard, I found the Givi and another one on amazon, they look the same but Givi it’s $120 while the other one is $35 (fatexpress) any recommendation? They look pretty much the same , same place where they need to be screwed and everything, does really worth to spend the extra money for a piece of plastic that will be cover with mud? Thanks for your help.
 
#2 ·
Funny you should ask today of all days...
The worst buy I have ever made for aftermarket parts was a mudguard, the givi crap one.
It broke TODAY (can't take the offroad shaking obviouly).

Even if you dont do offroad, don't buy a mud guard unless you only do so for the looks. It is utterly useless. Mud flies over it. Just think how the mud/water arrives (tangent to tire) and you will understand how useless it is. It's only purpose is for looks. My muffler, underseat, spring... have not been cleaner with it. It offers no protection.

And today it offerred a mess, it broke and caught in the knobby tire rolling towards it of course...

And especially dont buy givi overpriced shit.
 
#3 ·
Not entirely true - it does offer SOME protection. Certainly not very much, but it does keep the lower portion of the underseat cleaner. If you want true protection from spray, you need a rear-mounted mudguard. Gotta catch the spray BEFORE it passes the 90 degree mark on the bike. I put one on my GSX-S750 and it kept 99% of mud/water/etc off the undertail, my back, and my helmet.

Here is the cheap-O one on my V650. The spray/dirt is from before installing, I didn't clean it off in this pic:

179907


Here is the rear-mounted one on my GSX-S750:

179908


Pyramid makes a direct fit version for the Versys, but it's damn expensive:

 
#6 · (Edited)
on gen3 the preload adjuster is a bit in the way, but a flexible step cover piece does comply enough. I contact glued, dunno how long that will hold.


update:
that held at least 150km of offroad but not beaten with muf yet. Still in place but the rubbing on swingarm on left and right side did scuff through paint. I figure 3" of clearance should be enough.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have a hugger and dual arm mud guard that attach to the chain adjuster area. I've been taking my Versys on some fire roads and single tracks. I have a 2nd set of wheels with 50/50 ADV tires.

I took off the mud guard, as I notice some stress fractures on the fiberglass mud guard after a day off-roading. It has a metal frame and mounting hardware, but the bouncing from off-roading caused some hairline cracking where the fiberglass fender mounts to the metal frame/bracket.

I'll put it back on for street riding, after I re-enforce with some fiberglass and resin for our short rainy season in California.

Mudguard bolted to the end of the swingarm. I took it off after this one off road ride with it mounted. Good thing I inspected it, when I was replacing my chain.



As for the tire hugger, I noticed the plastic fender cracking in the most forward mounting location with the top screw. I at first attributed it to poor quality. Later I found it it was caused by the rear shock pre-load adjustment bracket. When off-roading and bottoming out, the spring preload adjustment bracket hits the fender when bottoming out the rear suspension. Thus cracking the plastic fender in that section.

Hugger:


I have a Öhlins rear shock on order since June. When I have the new rear shock installed, I won't have the external spring preload adjuster. and the rear hugger will be fine after I repair the cracked area, which has stayed in same localized area.

I've got a new Tenere T700 on order for my off-roading adventures, so this Versys will return to paved roads only riding and the mud guard will get bolted back on.
 
#9 ·
Since I planned on keeping my Versys 650 for a while, I sprung for the expensive GIVI rear tire mudguard. It's a one time purchase. Yes, I thought it was extremely overpriced. I can't remember if I even found the 'cheap-o' alternative. I probably didn't because I would have taken the chance for saving such a large amount of money. However, GIVI may have lost a longer term customer because of the price gouging. Now I'm jaded about GIVI products.
 
#10 ·
Now I'm jaded about GIVI products.
The right word is unimpressed. dollarstore quality at Nike prices.

They make their shit just barely robust enough to think it's solid once installed. Then it breaks and you hate them but they have your money.
I've seen a couple top case failures already, side case failures and flimsy rack failures must be common, and personally that "tire hugger" failure (which is not a mud guard, I have to repeat).Think of all the other possible failures like tank rings which could make you drop that expensive DSLR. or gps mount, or windscreen, or front fender extenders...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top