Crash bars/ engine guards... Whatever they are. 550 guys please chime in!

[MatBirch]

I know there are many threads about these, and it seems there are none available new anywhere. I think that the style that I created for my wife's 550L lends itself well to the look of them. Also with her being a newbie, it may just save me some paintwork!!
I have found a few sets on ebay, but as listings usually wind up stating the bike they came from, I don't know which way to turn. I likely will have to get something and have it re chromed, and that's ok. I find some that fit an E, but I can't find a definitive answer if they will fit an L. Then... There are year differences... Then... The ones that are just one large hoop, or the two pieces that mounts differently??

One option is to go ahead and fab them up from stainless pipe, then polish them. I can get free or nearly free material from work, but I would need to buy a pipe bender from HF. I would need some kind of direction as to what to build style-wise. I can't even find good info on what they mount to. I did see notes about checking bolt length on the lower bolts, but where do they mount?? Did Suzuki offer them as factory accessories, similar the "Hondaline" stuff?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pics detailing install, places to purchase a set, fitment, etc!

Thanks a million!

 

[eil]

If you can fab them up cheaply, that might be the way to go. I got the ones for my 750E as aftermarket NOS on eBay for a pretty decent price. As a general rule, the hoop-style ones are next to useless, the two-point ones are fine for parking lot drops, and the three-point ones offer the best protection to the cases.

If the 550E and 550L use the exact same engine, I would think the crash bars would be interchangeable since the mount points on each frame will be the same.