Nice solution…thanks for sharing. Please update the thread after you do a shakedown trip.

 

Great post, I read most of it, mainly for your process. While the Breakout does not inherently appeal to me, your bike looks great, with or without the backrest. Thanks for taking the time to write all that, I'm sure others will benefit from it as well.

 

That breakout is so beautiful.... but I couldn't get past the crash bar 🤔 I would have to remove that.

I think the setup you have for hauling your gear on your adventures should work perfectly, I also think I may need one of those bags for myself.

 

I really struggled with the decision on whether or not to get and install the engine guard, for exactly the same reason as you stated: I wondered if it would significantly degrade the Breakout's appearance. But, being 73 years of age, and having lost some strength over the years, and knowing how costly any fall would be in terms of damage, even one from a dead stop, and knowing how often car drivers "don't see" a parked bike, I felt I really needed the protection.

I minimized the visual impact by going with the black versus chrome finish. I really am not conscious of the engine guard being there now at all.

Some people take a different approach and aggressively make their engine guard a point of attention, like this MUCH larger diameter one, with gorgeous build quality, that the man who does the "preload" videos did:


THAT specific engine guard from South America looks GREAT, BUT costs a fortune (4 figure price!).

Jim G