Well, once again I totally disagree with you Max...
That's OK. It happens sometimes.
Level of protection you give a C?? Did you see the pics I posted and I have ZERO damage to anything on my Connie...
It is a comparison, not an absolute. I am talking about in all possible situations, not just one. The "C" doesn't mean it is bad, just not as good as an "A" or "B".
Cost you give a D?? Had I not had the Top Blocks on I would have done about $3k in damage to the bodywork and exhaust etc, so I'd say they are cheap insurance...
Again, just a comparison. It is three times the expected expense of the Canyons or the actual cost of the bathroom bars, for example. I am not saying it isn't a good value for what it does. And for some people (like me), the cost difference really isn't all that important; for others, it is.
Availability you give a D?? How do you figure this?? Send an email to Tatiana at Top Block, send $ via Paypal, 2 weeks later they deliver to your door step...
Comparison- not absolute. Compared to the others, you have to deal via Email not phone, with people out of the country, not local, with a company that provides instructions that are not in English, and offer probably no tech support, take a payment fee hit and risk, and then take at least twice as long to get delivery as the others. If something goes wrong (wrong part, damaged/missing goods, bad fit, etc), it could get much, much worse. In fact, the only way I can think of to make availability be much worse is if they were also on perpetual backorder or something.
Removability you give a C?? Have you ever removed them, I think not... I'm told by my shop it's about a 10 minute job to get the lower fairing off if needed, you don't have to completely remove the entire kit, only that outer arm...
COMPARISON!!! What if an alternative is a 5 minute job? That is twice as good. But both or neither might be just fine. I think my mistake is that I should have just used a ranking instead of trying to weigh them against each other with a score.
I think you're just jealous and totally wrong Max...
Illogical- I have nothing to be jealous of, since I have no protection right now at all. I am in the market, and comparing options. I have not decided what I am going to do yet. The Top Blocks are very compelling, and have been all along. The reasons I don't already have them on my bike are exactly those I already explained. I am extremely averse to cutting my fairing and that is probably the worse thing for me to swallow. But what is right for me or you can and will be different sometimes
The information you have provided has gone a LONG way to showing just how viable the Top Blocks really are and made this whole decision extremely difficult for me.