Thank you guys for continuing to offer good feedback and opinions on this build! Your help is really what allows us to come up with a stellar product. That said, I can tell you that although the aesthetics may be slightly similar, our bars are a larger diameter (1", to allow for the easy addition of highway pegs or auxiliary lights using a generic 1" clamp), closer to the bike, and we're also working on altering the design to make it a bit more sporty. So don't judge too harshly as of yet as we're still tweaking the aesthetics. Also, our bracketry isn't just "barely improved", I believe it's vastly improved. Not only are our brackets much heavier duty (to avoid the bending experienced by folks who have Murphs bars) but our bracket design also allows for extremely easy and quick removal and reinstallation of the guards.
Regarding fairing removal: Due to our innovative bracket design, the guards can be removed within literally a minute or two should you have the tools handy to do so (this is the main reason I believe the added cost of going the "quick-release" route is a waste. An extra $40-$50 just isn't worth the minute or so you'd save, especially because price point seems to be more important for this guard than others we've made for the C14 and FJR1300). There are a few interior brackets that get installed initially then never have to be fussed with again and the fairings can be removed and reinstalled with these interior brackets in place. Due to the design of these interior brackets, the mounting hardware for the guard itself is closer to the exterior of the fairing where it's very easy to get to allowing for quick and simple removal.
As far as price goes, we're going to do everything we can to keep the price down for you guys as I know that's a very important factor. We won't know precisely what the cost will be until the design phase is finished but I can tell you this, based on the other Canyon Cages we've built, this one will certainly be the least expensive and by a decent margin it seems. Our other Canyon Cages have more intricate bracketry (they had to, just due to the design of the guard and the specific bike itself), much more material, more bends/welds, and much more labor involved in making them. So, I believe the pricing will be very reasonable but whether others believe that or not is really up to them. Keep in mind as well, we'll be having a Group Buy once these guards are finished so that would really be the time to order (if you plan on ordering, that is) as that'll save you an extra 10-20% depending on participation.
Pricing and what's affordable or not is really a personal thing and no matter how low the price is, there will always be people out there that believe it's too expensive for them. So, all we can really do is design the best product possible while attempting to keep the price as low as possible. However, based on the current design of the front and rear guards, I believe our set will end up a bit less expensive than Murphs but we'll have to wait to see exactly how much less.
We'll be attempting to incorporate a few of the suggested aesthetic changes today so I'll be sure to snap some photos and update you guys once I have something worth sharing. I do like the idea of altering the angle of the guards a little bit to match the angles of the fairings vents, though. Small changes like that really don't add much to the cost but really improve the looks so I think it's a smart move. I'm excited to see how it comes out! Stay tuned!