VOLUME 57 ISSUE 11 MARCH 17, 2020 P97
S TANDOUT FEATURE
Beautifully designed, Italian-crafted,
and it fits perfectly
RIDER AN ALYSIS
We installed the X-Factor hand guards
on a KTM 350 EXC-F. To start, the
packaging for the X-Factor handguards
gives you some indication of what
you're going to find inside even before
you open the box. Maybe it's just us,
but nicely packaged products give you
a good feeling about the company
you're doing business with—it tells you
that they care enough to take the time
to do it right. That quality continues
once you open the box and start
installing the product.
You get a lot for your $139.99,
plus the kit comes with several sizes
of tapered inserts to ensure that you
have the correctly sized bar clamp for
application. This is a super nice touch
since there are so many different
handlebar shapes and sizes nowadays.
This ensures that the X-Factor guards
will stay exactly where you want them.
The bar-end expander is nicely done,
fitting into the handlebar and tighten-
ing down securely, and the colored
handguards fit perfectly. The orange
coloring of the plastic shields matched
our stock KTM perfectly, and we have
plenty of reason to believe they will
match your bike perfectly, too, no
matter what color it is. After all, we're
talking Acerbis here—they've mastered
HANDGUARDS
LOWDOWN
the art of color matching long ago.
We got to work testing the hand
guards on an East Coast ride thick
with hardwood trees, roots and
slippery rock gardens, and while we
scratched some plastic here and
there, the levers and the hand guards
themselves held up well without any-
thing breaking, including fingers! As
advertised, the guards are as strong
as a tank, and they held up well to
our abuse. We were very impressed
with their sturdiness.
And wherever you position the
guards on your handlebars, they will
stay there seemingly no matter what
after you've cinched everything down.
We had no issues with the guards
moving, bending or slipping up or
down; definitely a solid fit.
The X-Factor hand guards are
larger in size than most traditional
hand guards, which we liked. As a re-
sult, they offer plenty of hand protec-
tion from the elements, including cold
wind, and there is plenty of clearance
between the levers and your fingers,
•NO COMPLAINTS
•STURDY PROTECTION
•EASY TO INSTALL
•STYLISH DESIGN
another thumbs up from us!
Overall, we are very impressed
with the Acerbis X-Factor hand
guards, they're durable, built well,
easy to install and, perhaps best of
all, look good on the bike. So, wheth-
er you're riding an extreme enduro
or blasting across the desert, we
feel you'll be quite happy how well
the Acerbis X-Factor hand guards
will protect your hands, fingers and
levers from roost, brush, trees and
wind.
By Keith Dowdle
The X-Factor
hand guards
are easy to
install and mount
solidly to the
handlebars.
MSRP: $139.95
Website: https://www.acerbisusa.com/
