POLISPORT is well-known to off-road motorcycle users for its plastic parts such as exterior parts and hand guards.
The POLISPORTs products are highly regarded around the world, and the company is even contracted to manufacture genuine plastic parts for vehicle manufacturers such as Yamaha, KTM Group, and Triumph, in recognition of their high quality and development technology.
Polysport has decided to take the high level of manufacturing technology they have cultivated and apply it to a wider stage, starting in 2022 with a series of plastic + metal engine protector covers for street (public road) bikes such as road sports and adventure bikes.
In this issue, Webike staff installed the Poly Sports Engine Protector Cover Kit on their own motorcycle (Kawasaki Z900) to check its quality and installation method!
What is POLISPORT Engine Protector Cover?
POLISPORT "Engine Protector Cover" is the company's first product series for street bikes.
Based on the technology cultivated in the manufacture of plastic parts for off-road motorcycles, the product was developed with designs and materials suitable for street bikes, including road sports bikes.
By installing a hybrid material cover made of highly durable plastic + metal on the outside of the metal OEM engine case, high impact resistance and corrosion resistance can be obtained while utilizing the original body design.
The vehicles that are compatible with this lineup are mainly road sports/adventure bikes that are popular in Europe at first.
The quality of the hybrid material is good! The instruction manual is easy to understand with images specific to the motorcycle model.
After checking the lineup, we found the Kawasaki Z900 (MY2019), which is ridden by Webike staff member Mr. R, on the list! We immediately purchased the left and right sets and installed them on his vehicle.
The following items came out of the box, wrapped in packaging material, and printed with a logo that embodies the new POLISPORT image, which is different from the line for off-road bikes.
Engine protector cover (left and right)
Mounting bolts + bushings x 4 x 2 (for both sides)
Installation manual
When you pick up the engine protector cover, you are impressed by its surprisingly lightweight, but also by its thick, highly durable plastic protection and the quality of the metal parts. When you twist the cover from side to side, you can feel its sturdiness, as it is both rigid and flexible. When we tried to apply the cover temporarily, we could confirm that the bolt positions are exactly the same as those of the OEM cover, and the anxiety about whether the bolt holes will fit properly, which is often the case with parts made overseas, is also gone.
And when I looked at the installation manual, which is another concern with parts made overseas, I found that it is not generic, but contains images and installation instructions specifically for each car model (important!). The installation instructions also include the proper tightening torque, etc., so you can rest assured.
Even if you are not comfortable with English (yes, that's me!), you can read the English text with an OCR app on your smartphone and convert it to text data, then throw it into a translation app, and voila, you have a description in Japanese right away.
It's a convenient world we live in now!
However, it is not a very difficult process, and I think many people can do it just by looking at the images in the instruction manual!
Installation is a perfect bolt-on! High precision
The work procedure is as follows,
(1) Remove the bolts originally attached to the engine cover at the necessary locations.
(2) Put the Polysport engine protector cover on the engine cover.
(3) Tighten the bolts and bushings to the specified torque using the supplied bolts and bushings that are slightly longer than the OEM ones. It is very easy!
The tools that were needed are as shown (or less, depending on the model of the motorcycle).
The tray is also to catch oil drips from loosening the clutch side cover, just in case.
In fact, I didn't have to worry about that and didn't get my hands dirty.
Even though I am a beginner in motorcycle maintenance and clumsy with my hands, I was able to install both the left and right side of the engine protector covers in 30 minutes while taking pictures.
And here is the Z900 with the engine protector covers installed!
Both the left and right covers are very elegant, with shapes and colors that do not interfere with the original engine modeling. The use of hybrid materials of plastic and metal is too cool, isn't it? The casual presence that is not too assertive seems to suit gentle road sports riders.
The owner, Webike staff member Mr. R, looked at his car from various angles and honestly wondered how a product from a manufacturer that specializes in off-roading would look on a road sports bike. I was wondering how a product made by a manufacturer that specializes in off-road riding would look on a road sport bike, but it looks even better than I expected! He was so happy to see the bike!
My Z900 was great, to begin with, but now with this engine protector cover, it's even better.
Summary
Until now, POLISPORT has had the image of being a "plastic parts manufacturer for off-road racers" such as motocross and enduro racers.
Since off-road racing is a world where it is "normal to fall over," this is where the company has cultivated its know-how and experience in manufacturing protectors for various parts of motorcycles.
This time, due to the characteristics of the parts that protect engines from impact, we were not able to make impressions by demonstrating the impact resistance of the covers by letting the bike fall over, but we found that the engine protector covers for street (public road) bikes released based on such experience and technology are also of higher quality than we expected. The reputation of Polysport products is sure to be on-road.
We are confident that the reputation of Polysport products will reach on-road riders as well!
Please stay tuned for more information on the expansion of the hybrid material engine protector cover lineup and the addition of more compatible models in the future.