Hyde's new XXX Handguards, are they really stronger than the rest?

Posted by Tarryn Le Roux on 30th Jun 2017

After months of testing and experimenting with different aluminium grades and designs, Hyde Guards finally released the new XXX Handguards to the public last week.

The new handguard is in a league of its own, using a grade of aluminium stronger than any other popular bar tested on the market. The new lumo coloured shields add to the appeal.

Previously, the Hyde handguard was made of the same strength aluminium as its competitors. The latest models of the top performing handguards in the country were sent to Hulamin for testing. The tests found that, along with the previous Hyde handguard, most of the handguards were made of alloy 6061, hardened to T6; and one of the other handguards was of the even softer 6063 alloy.

Here is an example of one of the tests that were conducted by Hulamin, using the following methods:

The chemical compositions were analysed using an Optical Emission Spectrometer

to determine and compare alloys, and

The hardness was measured using the Brinell hardness machine to give an

indication of the tempers and effectiveness of the heat treatment.

The new XXX Hyde handguard is made of 6082 alloy, also hardened to T6 - which is made to be much stronger than the 6061 and 6063 respectively ( a much stronger grade of aluminium than 6061, and 6063; and only certain mills can produce this ).

To further prove the added strength of the new bar, all of the handguards were subjected to a Hyde impact test. The handguards were also quietly fitted to a number of riders' bikes to see how they would perfom.

The handguards were all weighed individually and the findings were that the Hyde handguard is the lightest popular guard on the market, almost half the weight of some of its competitors - reducing weight on the bike where it is needed the most.

The handguards were fitted individually to bars to test the retention, and the new XXX Hyde handguards proved to have the strongest retention during these tests, which means they will not rattle loose from the bar, and most importantly they will not pull loose during impact, if fitted correctly.

The handguard bar was also redesigned to lie as low as possible ( lower than most ) , to prevent over-the-bar wrist injuries.

The lumo shields were introduced to match the most popular motorcycle gear and graphics kits that are on the market at the moment. We love the new look.

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