A set of handguards does double duty—not only do they protect your hands when you’re riding tight trails, they also give your hands a little weather shielding along with protecting your controls in case of a crack-up. Whether you’re out in the woods, miles from a dealership, or in the Sahara, this kind of protection can save your trip. Every adventure rider should have them.

There are several types of handguards out there, ranging from the flimsy plastic pieces most manufacturers include on new bikes (bad), to metal wraparound guards that offer protection in almost any tip-over. Tusk’s D-Flex Handguards are the wraparound type; based around an aluminum bar that protects your levers from heavy impacts, with a tough plastic cover that deflects brush, wind and other lighter impacts. You can even spring for a second plastic cover that bolts to the first one, giving not only more protection, but also more wind coverage—a real benefit if you ride in cold or wet weather.

Installation is fairly straightforward, although you must take care to ensure your controls, especially brake and throttle, work properly with the handguards on the bike. If you’ve got handlebars with plugs in the end, or closed-end grips, you’ll have to open them up. The Tusks are a universal design, but it might take a little adjustment to fit them to your specific controls or bars.

The D-Flex Handguards are affordably priced. $54.99 gets you the aluminum model and plastic shield from Rocky Mountain ATV (much cheaper than similar units from competitors). They’re available with white, yellow, orange, blue, green, and black plastic shields, and the spoilers are found in black or white. You can purchase the various components separately, just in case you need to replace a particular piece after a crash.

My longtime riding buddy and I have installed the Tusk units on several dual-sport bikes over recent years, and we’ve had no problems, despite bouncing them off many trees. Wraparound handguards are banned in some motocross series; organizers think they increase the chances of a broken wrist. For non-competition riding, though, that shouldn’t be an issue. Most of us aren’t grabbing big air on our KLRs. At a great quality and value, I’m a firm believer in the D-Flex Handguards. MSRP: $54.99 RockyMountainATVMC.com