I think they call the straight bars "retarder" bars. I'm planning on taking them out and going to all rice spikes for beans. I think they are costing me HP in stemmy beans, but I won't know till I change it. I may leave them in for corn, but I haven't decided yet. The disrupter guy(CRS) claims they're not needed with the disrupters installed and a full set of rice spikes over the grate. Yes the cover plates can be a pain to get out. For wheat or milo chaff, I generally just shake em back and forth real hard a few times and they'll pop out. Once in a while you have to dig around with a screwdriver. I've timed myself, and it normally takes less than 15 minutes to put them in or take them out. For the good they do, I think that's fair enough. It's WAY better than changing concaves or pulling_adding wires. If I change cages or combines I'll definately get another set of coverplates to fit. Chads