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Do you have an after market skid-plate?

4K views 23 replies 24 participants last post by  slipstream 
#1 ·
What are your thoughts on a skid plate?
If you have one, what make/brand is it?
Did it fit with your stock/after market exhaust?
Are you a pavement princess rider only, or are you a bit of a rebel and take your bike on the dirt as well?

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#3 ·
In spite of riding on gravel roads ocasionally over 400,000 km/250,000 Mike's of riding Stroms I never had one and only once would it have mattered (I once got a dent on my oil filter.)

I did add a Givi guard maybe 100,000 km/60,000 km ago to my 2015 DL1000. I did this partially because of riding on unpaved roads more often and probably more because my wife got a Triumph Tiger that had one and I felt the need to keep up with her.

I don't go over stump's, etc but was happy having it recently riding at NEVA and driving on part of the Trans Labrador highway (until our trip suddenly ended.)

..Tom
 
#4 ·
How do you plan on using the V-Strom? I have a second bike (Versys-X 300) for more moderate off-road duties and just a Givi "fender" on the V2 for an occasional flying rock.
 
#5 ·
I use my -15 about 50% tarmac and 50% gravel/singletrack. Have a SW-Motech skid plate that looks ok but affects the ground clearance quite a bit.
It also amplifies engine noise a lot in spite of trying to dampen it with bitumen plate.
Does not really like the front mounting points attached to engine case, so I think I will replace it with something better for next season.
The plate was a perfect fit with standard headers, but when I changed to Delkevic exhaust I had to modify the rearmost bracket.
 
#7 ·
To me they're worth every penny. Many people get along fine without them just depends on what you want to do with them. I had an aluminum plate under there the first go round. I replaced it with a steel plate after the aluminum one just got too beat up to continue. The mounts had failed and the plate was being worn down on the back side and had been bent too many times. I was having to pull the plate and rear mount every oil change to hammer them back out straight with a mini sledge hammer after abit of that the mount ripped though the mounting holes.

I went with an Enduro Guardian Steel right before they shut their doors. great plate and has taken a beating.
 
#8 ·
To me they're worth every penny. Many people get along fine without them just depends on what you want to do with them. I had an aluminum plate under there the first go round. I replaced it with a steel plate after the aluminum one just got too beat up to continue. The mounts had failed and the plate was being worn down on the back side and had been bent too many times. I was having to pull the plate and rear mount every oil change to hammer them back out straight with a mini sledge hammer after abit of that the mount ripped though the mounting holes.



I went with an Enduro Guardian Steel right before they shut their doors. great plate and has taken a beating.


I put a Givi on my 2014 650. It’s light and thin aluminum but it keeps the oil filter and stock exhaust protected. It does not interfere with the center stand. Yes you have to remove it to change oil. I don’t do too much off road so it does the job.


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#9 ·
I put on the Givi fender before I road the MABDR and I'm glad I did. I heard rocks dinging off it probably 100 times and I high centered on rocks twice and a downed tree once. It definitely did its job. Another weestrom rider with me actually put 2 huge dents in his but no damage to the bike. Money well spent.
 
#10 ·
i use my bike 80 tar and 20 outback in different applications
i at first purchased the givi
when it arrived i promptly sent it back as it was nothing more then a beer can thickness
i then purchased a ravetech, its not the toughest plate but for how i ride it has saved me many times
you loose no ground clearance, and it does NOT mount to engine
if your planning heavy usage id recommend a steel plate like happy trails
 
#12 ·
I have a the enduro guardian skid plate. About 10% of my riding is off-road, since I mostly commute. However, when off-road I have banged the skid plate pretty hard on rocks, dips, and other debris which would have resulted in a direct hit to the oil filter.

I view a skid plate as cheap insurance if you plan to ride off road, a punctured oil filter would be an expensive tow-ride.
 

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#13 ·
Anyone running the Hyde plastic plate? I run a TM design plastic plate on my YZ250X and it seems great.
 
#18 ·
I’ve had mine for a year and a half ~15k miles. Love it. No problems on or off road. Works with MoTech center stand without modification.
 
#14 ·
I did a lot of research and settled on the Hyde Racing polymer plate. The sound and vibrations amplified by some metal plates, along with their weight and "bulkiness" were the primary factors that directed me towards the Hyde plate. Very happy with it.
 
#15 ·
I have a Hyde thick molded plastic lower guard / "skid plate". I like it. It's light and affordable, form fitted to the bottom of the bike, and I think it finishes off the belly of the bike visually. It protects the stock exhaust, oil filter, and oil cooler. It's about 3/16" thick, so it's quite sturdy and would absorb quite a bit of energy on impact.

If I was doing heavy off-roading, rock or log hopping, etc, I'd get a metal one. But I don't. I ride a dirt road every day at my house, 1 mile each way. Sometimes a rough hilly route, but not usually. I don't know if I will ever get much more "adventurous" with it. But if I do, I have a fair bit of protection. Is it necessary for me? Probably not. I think it looks better with it, and so I got the lighter plastic version.
 
#19 ·
I have a Ravetech which mounts very solidly to the frame and to the Givi crash bars it was designed for, and not to the engine housing, so no stresses will be transferred to the engine case in the case of a serious impact. They offer it in welded and screwed versions, the latter supposedly offering more of a chance to do a field repair. The aluminum plates and stainless steel supports are very heavy duty.
It is probably the most unnessecary add-on to my bike, but I have heard it ring from rocks thrown up when driving the many dirt roads here in Vermont. It also improves the overall look of the bike in my opinion.
 
#24 ·
+1 on ravetech...very strong. I have pounded it with rocks to the point a small amount of the paint flaked off the welds due to stress loads but solid. no cracks...and the open design has space for a "mcmaster tool tube" to hold most of my tools too and oil changes can be done without removing it.
 
#22 ·
I bought a Weld86 right away after I got my bike 2 years ago. I ride about 50/50 paved/unpaved roads, and I'm surprised at how many scars are in the bottom of the plate in just the short time I've had it.
 
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