[TankMonkey2]

I had what I think was a Enduro Guardian skid plate on for a few years. Hard cornering to one side, it'll hit ground if any mid-corner bumps. Not fun. And, it recently hit ground straight up on what some call the local roller coaster road at a brisk pace. The back tire rubbed the upper part of the rear fender, which I'm also surprised by. Stock suspension.
I was considering the following from Hyde Racing, but I now think it just clamps to the exhaust and I've decided to try rougher rocky hills than this can handle. Maybe the NM BDR.

Hyde Racing Suzuki DL 650 V-STROM 2004-Current Skid Plate

Suzuki DL 650 V-STROM 2004-Current Skid Plate from Hyde Racing

www.hyderacing.net

I'd somewhat prefer thick HDPE/plastic (on a KTM 690), but metal is ok too.

Best skid plate options that meet those 2 criteria?
And, rear tire (Shinko 70x) vs fender solutions?
TIA.

 

[PeteW]

Hyde racing is the best. The front exhaust clamp just stops it wobbling, it's bearable if a bit ugly.
Replace the lower/rear mount with threaded rod and it's a lot easier to live with long term.

Mine is on it's second 100,000k+ 650 and took some amazing hits without damage to the bike.

 

[dravnx]

You have a problem with your suspension. There is absolutely no reason why your rear tire should be impacting the rear fender. I ran an Enduro Guardian skid plate on my '12 for 110,000 miles and it never touched the ground. I ride pretty aggressively too.

 

[ThruST]

I agree with dravnx. You have some kind of suspension issue or maybe lowering links installed. Enduro Guardian Skid plates are one of if not the best plates out there (to bad they are no longer made) I've had one on my 650 for years and never experienced the issues you mentioned.

 

[TankMonkey2]

Hmmm, time to figure this out soon. Look at the skid plate, links, and shock. With the preload on the lowest setting, the just bike seat height is <32". With me at 142 lbs, the sagged seat height is ~30.5". I crank up the preload for spirited rides, so I assume it's a bit higher then.

 

[Rolex]

I'm with the others, set up your sag & ride height on your suspension before doing anything.

When I got my V2 everything scraped until I set the bike to my weight, even though I'm a lite weight.

Is the suspension stock or could the bike have been lowered.

 

[Gert]

Wrt to Hyde skid plate, in my case, I fabricated a bracket which mounts to the crash bar, to support the front section of the Hyde guard on both of my 1st gen Wee. This support bracket doesn't have to be supper thick. An easy mod to do, provided of course that you have a crash bar to mount to.

Wrt the comment in your opening post "The back tire rubbed the upper part of the rear fender, which I'm also surprised by. Stock suspension.", either the shock has seen better days and needs a rebuild or as suggested above that the shock is not set correctly and you may have have lowering links fitted. Either way, you need to solve the problem of the tire rubbing against the rear fender asap before any damage occurs.
Some threads that come to mind, How to Confirm if my Wee has been Lowered?, Suspension Set-up for Short Rider, The Science and Black Magic of Suspension Setup, Rear Shock Spring Upgrade and Are all generation stock shocks the same?, to name a few.

 

[dravnx]

A worn shock will not affect ride height. A spring that is too soft for your weight, a malfuctioning preload adjuster, an incorrect sag/preload setting or lowering links will.

 

[Nicad]

I used very heavy duty reuseable Zip ties to secure my Hyde racing bash plate at the crash bars up front. ANy hit it takes will push it up so I see this working forever. I modded my other two mounting points by buying a longer JIS bolt where it mounts to the exhaust bracket and used a threaded 10mm rod where it goes through the engine cases. It is the lightest plate, quietest with the most ground clearance. Mine has hit a sidewalk without damage. Pretty sure it is going to hold up well.

 

[DesertBike]

I am also looking for a skid plate for my 2004.

I'm waiting on Happy Trails to make me a center stand and I've considered adding their skid plate to my order. They are one of the few vendors still offering anything for the 2004 DL650.

The Hyde Racing skid plate is intriguing. I have concerns about plastic being that close to the exhaust pipe, but presumably they know what they're doing.

I'm not looking to do any crazy rock scraping or stump jumping, but I'd like at least some protection for my 2004's engine. I'm thinking, against gravel and whatnot.

Regarding OP's suspension: I agree with others, something is wrong.

I had an Enduro Guardian skid plate on my 2007 DL1000. With the stock suspension, it was possible to scrape the edges of the plate while leaned over, if I went over a bump in a parking lot for example. Did it once or twice.

That never happened again once I had Sasquatch Suspensions rebuild and respring my shock. Factory spring was way too soft.

 

[GFHVstrom]

I put a Weld 86 plate on my 2004 dl650, looks and works well.

 

[DesertBike]

I do have Givi crash bars if it matters. I know some skid plates mount to crash bars, while some (like the Weld86) don't.

 

[Gert]

Perhaps an adapter bracket to fix the skid plate to the crash bars, which can be either made or bought, would be an option.
Typical examples: https://www.stromtrooper.com/threads/sw-motech-skidpan-to-givi-crash-bar-adapter.441297 or http://www.dl650.org/photos/pbsoluces/Roland/adaptsabot/index.html

 

[dbfairman]

I like my Outback Motortek skid plate and crash bar combo on my 2006. Minimal loss of ground clearance.