Cheapo Chinese Skid Plate?

[Suzukiguy]

"Personally, I'm in the middle - didn't get the cheapest, nor the strongest.  Something in the middle."

 

Ok, so what skid plate did you go with? Link? Price? Brand?

[1moreroad]

1 hour ago, bwringer said:

Yeah, I think the exhaust on a lot of sportybikes and streetbikes actually offers more of a "buffer" between the tender oil pan and the hard, cruel world. Even if you squash a pipe haflway (and many have) you can make it home. The FJ/Tracer's unique exhaust just sort of leaves the oil pan out in the breeze on the left side.

If someone (even Yamaha) simply offered a thicker oil pan, I'd be totally on board for that. Supposedly the new oil pan's drain plug is less vulnerable, but it's still rather delicate.

I haven't thought about this in years, but you're right. My Ninja 600 fairing bottom was scraped up and the headers just a little bit dented. Ha!

@Butrzrulz - I put a hole an oil pan riding down a paved road. Errant rock put a hole in my FJ oil pan. No speed bump, no pot hole, no gravel or dirt. I had 100,000+ miles of street bike experience before the FJ with zero trip ending problems. 

These are delicate oil pans. An SWM skid plate costs roughly the same as an oil pan, so its value is up to you. 

[Clegg78]

1 hour ago, Suzukiguy said:

"Personally, I'm in the middle - didn't get the cheapest, nor the strongest.  Something in the middle."

 

Ok, so what skid plate did you go with? Link? Price? Brand?

I would say the SW-Motec would be about that,  the Givi, SRC, and some others are much higher end and bulky. 

[knyte]

Yep, SW-Motec, as per sig (also the 2nd post of this thread).

https://twistedthrottle.com/shop/protection/skid-plates/sw-motech-engine-guard-black-silver-yamaha-xsr-900-16/

...worked out to about 253.xx CAD after exchange.  Shipping was FAST.  Installation was easy as pie.

[bwringer]

Fiiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeee.... y'all have convinced me.

SW-Motech skidder ordered from Twisted Throttle!

Basically, my firm belief is that a motorcycle that you intend to actually go places on should be able to take a drop without ending the trip. Far too many new motorcycles are ridiculously vulnerable. Quite a few can be totaled or nearly totaled by getting pushed over in a hotel parking lot.

So when I bought my FJ-09 in February, it got Givi crash bars (and Givi luggage and racks, because a motorcycle should be able to carry stuff too) before I even had a chance to ride it. So with that philosophy, I suppose it also makes sense to address this engine's most glaring, trip-ending weakness. It's a cruel world out there.

When I have it in hand, I'll assess a few things -- one, whether I want to add an oil drain hole, or just take it off or partially for oil changes. I'm not completely clear on how the thing attaches. 

And the second thing is adding a secondary plate inside for a bit of added protection.  I think Clegg78 mentioned adding a plate of stainless steel inside, which can't hurt and could very well help. Seems like a good idea to me. 

[knyte]

Good choice!

Installation is very easy - you will need a wee bit of Loctite:

https://sw-motech.com/cosmoshop/default/artikelpdf/mss_06_599_10000_s.pdf

[bwringer]

2 hours ago, knyte said:

Good choice!

Installation is very easy - you will need a wee bit of Loctite:

https://sw-motech.com/cosmoshop/default/artikelpdf/mss_06_599_10000_s.pdf

Thanks!

Although the SWM website is a Germanic abomination unto the Great Bearded Ancients of HTML. It wants to know what country I'm from then uselessly redirects me to the home page no matter what.

Anyhoo, that's a great idea and I finally did indeed track down the install PDF so I have a better idea of what to expect. The instructions aren't bad at all. Far easier to grok than the impenetrable hieroglyphics you get with Givi stuff.

It does look like under extreme duress, the mounting plates would bend and let the skidplate move rather than cracking the engine cases, which makes sense. Losing an oil pan in a really gnarly hit would suck, but not as much as scrapping the whole engine.

[Clegg78]

2 hours ago, knyte said:

Good choice!

Installation is very easy - you will need a wee bit of Loctite:

https://sw-motech.com/cosmoshop/default/artikelpdf/mss_06_599_10000_s.pdf

One word of caution on the locktite - I had to drill out one of the lower/bottom screws next to the exhaust on mine... since it gets hot and cycles a lot, it seized.    I thought it was a fluke, then last week I went to remove it to change the oil and that same location was seized up, This time before stripping the head or breaking a hex bit again, I hit it with a torch and some penetrating oil from above, and it came out. 

I used a small bit of anti-seize this time on that bolt, but the others had some blue loctite on the threads still (don't use red, or you wont get the damn thing off  ) 

[bwringer]

Update: SW Motech arrived yesterday and installed last night.

I suppose posting another photo would be redundant.

One thing that surprised me was the air gap between the skid plate and the oil pan -- looks like 10-12mm or so. Which makes sense; you need room for the plate to bend before crashing into that eggshell of an oil pan.

 

[Clegg78]

Just now, bwringer said:

Update: SW Motech arrived yesterday and installed last night.

I suppose posting another photo would be redundant.

One thing that surprised me was the air gap between the skid plate and the oil pan -- looks like 10-12mm or so. Which makes sense; you need room for the plate to bend before crashing into that eggshell of an oil pan.

 

Yeah the gap there is big, you could actually put some dampening material between the two so if there is a big hit it slows down/spread the energy transfer. (Honeycomb, EDPM, etc...)   But if you look at it from the side, the plate is level with the lower portion of the stock exhaust which actually makes it look pretty streamlined  

[PhotoAl]

On 9/29/2021 at 7:31 AM, bwringer said:

Fiiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeee.... y'all have convinced me.

SW-Motech skidder ordered from Twisted Throttle!

Basically, my firm belief is that a motorcycle that you intend to actually go places on should be able to take a drop without ending the trip. Far too many new motorcycles are ridiculously vulnerable. Quite a few can be totaled or nearly totaled by getting pushed over in a hotel parking lot.

I agree, my 2014 ZX6R was amazingly sturdy in that respect.  For a fully faired modern sport bike it did well.  I dropped it twice, one sitting at an intersection when I jumped off to get out of the way of a car that was about to hit me - he took the British route at the intersection and went to my right!!!  Only damage was the tip of a fairing was dinged and the bottom had a few scrapes.  Bar end weight had a few scrapes.  Second time was on the side of the interstate when I flicked the kickstand down with the heel of my boot it only moved a bit then back up!  I got off to the left and we fell over, my helmet with my head inside was less than a foot from the right edge of the white line on the right side of the right lane!  Cars zooming by and not stopping.  That time had more damage, same places were scratched and dinged but clutch level was bent and shift lever bent a little.  Picked it up and rode on to my destination.  Dont think the Tracer GT would fair so well.  I should probably add some Givi crash bars to give it more of that adventure bike look 🙂   I have had a several people think it was an adventure bike.

[bwringer]

2 hours ago, Clegg78 said:

Yeah the gap there is big, you could actually put some dampening material between the two so if there is a big hit it slows down/spread the energy transfer. (Honeycomb, EDPM, etc...)   But if you look at it from the side, the plate is level with the lower portion of the stock exhaust which actually makes it look pretty streamlined  

Yep, I was just poking around on McMaster-Carr for foam sheets. It's hard to tell how firm foam is from the published specs, but I'll keep my eyes open for something that seems about right, very firm and somewhat heat-resistant, and mount it in there, just in the area under the oil pan.

I didn't drill a hole for the oil plug, but I may do that next time I fool with it. I just changed the oil, so it'll be a while.

[piotrek]

2 hours ago, bwringer said:

One thing that surprised me was the air gap between the skid plate and the oil pan -- looks like 10-12mm or so.

Considering the bike already has low clearance, this is what kept me from installing a skid plate. It could prevent, or be cause of damage to the oil pan... unless you have a monstrosity like the Higdonion installed on the bike.

[Clegg78]

R

31 minutes ago, bwringer said:

Yep, I was just poking around on McMaster-Carr for foam sheets. It's hard to tell how firm foam is from the published specs, but I'll keep my eyes open for something that seems about right, very firm and somewhat heat-resistant, and mount it in there, just in the area under the oil pan.

I didn't drill a hole for the oil plug, but I may do that next time I fool with it. I just changed the oil, so it'll be a while.

I went with 1/8" or thicker EDPM  (and a thin sheet of hot rolled stainless steel to spread out any impact energy, but that is WAY overkill).   Keep in mind the temperatures down there and that its exposed to oils and such.  EDPM was a good choice for that I thought. 

[Clegg78]

1 hour ago, piotrek said:

Considering the bike already has low clearance, this is what kept me from installing a skid plate. It could prevent, or be cause of damage to the oil pan... unless you have a monstrosity like the Higdonion installed on the bike.

Really not sure there is any way for the SW-Motec plate to cause more damage than it protects... its pretty well designed.  And if you were to have something barely clear your sump and slam at full bore into your exhaust lunchbox... you could also be in for some fun.