Skid Plate...who has added it to their Apex?

[MCApex44]

Thanks for all the reply's on the subject...great info! Well looks like the the skid plate stays on the 'list of things to do' to the sled. This is my first time prepping a "new" sled. I have always bought used sleds that were all set up already.

 

[Woody]

Last year, I was following a guy on a slow twisty trail where his ski kicked out a football shaped rock into my path... I wasn't able to stop, and it went under the middle of my sled.

It pushed on the factory soft plastic access panel underneath, and broke off one of the small metal tabs on the engine case. Needless to say, several thousands of dollars later, and 2 weeks or so, and I had my sled back. Thank goodness for Insurance companies.. I now have the skid plate and strongly recommend it.

 

[BigMac]

You guys might be convincing me. I've always felt they were wasted $. Will they really protect on a hard hit!

Definite maybe. Your bulkhead is at way more risk from hitting something with the ski or A-arms. A hit like that will rip the A-arm out of the bulkhead, and that's a big deal. Don't get me wrong, they're not a waste of money, but they're just UHMW, not kevlar or steel. IMHO if you hit a stump or something dead on the middle of the sled, it may decrease the the amount of damage, and may eliminate damage from minor scarfs.

I have one sitting in the workshop...haven't got around to installing it. It's a little bit of a project because it has to be secure, yet fairly easy to remove so that the oil can be changed.

 

[RTX Meirda]

get one

i have talked to a few guys that toated their motor due to hitting a rock!

 

[Honk]

Talk to Sumpbuster! Toasted his motor QUICKLY!

 

[Daranello]

Talk to Sumpbuster! Toasted his motor QUICKLY!

The only bad thing your dealer suggested was the doolies horible.

I did go with the cooler and marginal wheel kit. Small price to save hyfaxs and the cooler keeps ice out of the tunnel

 

[xcsp]

get one

i have talked to a few guys that toated their motor due to hitting a rock!

Seen on another site where a guy even had a skid plate and totalled the sled by hitting a rock - -maybe an exception to the rule.


Sure would be nice for Yamaha to have the threaded inserts already installed on the sleds right from the factory to make the skid plate a true bolt-on accessory!!!

 

[BigMac]

get one

i have talked to a few guys that toated their motor due to hitting a rock!

Seen on another site where a guy even had a skid plate and totalled the sled by hitting a rock - -maybe an exception to the rule.


Sure would be nice for Yamaha to have the threaded inserts already installed on the sleds right from the factory to make the skid plate a true bolt-on accessory!!!

I'm not opposed to skid plates (I have one). They'll add some level of protection, I'm sure, but no one should think they'll make the sled rock-proof. They're only $100, and even with the PITA of installing them, that probably makes them cost-effective.

IMHO, anybody who hits a rock hard enough to toast their bulkhead or engine probably hit it too hard for a UHMW skid plate to have prevented it entirely.

 

[srxtwins]

Skid plates DO NOT gaurantee you will never do serious dammage by hitting something but they definately are more than worth the money. I hit a rock hard enough to put me over the bars last year and the only dammage was where my knee hit the handlebar controls. Skid plates can save sleds.

 

[SERPAGS]

I put one on last year after reading and seeing posts of damage, and the trails do get rocks exposed and although it does not save 100%, bettter to have extra protection for that once in a lifetime fluke piece of debris than having nothing. It also looks good (grey on black). I say get it.

 

[SumpBuster]

Talk to Sumpbuster! Toasted his motor QUICKLY!

Yah, thanks for reminding me..LOL. 6 weeks down and a cuppla grand for new crank, rods, bearings, sump cover , bolts, etc. Just grazed a buried log..minor denting. The belly protector would in fact have saved those little tabs (I wrote a letter to yamaha begging them to change thier casting and eliminate them somehow...either used for fixturing or for filling the die completely, but they suck...and make the cover very vulnerable). I added steel plates under the plastic, but it took a good year for me to get some confidence back. No lights, no nothing, just a cloud of smoke a few hundred yards from the impact...and the r's dropped, and that's all she wrote.

Here she is a week ago Saturday south of Richfield Springs..the black RX on the left...Sno Pro rebuilt it back in 03 and it runs strong, 5000 miles later.

 

[BOUNTYHUNTER]

This is the work involved for a guy that didn't have a skid plate.

....ABSOLUTELY Brian a lot of unnecessary work, for a rather cheap investment
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=48737

 

[LazyBastard]

My skid plate saved my front cooler last year. Dropped the sled on a buried rock. Shredded the skid plate in a way that makes it obvious that if it hadn't been there, the whole front cooler would have been ripped right out. Cooler just has a very minor dent.

 

[64ssmax]

skid plate

OK! after reading this thread I want to buy and install a skid plate. whos do you recommend for an 07' Attack Gt?

brian

 

[jlemieu1]

Get the Skid plate. They are a pain to install with parts that come with the kit. Search the site for install instruction, highly recommended.