Cheapo Chinese Skid Plate?

[bwringer]

It looks like there's a Chinese-made skid plate available under lots of doofy made up brand names available from the usual assortment of scumbags.

Well, I don't wanna spend $300-$500 on a fargin' apocalypse-proof skid plate. I'm not going to be sliding over logs and rocks and curbs and such.

I never take the feejer off pavement, but I would like some sort of something betwixt the oil pan and whatever bounces up off the road.

This scAmazon dealio for $80 (and the exact same one, or the same photos, can be had slightly cheaper if you poke around) seems about right.

Thoughts?

https://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Engine-Chassis-Protector-Bottom/dp/B08R8R8435/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=FJ-09+skid+plate&qid=1632777506&sr=8-2

[knyte]

That looks  a LOT like my SW-Motech bash plate:

[bwringer]

In rummaging around in older posts here, the consensus is that the Chinesium version uses weaker aluminum.

Honestly, I'd argue that there's such a thing as TOO strong when it comes to a skid place bolted to the engine. I want the thing to bend long before it cracks an engine case.

[Butrzrulz]

I'm curious as to why so many feel the need for a skid plate for a street bike???  I've never seen so may posts on these and on people damaging their lower engine casings.  I mean, this is not an adventure/dual sport bike by any stretch, so what the heck are ya'll doing??

[PhotoAl]

I see your point but you want it there when you need it.  IMO it would be good for protecting the oil pan from the errant rock but a bigger jolt would probably bend it.  Don't care where its made don't like the unbraced front.  

I have an SRC on my 2020 Tracer GT and put it on just for rock protection.  I don't ride off road.  However I do take long trips and have ridden thru some road construction areas that would certainly qualify as a dirt road with rocks.  I have several scrapes on the bottom, some I know where they were obtained and some not.  Once was pulling off the road onto a gravel area to fix my GoPro.  Got a good scrape when i dropped off the pavement which was maybe 3", didn't look that bad but angle I came off and where the wheels were obviously made the drop worse.  That would have been a tough hot spot to have been stuck.  Another time was pulling into my driveway.  We have valley gutters and scraped it as I was fully loaded and not being careful enough.  So stuff happens and maybe these scrapes would have not hit or maybe just scraped the headers a bit.  

So any skid plate is better than nothing, maybe.  A bigger hit may be enough to bend the skid plate and damage the oil pan.  IMO mine would bend the brackets before it would cause engine damage but is quite stout.  

Not trying to talk you into one or the other but to give you my experience so you can make an informed decision.  If you don't go off-road and just ride on the streets and don't get caught in strange places, IMO the one you have shown would protect from the rock or object thrown into the oil pan but probably not a tumbling rock that was turned on end as you went over it.

Photo attached is a 4 to 5 mile stretch of road construction in Colorado in June.  

 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, Butrzrulz said:

I'm curious as to why so many feel the need for a skid plate for a street bike???  I've never seen so may posts on these and on people damaging their lower engine casings.  I mean, this is not an adventure/dual sport bike by any stretch, so what the heck are ya'll doing??

When you Google "FJ09 cracked oil pan" or "FZ09 cracked oil pan" you'll have your answers. 

[Clegg78]

check this out If you want some background on how shitty the eBay ones are:

https://joekelly.co/photo/a-motorcycle-trip-cut-short-2020-strikes-again/
 

This happened in a unmarked construction zone and was a freak hit.  I’ve tagged the current sw-motec plate a few times own some trails and it’s intact… the eBay Chineseium ones are made of clearly soft cheap 6000 series aluminum or below.  The SW one is made of 7075.  

I saved $150 by going with a cheap eBay plate and it cost me a trip, and $1500 in towing and repairs.( I did the repairs myself, the tow was the money)

The comment about being “too strong” is not relevant in this case as the mounts are the flex points. Hell, I even bolted a stainless plate under my sump to spread out the energy if there is a similar hit to last year. 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Clegg78

[Clegg78]

3 hours ago, Butrzrulz said:

I'm curious as to why so many feel the need for a skid plate for a street bike???  I've never seen so may posts on these and on people damaging their lower engine casings.  I mean, this is not an adventure/dual sport bike by any stretch, so what the heck are ya'll doing??

If you are seeing everyone talk about a failure like that, there may be a very clear reason why…. An oil pan issue is a terminal failure, and potentially life threatening if you are leaned over with an oil soaked rear tire.  Heed everyone’s concern.

[lolocastsb]

4 hours ago, Butrzrulz said:

I'm curious as to why so many feel the need for a skid plate for a street bike???  I've never seen so may posts on these and on people damaging their lower engine casings.  I mean, this is not an adventure/dual sport bike by any stretch, so what the heck are ya'll doing??

as everyone else has already said, oil pan is a big weak point of the bike. one of the lowest points of the bike is the oil drain screw.

[Butrzrulz]

7 hours ago, Clegg78 said:

If you are seeing everyone talk about a failure like that, there may be a very clear reason why…. An oil pan issue is a terminal failure, and potentially life threatening if you are leaned over with an oil soaked rear tire.  Heed everyone’s concern.

 

7 hours ago, lolocastsb said:

as everyone else has already said, oil pan is a big weak point of the bike. one of the lowest points of the bike is the oil drain screw.

 

I've seen the posts.  I've owned around 12 bikes over the years and covered a lot of ground, and have never had an issue with my oil pan or oil pan bolt being hit by anything or scraping anything(they are almost always the lowest point on the engine).  Even on my cruisers, which sit way lower than a Tracer.   I can see it being an issue for folks that have lowered it beyond the Yamaha 15mm, which I see a lot of as well. 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Butrzrulz

[bwringer]

Interesting discussion!

Whether a harder skid plate would have handled Mr. Kelly's freak hit without causing a leak is unclear,  but maybe things could have turned out much better. A stronger material could have at least spread out the hit more and not dented so deeply.

Whether it's an expensive skid plate or cheap, one thing that comes to mind is inserting a second layer of metal into the plate at the lowest point to help distribute the force a little further, which is what Mr. Kelly did with the replacement.

(FWIW, the best price I could find at the moment for the SW-Motech is $215.95 with free shipping via Twisted Throttle's website or fleaBay store.)

As noted, it seems important that the mounting brackets are designed to yield before putting a damaging amount of force into the engine cases. With no frame members anywhere nearby, there's a certain limit on this bike. 

The skid plate on my KLR650 attaches directly to the frame, and is made of some incredibly strong 4mm thick aluminum alloy; it can and has taken some absolutely brutal off-road impacts from rocks, logs, etc. without the slightest fear of engine damage.

When I had a V-Strom, it also had a very strong skid plate that bolted to the crash bars (and thus the frame) at the front, and directly to the frame in the back via some some large engine mounting bolts. The bracket in the back would have yielded under heavy full-weight impact, but the next point of contact was the exhaust, so there was a ways to go before trip-ending damage.

There are some light-duty skid plates for V-Stroms that bolt to the engine, and these have indeed cracked cases and destroyed a few engines in highly inappropriate off-road usage. And there are plenty of V-Strom (and SV) owners with no skid plate, or only the stock plastic fig leaf, who stick to the pavement and have had no issues in many hard miles.

 

If you really want the absolute minimum, or don't like the doofy look of the SWM or others, there's also this type for the FJ-09 that basically wraps only around the protruding part of the oil pan; again, it's more of a defense against flying objects. I don't think there's anything that could take a full-weight hit bouncing over a curb.

Obviously, this is also made of cheese-grade aluminum. But it could also make a decent "carrier" for a stronger plate inside that would offer some degree of meaningful added protection.

From AliExpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001626651737.html?spm=a2g0o.search0304.0.0.5db3172bddAaBD&algo_pvid=33535dc7-b50f-4a03-8acc-818e8edd4377&algo_exp_id=33535dc7-b50f-4a03-8acc-818e8edd4377-21

Same thing on fleaBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294084213216?fits=Model%3AFJ09&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4478c8f9e0:g:3uoAAOSw5wRfrgha&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsS%2Fwocn770hnih0B3mVHNZ5GFGnEZFEh8MRsS3cYTDI%2FckfMa9TSKafb6E%2FRoVnoyEchKwWJeTpF6OugOma7%2B%2Bldx5TYAivtjBG5pizwYfV5LKp9nbnHuoAXmwiVIO8kaXTXTpmdH7d88%2B5EQ6ovwal6lsi91qElRvYJcx3jzOc5fIsbsu4VVeviVrQkNbFZfx6v9TOIuiXr1TYMFgn8bl3C5Nu%2B9Rs1qw4p5pbznAHYL9haI7Apzg1iUsmqPBtHDR8%2B%2FTHvj48qCpcwdZloiNGm%2BdWBTADfIQ64%2BZH6aoxWGrVdHmvSaTmCAl5MZP7XTZHv5b5yy3Qf%2FYob90g81w5%2FNMPSOOh1sft7jIBCI0ElN06kY8UAiUE2H8LYa7IjvoEDJw3NPlCW9e%2BjCm4Q%2B%2B8ETdDke328sgtSCUXxQtt6ekY5z6vm89FgwdVExiz3CR2waRdFNVa5OtFHkXW50ymuRrsefa%2Bf7KUt3V4rUKFA5k0VaiCb%2Fnopx9wPtQ6VQBDSwKU6DCO6oLZUyU9bStDuLtdFxWdsnH2qrHTv8yyGFbs%2BxodfyIUDg5%2FddpOdly8CSOBwY66nYwrvkuyjdb8Sta8Qc6mpNz0RPWLucUD1DopzDXWzTj%2FDhMPxVJ38d%2B9DSjpmUUo7NDye1wVNgIZ%2FtTWWy%2BYXKnm1mQljju7B0vwqJvj3p%2FOaVoQ%2FlYrJ6pORQesianERtQkFhRjTHKyCseYIISKt%2FFACPKV%2FLNQS3Eu8qZTzu4KAmg5frfgX4GBwsS8MLr%2Bbm4%2FjzTOjF%2BgK03NHL%2FdrQqo6rOyZ3rucOcUAeMPfE%2FNy9Q%2FUIBJjmK%2FOfAwh30RwON0s%2F86gNGfg%3D%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

 

It looks like Twisted Throttle has some stock of the SWM plate, so I am leaning thataway at the moment, plus perhaps adding a secondary steel plate inside in the oil pan area if there's room. That flappy protrusion at the front looks like absolute shite... not sure if it's worth modifying. It's not clear what that actually protects.

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

Edited September 28, 2021 by bwringer

[knyte]

It's a bit of insurance, no matter how you approach it.  Cheap out and you might not be as well protected.  Spend a bit more, and your odds of a happy experience increase.

There's no question these oil pans are very weak / thin.

Maybe nothing will ever happen, and there's no reason for a bash plate.  Maybe a Tracer / FJ never leaves city limits.

Or, maybe you're hundreds of km's from home and, like @Clegg78, you pick up a random, seemingly-innocuous rock just like any other day and it smashes a hole in your eggshell oil pan.

Personally, I'm in the middle - didn't get the cheapest, nor the strongest.  Something in the middle.  I'm no longer concerned to take that random trail with some gravel on it, no matter where I am or how far from home (and tools).

It's not so much about living in fear, or some such, as it is as wanting to be as prepared as possible for the unexpected.

[Clegg78]

2 hours ago, Butrzrulz said:

 

 

I've seen the posts.  I've owned around 12 bikes over the years and covered a lot of ground, and have never had an issue with my oil pan or oil pan bolt being hit by anything or scraping anything(they are almost always the lowest point on the engine).  Even on my cruisers, which sit way lower than a Tracer.   I can see it being an issue for folks that have lowered it beyond the Yamaha 15mm, which I see a lot of as well. 

 

you misspelled "Lucky so far".
 

Look at most of your cruisers and how the frame, oil cooler, and general oil pan design and lower engine design are less "big flat face of brittle aluminum with nothing blocking debris from the front wheel" like the CP3.    The new Tracer 9 is even more exposed as the exhaust is not as in the debris path from the front wheel. 

[PhotoAl]

I've had a Yamaha FZ6, CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX6R 636 and a BMW F800GT and never put a skid plate on them.  The CBR and ZX6R were fully faired and the exhaust ran under the oil pan so little more protection.  They were bikes that were 100% on road and never even saw a gravel road.  Once buying the BMW have done a lot of long road trips and for me the skid plate was insurance so I wouldn't wind up like @Clegg78  Already had a trip ruined when the BMW destroyed a rear wheel bearing.  That's my reasoning.

As I said earlier I'm surprised at the hits the skid plate has taken.  

What I love about this forum is the ability for folks to express different opinions and viewpoints on a subject.  People can ask why and not get hammered - maybe some polite "now why would you think that".  

 

[bwringer]

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.