[szabla]

I was talking to a friend that told me he hit something at night while riding back from Vegas, it put a hole in his engine case. He rides a bmw RT that has a lot more clearance than ours do.
While changing the oil I looked at that pretty case just inches from pavement. Has anyone put a skid plate under theirs.
I have been kicking around an idea of making a black one made from HDPE. I was going to get a large cutting board and mount it the bottom out of sight. I thought of aluminum, but HDPE is very easy to work and cut to fit.

 

[UrbanRage]

OK what is HDPE... I thinking Heavy Duty P-something E - something... I was thinking plastic something...lol...

 

[ICEBOX]

I was thinking of making one also . Just to be safe . 8)

 

[straightjacket]

High density polyethelene,,, Impressed don't be, I looked it up! 8) I was thinking he meant UHMW. I never heard of it either

 

[szabla]

Basically, plastic cutting board. Right now all I can find is white. But I know there is black ones.

 

[straightjacket]

Mc Master Carr is usually a good place to source plastic, and you can specify by color. Or Tap Plastics?

 

[szabla]

Thanks SJ, the sight has a lot of interesting information on it.
Now I got into the specs on different types of plastics. What I am going to do in not have the plastic contact the case directly. I am going to place a ½ or so perforated mat against the case and use it to help absorb the impact if I hit something. HDPE is not the best but at about 3/8”-1/2” will work; I should be able to find it at a hardware store, or a farm coop, including the mat. We had live stock mats lying around; I will see if they will handle the case temp and have enough elasticity.

 

[Tchooka]

Keep us posted with your result! I'd like to see pics of the result! I intend to do quite a lot of mileage with my bike, this would be a nice add-on for the peace of mind.

 

[straightjacket]

They are low, I hit try ing to go around a gate, I kinda figured it would so I was going reall slow, no dammage. The only thing that sucks with skids is it leads to a messy oil change,even with a drain hole.

I'll check, I might have a piece of BLACK UHMW lying around that would be big enough. LMK how big you need and I'll check around, it can get pricey at the store, I keep alot of scraps because there big enough for most things I do.

 

[szabla]

The UHMW, are you able to place it against the case directly for protection. Or is it better to have a space between the case and the plate?

 

[straightjacket]

Anything you use as a skid should not touch the case as under impact it will transfer the blow. I'd imagine that you'd want to go to the frame, not the motor? Just a thought.