I am looking for information about the Yamaha skid plate ,problems ? I am thinking about ordering a Alt Rider instead. I would like to hear your thoughts ::009::
Is the Yamaha skid plate a piece of crap ?
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EricV
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The biggest issue with the Yamaha skid plate is the reports that a solid hit up front can cause the rear mount, (attached to the back of the cast aluminum sump), to blow out, causing an immediate loss of oil and putting the bike in a "no ride" condition. Other reports of them getting bent are of less concern.
The AtlRider unit is pretty good from what I have seen and read. I still don't like it's attachment to the engine up front, but they did choose a pretty stout method.
That said, it's pricey too. I was on the verge of warming up the visa card for one when I saw the Rumbux unit and after some research, decided to go that route. It's been a long process though. It won't be for the next group, as I won't offer them for sale until they are sitting in my inventory and I can ship upon payment.
The AtlRider unit is pretty good from what I have seen and read. I still don't like it's attachment to the engine up front, but they did choose a pretty stout method.
That said, it's pricey too. I was on the verge of warming up the visa card for one when I saw the Rumbux unit and after some research, decided to go that route. It's been a long process though. It won't be for the next group, as I won't offer them for sale until they are sitting in my inventory and I can ship upon payment.
The Yamaha one is not robust enough for any off-road duty. Very lightly made. Do a search and you will see pics of how flimsy the mounts are - plus it mounts to the sump. Not good. Any other choice out there is better - AltRider (I have), H&B, SW-Motech, Jaxon's, etc....
I have the OEM skid plate and it's been fine for my off road duty. I've actually scraped a few rocks crossing creeks here in Arkansas, had a few rocks thrown up and hit it without having a hole knocked in my sump and/or destroying the engine and/or frame contrary to the conventional wisdom. ::001::stevepsd said:
The alternatives, well there are some things to carefully consider: :lamp: Changing the oil with the some of them.. . let me see how many bolts do i have to remove? and two of them are . . . a little tricky. Price wise? The alternatives are . . . pricey. :'( All of them generally provide more coverage than the OEM, but Jaxons is the only unit that mounts directly to the frame and allows you to change oil without removing it IIRC. ::008::
Maybe we ought to do a spreadsheet with number of bolts for mounting, have to remove for oil change, price and sump attachment ??
A better question is what kind of off road driving are you going to do with a 580 lb bike? If you plan on hanging out with the XR650's or DR400's. You better buy Jaxons, IMHO. It mounts to the frame. You can lift the bike with it. The others, they have their points, but the complexity, price and incremental increase in protection, you have to decide if it's worth it. ::002::
It wasn't to me. My dealer got me the Yamaha plate for about $160 http://www.yamahapartshouse.net/KeywordProducts/Search?criteria=23P-F14B0-V0-00 ( which is a lot less money than some of the alternative skid plates will run you ( label me cheap bastard !! ( Maybe you are not cheap like me! ::016:
)) and for riding the fire roads and creek crossings, it's been fine. ::009::Also I got the 4 year extended warranty. I figured that as long as I went OEM it may quiet a few questions should the need for a warranty claim arise? Maybe, Maybe not. ::020::
bikerdoc
Doctor, Paramedic, NP, (ex)Firefighter (SSO)
Stadium Yamaha sell Yammie OEM for the cheapest prices in the USA (skid plate is $155). Look em up if that OEM alloy plate takes your fancy... lots of folks have em and haven't seen any issues. As stated ^above, if you plan to use it like a battle tank then maybe the OEM aint for you, then I feel as though only the South African skid/bash plate with engine crash guard is the only real option for that kind of abuse. For the rest the OEM is good enough IMO.
Thats quite a bit of rationalization, don't you think? What you are talking about is impacts to the botton of the plate, which the OEM plate has no problem with. What we are talking about is a strike to the front of the plate that forces it rearward, laterally against the oil sump bolt.protondecay123 said:I have the OEM skid plate and it's been fine for my off road duty. I've actually scraped a few rocks crossing creeks here in Arkansas, had a few rocks thrown up and hit it without having a hole knocked in my sump and/or destroying the engine and/or frame contrary to the conventional wisdom. ::001::
The alternatives, well there are some things to carefully consider: :lamp: Changing the oil with the some of them.. . let me see how many bolts do i have to remove? and two of them are . . . a little tricky. Price wise? The alternatives are . . . pricey. :'( All of them generally provide more coverage than the OEM, but Jaxons is the only unit that mounts directly to the frame and allows you to change oil without removing it IIRC. ::008::
Maybe we ought to do a spreadsheet with number of bolts for mounting, have to remove for oil change, price and sump attachment ??
A better question is what kind of off road driving are you going to do with a 580 lb bike? If you plan on hanging out with the XR650's or DR400's. You better buy Jaxons, IMHO. It mounts to the frame. You can lift the bike with it. The others, they have their points, but the complexity, price and incremental increase in protection, you have to decide if it's worth it. ::002::
It wasn't to me. My dealer got me the Yamaha plate for about $160 http://www.yamahapartshouse.net/KeywordProducts/Search?criteria=23P-F14B0-V0-00 ( which is a lot less money than some of the alternative skid plates will run you ( label me cheap bastard !! ( Maybe you are not cheap like me! ::016:
Also I got the 4 year extended warranty. I figured that as long as I went OEM it may quiet a few questions should the need for a warranty claim arise? Maybe, Maybe not. ::020::
I wouldn't call the OEM price 'a lot less money.' Especially when you consider the added vulnerability of the OEM plate compared to the insurance afforded by most all of the aftermarket models...with the exception of a few no names Ebay. No matter how much off road riding you figure to do, the S10's ground clearance alone suggests one is playing Russian Roulette as long as they are sporting any bash plate that attaches to the sump. Minimum price to pay?...a new oil sump. Ultimate price?... Stranded in the middel of nowere with a hole in the oil sump.
Don in Lodi
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It' all scale. The only bikes that broke in this way where having the ever lovin' shit kicked out of them. Forest roads, gravel, creek crossings, all things Yamaha had in mind. Dakar wannabe? Conquer the Rubicon? Slickrock Utah? Obviously needs to go a different route.Tremor38 said:
Don in Lodi said:
True, but just crossing a taller-than-normal curb on the S10 might getcha ;D Ah well, most curbs are near civilization ::008:: I think I'd still carry a tube of JB weld ;DEpping
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I went for SW-Motech after considering most. I'm really happy with mounting, quality, oil drain & filter removal access & protection. Good package.
Yamaha was too light weight & I agree about the direct bolt thru the sump being a weak point.
Altrider was my favorite but the price was a deal breaker.
Yamaha was too light weight & I agree about the direct bolt thru the sump being a weak point.
Altrider was my favorite but the price was a deal breaker.
Those blasted farkles add-up, don't they? I decided to spoil myself with the side cases then go a bit thriftier with farkling from here forward ???Epping said:
Nick Sanders went back and forth between Prudhoe Bay and Tierra Del Fuego with a OEM bash plate and I don't figure that I'm going to get my self in much worse situations than than. There are going to be situations where it doesn't matter what kind of bash plate you have. Ground clearance and weight are two of the main considerations I have when I'm looking down a old logging road.
Well for anecdotes regarding a hole in the sump most people refer to the F800. Maybe this has happened with the SuperTen and you could educate me? And again there are some situations that it doesn't matter what kind of bash plate you have. This bike demonstrates how different BMW vs. Yamaha engineering can be.
Demonstrable Added insurance? I'm not from Missouri, but I understand one of their finer qualities. Show me that. Some of those plates well they may use 1mm thicker aluminum ( and some do not) , and more screws, but most of them basically attach to the same area. Is 1 mm thicker ( and sometimes not) and a similar attachment really added insurance for the incremental increase in price?
Pricing? You can go look them up yourself, but the cheapest one I found was $100 more than the OEM, most run about double the OEM price. Some are greater than $500 more than OEM. To me that's a lot of money.
If I was truly worried about the best protection for my engine available. I would find a bash plate that totally attached to the frame and does not use the engine for attachment. There's one that does that, plus you can change oil without removing it. But, I'm not worried about that because I don't intend on wrestling a 580lb bike down some rough single track. I may find myself in an unintended situation, but if so, I don't know if anything would really help. We will see. YMMV, Peace out.
EricV
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Lots of good and valid comments! ::008::
It comes down to how you look at things. I'm not planning on bashing the heck out of the bike, but it's the unplanned stuff that happens that bites you in the butt. It's for those 'oh sh*#' moments that I buy good, solid protective farkles, not the planned activities. Think about how often you plan to be riding farther away than when a call to your SO or your friend with the trailer will get you out of a jam. That's a good determination of how much protection you may want to have, and be willing to spend your coin on.
I am riding to Prudhoe later this year. I am riding in the IBR next year. I do see a non-paved road and just ride off onto it to see where it goes. I don't know where my next ride will take me, (ok, Death Valley later today, but not the exact roads.) I buy and install protective items so if the worst happens, and I'm ok, I can pick the bike up and ride on. This practice has led me to spend some serious coin on 'unnecessary' parts over the years, but has also saved my butt and a lot of Uhaul costs too. I really like being able to self recover. And not having to worry so much if I screw up and whack something, hard, when I wasn't planning on it.
Choose what meets your needs. But don't scrimp on protection too much if you're going to be farther away than that "trailer range".
It comes down to how you look at things. I'm not planning on bashing the heck out of the bike, but it's the unplanned stuff that happens that bites you in the butt. It's for those 'oh sh*#' moments that I buy good, solid protective farkles, not the planned activities. Think about how often you plan to be riding farther away than when a call to your SO or your friend with the trailer will get you out of a jam. That's a good determination of how much protection you may want to have, and be willing to spend your coin on.
I am riding to Prudhoe later this year. I am riding in the IBR next year. I do see a non-paved road and just ride off onto it to see where it goes. I don't know where my next ride will take me, (ok, Death Valley later today, but not the exact roads.) I buy and install protective items so if the worst happens, and I'm ok, I can pick the bike up and ride on. This practice has led me to spend some serious coin on 'unnecessary' parts over the years, but has also saved my butt and a lot of Uhaul costs too. I really like being able to self recover. And not having to worry so much if I screw up and whack something, hard, when I wasn't planning on it.
Choose what meets your needs. But don't scrimp on protection too much if you're going to be farther away than that "trailer range".
I think of mine as more of a gravel guard than as a skid plate. As stated by others easy on and off for maintenance. Serious contact with anything solid ??
Thanks to all of you for the information ::012:: Yes I am a cheap bastard also but realize you get what you pay for. It will cost me 200.00 more to buy Alt-Rider skid plate and crash bars over OEM parts. I had my dealer get them coming. I am getting excited for the delivery of my new bike ::26::
First day in South Africa, picked up bike, added OEM accessories. Second day, bent fan bracket, Third day Hole in sump, Forth day, Bent rims.protondecay123 said:
In 1 trip they had most of the problems come to light.
Australia.. Tenere Tragics event 2011. 3 Tragic Tenere's with holes in the "sump". A few bent rims. They also killed 2 750's and a couple of 660's.
The rest of the world? Looks like they are all a bit sedate.
MR YAMAHA, you know who the next product development team should be right?
Found the SA report. That was a nice Ride report. They killed a KTM 950 SE as well. The HP2's had it pretty rough as well. Had to have the subframe welded back together! That ride report made me wonder if I'm being too cheap of a cheap bastard. But I'm not in Africa.
The tragic tenere was sponsored by a vendor and that always adds some grains of salt.
I'm may or may not up grade, but the SA ride report was a great read. Thanks for educating me!
The tragic tenere was sponsored by a vendor and that always adds some grains of salt.
I'm may or may not up grade, but the SA ride report was a great read. Thanks for educating me!
Yeah, I think there's no clear-cut 'right' or 'wrong' in this case, and as you say your choice is based on where you plan to ride. From purely a price perspective, I think the higher price of the other plates is well-represented with extra mounting fixtures and increased coverage. ::001::protondecay123 said:
Well, that's been my point more or less. But there is one thing that has me wondering about a lot of skid plates is that the whole bottom of the engine is a two chamber oil sump. Why are things being bolted/bracketed to what you are trying to protect? :question: My perspective is that if you really want to have the best protection that is substantially better than the OEM el cheapo plate then bolt it to the frame to protect the oil sump/bottom of the engine. ::002::Tremor38 said:
I liked Dougs comment that " I think of the OEM as more of a gravel guard." And that's my thoughts on it. It's cheap and it's a good gravel guard. Plus I'm fairly contientious and take it pretty easy on roads I don't know.
The South African Ride report is called "Angola Doodsakker Ekspedisie Jun 2010"
http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=52625.0
It's a great read. ::026::
Actually the Tenere Tragics blog I found was just linked to a vendors blog. It's an annual ride in Australia. They had three bikes punch holes in their oil sumps! ??? It wasn't a vendor sponsored ride report. The link to it is below. It doesn't offer a lot of detail on the crashes however.
http://teneretragics.blogspot.com/2011/03/tenere-tragics-trail-mail-no-more-leaks.html
Got some QuickSteel and a knife handy in the toolbag. Hopefully I won't have to use it.
Good links Tremor38 ::008:: I do like the way the Alt Rider mounts in the rear allowing some space between the sump and the plate. I think with a bike that weighs over 500 pounds you could crush any skid plate if you tried hard enough ::010:: I am going to try to remember it's not my WR250 when I am in the woods. I am more worried about kicking up rocks with the front tire on the trails and skid roads. I also was worried about protecting the oil filter from rocks that are kicking up from the front tire. I know the alt rider will be a pain to remove every time I need to service the bike but will be well worth it in the long run ::26:: I would like to thank everyone here for sharing their stories and experiences with the ST and it's accessories ::020::
gbergma1
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I have a brand new one for sale, OEM Yamaha. Mounted it, took it off, zero miles. It can be yours. Email me, gbergma1@hotmail.com .