Hyde Skid Plate, Opinions Please.

[LAWMAN]

I have the Hyde, the plate only, not the pipe guard, on an '07 300. the mechanic that put it on complained that installation was terrible.

it works ok, but when the pipe gets pushed back into it, it does what plastic does--it melts.

[jyellard]

I have the Hyde combo. You will probably wind up buying some beefier mounting brackets. It is tough getting it on, but I was able to do it by myself. I wouldn't say it is hard to get on because of an improper fit though. It is hard to get on because it somewhat wraps around the pipe and it a good, tight fit. I put mine on when my bike was new and never ridden. I can imagine it could be a real pain if the pipe is not straight.

[jasont1532]

after 80+ hours on the skid plate i have worn through both rear corners dented the frame rails and bent the right side outer frame rail. also after 2 rides the mounting for the pipe broke but large hose clamps work. the rubber bumpers all ripped out till i siliconed them in. next time i will get a metal skid plate and try to mount the hyde pipe guard to the plate.

[stevethebrit]

I haven't noticed anything on my frame except som of the paint has worn off. 35+hrs, but not in really tough rocks. I don't even use the front bracket the last 20hrs, the threaded rivets loosened, meant to spot weld them, but haven't got round to it. As far as I can see it sits solid even without the front bracket, and is MUCH easier to mount/dismount. It does gather a lot of mud though, despite drilling some extra holes.

[GMP]

The hybrid home brew is an interesting idea. I've got rubber hose lining the frame rails and so far no problems. I have cased out and have gouges in the plate to show for it. The bumpers fall out from the tits shearing off on the outside. I've bent the outer right rail on my '00 with an alloy plate too.

[PEB]

A couple pics of my Hyde setup





I added some HDPE to the bottom after I dented the frame rail. It is bent to the contour of the front of the plate and hangs voer the back just enough to protect the leading edge of the linkage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS1h85OYq4Q

The nasty sound you hear is the white plastic hitting the block, not even a sratch on the linkage.



The front mount is just an aluminum bar with a couple nuts jbwelded to it. The rear mounts are a big washer on the shifter side and a little alu. plate on the brake side.

[SideshowBob]

I bought the Scorpion from Gofasters, it's seriously beefy.

[GMP]

The superior pipe protection of the Hyde is hard to dispute. I would definately try to integrate the pipe guard section of the combo to an alloy plate if/when the skid plate part is no longer usable.

[skid jackson]

Originally Posted by SideshowBob

I bought the Scorpion from Gofasters, it's seriously beefy.

I have a scorpian skid plate on my husky 125 ...
canadians build everything like a tank.
it's a serious piece of protection .... not for weight weenies though....

[dank]

i put a skidplate/pipeguard on my 03 ec250, and while i didnt have a problem with the screws so much, the cross frame mount was too wide at the flat, and required me to do some constructive rebending to get them to fit, but otherwise it was no problem.