Hyde Skid Plate, Opinions Please.

[cvl05]

Well is sold a pumkin today and ordered a left over 08 ec300 from Tom in Az. Just have to work out the addons. I find the CRD skid plate to be a joke, must not hit rocks in Europe or something???? Any way I'm thinking of the HYDE skid plate pipe gaurd combo. I hear it protects real well but has some mounting issues. Can someone chime in on this, Glenn don't you run this on your bike????

Also anyone running the Mecca radiator gaurds??

[gasgasandrew]

hi have fitted one to my 07 250ec great product just crap mounting fastners you need to spot weld the threaded rivets as they turn when you go to remove it at a later date other then that has saved my pipe hundreds of times they tend to collect a little mud but still better then a cage guard as it can flex and won't damage your frame , have a carbon guard on my wifes ktm 200 exc but it tends to bend the pipe at the barrel in a stack I still think the HYDE is the best of the lot thanks

[stevethebrit]

I drilled some small holes with a drill at the lowest points (under the expansion pipe) and one larger right in the middle, under the engine. Not enough to compromise strength, but let som water, mud and small rocks out. It was a real b*tch to mount, I had to have a mate assist me, but it looks good. I think one of the rivets broke as I was tightening, so I'd take GGandrews advice and spotweld them for strength. Bit poor that Hyde don't do that stock.

[PEB]

The search function is very helpfull, everything you ever wanted to know about the Hyde. http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=599

As i state in the linked thread I beefed up mine with some HDPE on the bottom and made some new mounts.

[GMP]

The M5 hardware is a bit wimpy. The mounts don't make complete sense, but you can make ones that do from the ones provided with a little heating and bending. M6 hardware and some clip nuts and your in much better shape. I also made a stiffener on the front mount so it can be tightened more without bending, and added some rubber hose sections to the frame rails for more protection. Skid plate foam solves the mud trapping problem. Overall I'm quite satisfied, especially with the pipe protection aspect of the Hyde. I have some photos to take of this and other new mods.

[coolum74]

Not sure of the availabity there but Force rad guards are bullet proof. Worth a look anyway.

Adam

Edit; They are Australian made so with the Aus dollar low....

[F_G]

Had a buddy of mine with the Hyde on a KTM 300, still managed to dent the lower frame rails. I'm guessing here, but plastic doesn't have the rigidity of aluminum and some of the bigger hits transfer to whatever is above the plastic skid plate. Does look pretty beefy though. The Meca skid plate is a beautiful piece of artwork and protects pretty good so far. Just be ready to perform a lot of modifications to get it to function correctly.

The Mecasystems rad guards on the other hand, bolted on with no modifications at all, appear to be pretty beefy, haven't bent a radiator yet.

[AZRickD]

I got the MecaSystems frenchie plate from GoFasters. Waaay too pricey IMOH.

The bracket that clamps on the front is stamped steel (soft) and needed to have a strip (gusset) of steel welded by me to keep the clamps from bending and making the thing rattle. I also applied six small dollops of silcone caulk along the perimeter of the plate where it contacts the frame just in case it gets loose again.

Other than that, it protects average or above.

[Krasi]

I have found it easier to install the Hyde combo when I strap the metal "holders" (or whatever the name is) with pastic strap fasteners to hold them on top of the plate mounting holes.
The other solution I found is to use the hook for the pipe springs to keep them in place while screwing the bolts. Works for me.

As for the protection, I'm happy with it. No bends or dents despite numerous lay-downs.

[cvl05]

Thanks for all the info. I'll go into this with an open mind and expect to spend some time getting it right. I tend to think things should go on with ease if designed right but we all know that's not the case at times. PEB thx for the search link. I tried a search but screwed up somehow.