Skid Plate

[Carbon_One]

Last summer after attending Vogel I ripped out the oil pan drain plug on the bottom of my bike while loading it into my trailer. I had loaded it many times in the past with no problems but this one time was the exception for sure. Apparently the angle wasn't just right so the plug caught on the trailers ramp edge.

With the Hannigan trike kit installed these bikes sit even lower than ever so today I decided to build a skid plate for added protection..

With the design I ended up with, I can still do an oil & filter change without removing it. It only has 3 bolts holding it on anyhow.

I've attached a couple pics of the

Larry

[Skid]

Looks great.

[buddy]

Very nice !!! now if I still had my Midnight I be asking for one lol

Better get a patten before you get cheated

I bet you have one made for B2dad as well if not you better you know how he love adding goodies to his sweet ride lol

Wish my Goldwing 1500 had an skid plate when I damaged it

Edited April 24, 2014 by buddy

[Cougar]

Great Job Larry !

Let me know what the cost is.

I need to know how close to

the metal hanging down thingy where folks

attach the there center stand. remember

I have the wife's foot peg bar attached there.

where is the 3rd bolt ?

 

Jeff

[kbran]

I'd like to have one Larry.

[T.J.]

Hello Larry,

 

You are a great fab guy for sure. My only thoughts would be heat build up in the oil pan. The fins in the oil pan are there for a reason to help disperse heat from building up. Maybe you can add some slots to the skid plate to help that out.

 

Just a thought.

[djh3]

Looks good. Now I'm sure you know that once you have it built we allways think of things and ways to improve our creations. For cooling I think you could cut/drill some pretty fair sized holes in the sheet metal to gain some cooling. With the ground clearence being the issue I guess there probably is not a way to make a bend or attach a "scoop" downward to catch air.

[Carbon_One]

Thanks for the input guys.

Jeff that third bolt mentioned does go thru the center stand tabs. Perhaps a shortened version at the rear of the skid plate could be adapted in your case.

T.J. I think that there'll still be plenty of air getting between the plate and the oil pan. I will recheck to verify there's full flow there.

Maybe either add vent holes or as DJ mentioned form a scoop if there's room. I could probably put the front bent down instead of up. That bent section is 1/2" wide and at about 45*.

Kbran I'll get back with you on this. Give me a few days to finalize this design.

Larry

[Eck]

Larry,

I didn't know you damaged your bike at Vogel. Man I'm sorry to hear that.

You did an excellent job of design, build and install on the skid plate though.

I have a bottom protection plate on my GW too.

[djh3]

Larry, with the clearance issue already at hand I dont know if I would bend the front lip of the plate down. If it did hit, man that could get ugly quick. what about a piece of alum bet down and maybe 4-6 pop rivets to the plate. That way if it did clobber something it would be more apt to knock the rivets out of the alum strip then stop you dead on the upload or something.

[Flyinfool]

Would it be safer to just keep a jack with the trailer to always make sure of the correct angle on the ramp?

 

Since the plate is now lower than the plug was, what will happen when the skid plate catches on the edge of the trailer. can it tear the mounting bolts out of the engine? Since the plate is lower are you even more likely to hit getting onto the trailer?

 

OR

 

Since this is for a trike, Add a board to the deck of the trailer to hold the front tire higher up until the engine is past the trailer edge.

 

If I had the height of the trailer bed, length of the ramp, ground clearance of the trike, wheel base of the trike, and distance from front wheel of trike to the low spot, I could calculate the best size and shape of board to give adequate clearance for loading/unloading.

 

Just puking up ideas here.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Flyinfool

[djh3]

My race car use to get hung up once in awhile loading/unloading. I finly decided to just jack the nose of the trailer up and that was the end of it. Personaly I think he was board and wanted to play with tools.

[Carbon_One]

My race car use to get hung up once in awhile loading/unloading. I finly decided to just jack the nose of the trailer up and that was the end of it. Personaly I think he was board and wanted to play with tools.

You're partly right dj. Yea I could make sure the trailer sits at the right angle by jacking up the tongue even with the trailer attached to my truck. But I have gone over some of those parking lot and residential roads with those speed bumps and have scraped briefly. True it don't happen but once in a blue moon but then why temp fate again. Haven't actually measured the ground clearance with the bike sitting level but will do it tomorrow.

Nothing like a project to keep those creative juices flowing too. I like the challenge.

Larry

[djh3]

I under stand Jeff may be sending you something......err umm air mail so to speak.

[cowpuc]

Larry,, that is AWESOME!!! Very very well do my man!!!

 

I am glad you stuck this thread up if nothing more than a reminder of how easily it is to damage cases with the heavy bikes..

I wanna add something,, for any of our friends riding a KAWASAKI VOYAGER 2.. I repaired one a couple years ago that this exact thing happened to.. Only on the Kawi, its not the drain plug that snags, its the bolt that holds the oil filter lid in place (located center engine under bike on the Kaw).. This bolt actually services the oil pump and the oil pump is case mounted on a bracket between the forward bevel gears and the tranny.. When contact is made with the bolt head, like Larrys drain plug, the damage can be catastrophic!! Also, on the Voyager, this bolt head is the lowest part of the bike... Please dont get this advice wrong,, I LOVE the Voyagers but what Larry has done with this skid plate idea should be standard equipment on that Kawi..

Hmmmmmm,, how much for a full skid plate for a beat up ol 1st Genner named Tweeks Larry? I would like to cover pipes and all.....

[Cougar]

I also have scraped a few speed bumps over the years as well with the trike

this is why I am interested, others made comments about the heat fins.

So I am also wondering about that as well.

[djh3]

Louver the plate like the hoods back in the 60's

[bongobobny]

Roll the front edge downwards so it acts like an air scoop...

[Carbon_One]

I finally had a chance to take some measurements. The lowest point on the bike is 4 3/4" at the bottom of the running board braces that clamp to the frame. Measurements at both the bottom of the front crash bars and the skid plate came out to 5". I don't know what the clearance would be on a 2 wheeler but that would vary depending on how much air is in the shock and whether it has either lowering or leveling links.

I feel that this would be a good item for the trikers for sure due to them being low already.

Currently I have a couple made up for testing but feel the design is good to go so if anyone else wants one drop me a line.

Larry

[djh3]

Larry I have the front forks lowered about 3/4" in the triple tree. I get a tick over 6" at the bottom of the crash bars up front.

[Carbon_One]

Larry I have the front forks lowered about 3/4" in the triple tree. I get a tick over 6" at the bottom of the crash bars up front.

Yep that'll give plenty of clearance for 2 wheelers. Never had this problem when my 05 was on 2 wheels nor with the Tri-Wing conversion since it sat about the same as before.

Larrry

[Bones158]

Larry, I'll take one from ya. Just let me know how much. Thanks

 

PS I tried to send you a PM but said your in box was full.

 

Rob K.

[Carbon_One]

OK guys I've gotten a few sets made up now and ready for shipping. Cost will be $55 with shipping included. Check out my ad for further info. http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=4989&title=skid-plate&cat=24

Larry

Edited May 2, 2014 by Carbon_One