troypusateri
New Member
So just got my first ST 1200…It is a 2017, found it with less than 8,000 miles on it. Flew down to Miami Fl and picked it up from a nice fella, and rode it 900 miles home to the mountains of N. Georgia. It was fantastic, and the bike performed flawlessly.
Now I have had it for a few weeks, and have started taking it off onto the gravel/fire roads up here in the mountains. In the last week, I have punctured the oil pan twice now. The first was with the stock OEM crappy skid plate. Hit a rock, and it did some real damage. Was able to weld it fixed (see pics below), and was running this weekend about 200 miles into the Smoky Mountain 500….doing a river crossing, and with a new skid plate (Ziegler) on-board, hit another rock (going about 5 mph), the bolt holding the skid plate to the bracket went right through the oil pan.
The good news, I have 2 new OEM oil pans headed my way. I also ordered a ACD skid plate that does not attach at all to the oil pan.
The bad news, I am not certain of what else to address to fix this issue. I run the bike how it should be run, not riding it crazy by any means of the imagination.
For reference, I weigh 230 lbs, and have hard bags on the bike with about 25 lbs. of gear all in.
QUESTIONS:
1. Do I need to get a stiffer suspension? If so, recommendations?
2. Can the heigh/ground clearance be increased? If so, how will it affect the bike’s performance on and off road?
Thanks in advance for helping the newbie out. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Now I have had it for a few weeks, and have started taking it off onto the gravel/fire roads up here in the mountains. In the last week, I have punctured the oil pan twice now. The first was with the stock OEM crappy skid plate. Hit a rock, and it did some real damage. Was able to weld it fixed (see pics below), and was running this weekend about 200 miles into the Smoky Mountain 500….doing a river crossing, and with a new skid plate (Ziegler) on-board, hit another rock (going about 5 mph), the bolt holding the skid plate to the bracket went right through the oil pan.
The good news, I have 2 new OEM oil pans headed my way. I also ordered a ACD skid plate that does not attach at all to the oil pan.
The bad news, I am not certain of what else to address to fix this issue. I run the bike how it should be run, not riding it crazy by any means of the imagination.
For reference, I weigh 230 lbs, and have hard bags on the bike with about 25 lbs. of gear all in.
QUESTIONS:
1. Do I need to get a stiffer suspension? If so, recommendations?
2. Can the heigh/ground clearance be increased? If so, how will it affect the bike’s performance on and off road?
Thanks in advance for helping the newbie out. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
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