SW-Motech skid plate questions

[Boostedxt]

So I am going over my list of parts and I am trying to compare the ALTrider skid plate vs the SW-Motech one. Now I think when you compare the 2 of them the altrider one seems beefier over all. I plan on riding my S10 on dirt fire roads and taking a few extended trips to places like Alaska by way of the Dempster, Klondike, and Robert Campbell highways. I do not plan on riding the S10 very hard off road. For that I will buy a Tenere xt660z when Yamaha releases (hint hint HINT Yamaha), or a WR450 to beat on. Do you feel the SW-Motech attachment points are solid enough to not worry about them when it involves the type of riding I will be doing? My biggest concern would be Alaska and riding those remote dirt roads, but even then...its a dirt road.

Thoughts? For the type of riding I will do on the S10 is the SW-Motech sufficient or would you recommend going to the Altrider?

Thanks
Joe

 

[Boostedxt]

I'd say either one will do fine in that situation....unless you want to displace curbs in more urban areas with Tabasco's version 2 model 8) You can plow large boulders out of the way too, just get'er up to ramming speed!

I have been looking for it on his website and cant find it. show me the path oh wise one!

edit: found it and holy crap that thing is huge!(thats what she said) a bit to much for me. I am leaning towards the sw-motech because I think my riding style it will do just fine for, but need some reassurance.

joe

 

[Tremor38]

I have been looking for it on his website and cant find it. show me the path oh wise one!

edit: found it and holy crap that thing is huge!(thats what she said) a bit to much for me. I am leaning towards the sw-motech because I think my riding style it will do just fine for, but need some reassurance.

joe

I'm sure more people will chime in soon. I could go either way because they're both great plates with excellent good coverage. I personally like the how the H and B looks...almost like it belonged there from the beginning.

 

[Boostedxt]

I'm sure more people will chime in soon. I could go either way because they're both great plates with excellent good coverage. I personally like the how the H and B looks...almost like it belonged there from the beginning.

I think the thing for me that is hard is spending close to $400 on something when I dont feel I ride to the level of protection it offers and is intended for. Its the same thing as buying a $6000 mountain bike then going for strolls through the neighborhood with your kids. It doesnt make sense. ::025:: If I can spend $125 less and get the level of protection that is going to work for me, then why not?

In the end I have no desire to thrash my S10. I will take it off road, but I dont intend on riding it through rock fields, knee high river crossings, or over logs. If I feel the need to do that I will add another bike to the stable. I will ride on highways, twisty canyons, and some maintained fire roads or very light jeep trails. I guess I just had the question of...is the sw-motech enough protection when it comes to those things?

joe

 

[Boostedxt]

Unless I have a false perception of the dirt roads through the Yukon and into Alaska...this would be the hardest level of off road I would want to do on the S10,

http://youtu.be/fWvhW_WY-Lk

joe

 

[Tremor38]

I think the thing for me that is hard is spending close to $400 on something when I dont feel I ride to the level of protection it offers and is intended for. Its the same thing as buying a $6000 mountain bike then going for strolls through the neighborhood with your kids. It doesnt make sense. ::025:: If I can spend $125 less and get the level of protection that is going to work for me, then why not?

In the end I have no desire to thrash my S10. I will take it off road, but I dont intend on riding it through rock fields, knee high river crossings, or over logs. If I feel the need to do that I will add another bike to the stable. I will ride on highways, twisty canyons, and some maintained fire roads or very light jeep trails. I guess I just had the question of...is the sw-motech enough protection when it comes to those things?

joe

OK, I'm officially an ADD afflicted idiot! I meant to say 'SW Motech' and not H & B (Hepco and Becker). I'm not aware of one bad review of the SW Motech so far, and some of the Aussies, like Ol' Git Ray have put it through the paces beyond what you plan to do. When he dings it up, he just pulls it off and pounds it back out. I think the mounting system is robust enough to take some serious punishment and it's much more well thought out than the OEM. I think it offers more than enough protection for what you are doing...

 

[AlsoRan]

Put about 20 miles of that kind of road yesterday, and I remember the SW-Motech took a couple of big hits from some loose rock that I glanced with the front wheel. About 30 mph. I checked and there are no dents or anything. I'm good with it's performance to at least that level. I would not want to use it as a glide plate over some imbedded sharp rock though, I think that it's limit would be reached quickly in that type of situation considering the bikes weight.

 

[rem]

Unless I have a false perception of the dirt roads through the Yukon and into Alaska...this would be the hardest level of off road I would want to do on the S10,

joe

You can find any quality of road surface you want up here, but your video could for all intents and purposes be the South Canol, or any number of gravel roads up here. Good video. R

 

[Boostedxt]

Thanks for the replies everyone! If you were in my position would you go for the altrider or the swmotech? I have an Alaska trip planned and a trip east to the James bay road area.

Swmotech:
Look
Fit
Price
Level of protection I feel matches my riding ideas

Altrider:
Look
Great protection level


Over all I think the swmotech one will do just fine but I love the protection the altrider gives.
Hrmmmmm

Joe

 

[Rasher]

I am about to order a Bash Plate, unlike some folk I need not worry about the best protection, I will do nothing more than very gentle "off-road" work, which in reality is more likely to be unpaved roads and gravel tracks as opposed to any proper wilderness (we just don't have any left in the UK)

I am thinking of the SW-Motech one as in my experience their stuff tends to be pretty decent quality at a not too expensive price, I would not say cheap, but not at the dizzy levels of Tourawad stuff.

My main concern is stopping the front of the motor getting chipped and covered in dirt, I have a fender extender on the mudgaurd and the crap plastic Yamaha "gaurd", but notice it still gets loads of crap thrown into the front of the motor. And I do quite like having the oil filter protected as even on the road a bit of crap such as a nail / bolt / stone could potentially hole it.

If anyone knows of a better (cheaper) option that is adequate I would like to know, and also has anyone found the SW item poor in any way - and is it easy to get it out of the way for a filter change :question:

Assuming no better options I will probably get one and have t powder coated black.

 

[Bigbore4]

Bostedxt, what did you finally go with?

I was down to ALT Rider and SW Motech myself, I finally went SW Motech for 2 reasons. Protection will be (Has been) completely adequate for the riding I plan on, similar to yours. AND, the fasteners under the engine are captive rather than loose. At oil change time I think the ALT Rider could get a little fidley messing with nuts and washers on the inside underneath. SW Motech uses weld nuts aon the bottom. The front are same as Alt Rider, but easy enough to get to.

I have done several oil changes (I cange filter at every drain) since my install and it is very straight forward.

 

[BUGKILLER]

I've been running the SW Motech plate for about 8 months. It's gone through some pretty rough stuff and held up well. If you don't plan on any hard core off roading I would highly recomend it. Otherwise you should call Jaxon. ::024::

 

[rem]

Otherwise you should call Jaxon. ::024::

Yeah baby, yeah ........

 

[snakebitten]

Yeah baby, yeah ........

Hey, that ain't homely at all in black!

Much nicer.

 

[Twisties]

I like the SW-Motech product.

 

[528Hz]

H & B ::018::

 

[Checkswrecks]

I am about to order a Bash Plate, unlike some folk I need not worry about the best protection,
...
My main concern is stopping the front of the motor getting chipped and covered in dirt, I have a fender extender on the mudgaurd and the crap plastic Yamaha "gaurd", but notice it still gets loads of crap thrown into the front of the motor. And I do quite like having the oil filter protected as even on the road a bit of crap such as a nail / bolt / stone could potentially hole it.

If anyone knows of a better (cheaper) option that is adequate I would like to know, and also has anyone found the SW item poor in any way - and is it easy to get it out of the way for a filter change :question:

I too have the SW-Motech with a fender extender and they will let some mud hit the headers and front of the engine. If you look at photos of DCStrom's engine, he went to Home Depot, bought a mesh screen in the paint aisle that's sold to drain paint rollers for something like $7, and painted it black.

 

[behindbars]

My main concern is stopping the front of the motor getting chipped and covered in dirt, I have a fender extender on the mudgaurd and the crap plastic Yamaha "gaurd", but notice it still gets loads of crap thrown into the front of the motor.

If you're just looking for some light duty protection for the front of the engine and header pipes, R&G Racing make a stone guard that clips onto the headers. Probably not durable enough for heavy duty off road use but for street duty or gravel roads it works well. It's also a breeze to remove for cleaning. I'm happy with mine and would buy it again. Twisted Throttle sells it.

Steve