So after my last weekend adventure where I took some pretty hard hits I quickly decided that it was time for some engine protection. There are MANY skid plates on the market and probably most of them will do an adequate job so really it's probably down to price and looks. I chose the Ricochet because it is reasonably priced and I have had them on other bikes and they hold up pretty well and provide good protection. Sp here it goes with the installation.
So here it is all brand new
Mounting brackets which are kind of a pain at first but I got the hang of them so no big deal
Decent looking welds
Side view of stock skid plate
Front view
Remove the front center bolt, the other two are motor mount bolts
Remove these two off the bottom and the stock plate falls right off
And there it is, I will clean that up and keep it for the next owner.
Bottom of engine with plate removed
Remove the two engine mount bolts and remove mounting plate, then reinstall motor mount bolts and torque to spec.
Put all the brackets in place and bolt up the skid plate, not really that easy but easy enough.
Front view
Rear view where it provides protection for the rear suspension and grease zerk, nice feature!
Right side view of installed
Another right side view
And one more picture from underneath, overall not a hard project and the cost is about $100.00....so not so bad for some pretty good engine protection.