Unabiker Skidplate update

[unabiker]

Hey folks....

As some of you know, I have been working on a composite skidplate for a little while now.

I'll give you all a little background on this skidplate. After beating my bike around for a couple years and studying peoples' comments here, I've seen there is a hole in the skidplate offerings for the DRZ. There are a few varieties that offer decent protection. WB and BD come to mind. The thing that I don't like about them, is that they are heavy and look like they could double as a fender on a bulldozer. So I got to work....

I finished version 1.0 a few weeks ago. It was mostly carbon fiber, with the outter layer being carbon/kevlar. This makes for a good looking plate.

It is nice a light too at 1 lb, 4oz.

I have to admit that I was worried about sound from the engine being reflected upwards like some of the metal plates. Not an issue. In fact, I think it is a bit quieter than stock. With the plate fitting so close, there is nowhere for the sound to get out.

I tested this for a few rides, going out of my way to bash it into stuff. I was finaly able to put a hole through it by landing from about 4' in the air directly on a rock. I was also a bit disappointed in how the kevlar fibers would come out after a good shot on a rock.

All in all, it's not a bad plate, but I can do better....

Which now brings us to today, and version 2.0.

This version is different from V1.0 in that I have reduced the mounting points to 3 (all stock bolt locations), and I changed the layup to an all carbon fiber outter layer, with several layers of pure kevlar on the inside. This should give the plate a tougher outter surface that should resist rocks a bit better, as well as a bullet-proof inner core that should prevent any poke-throughs.

Some of the things you may notice about these plates is that they cover the entire water pump and most of the hose. There are no cut-outs for oil drain access. The plate is held on by 3 bolts, so removing it is about a 30 second operation. The bottoms of the clutch cover (especialy that bolt at the bottom of the clutch cover that gets banged up) and igntion cover are covered, as well as the frame of the bike.

Weight on V2.0 is 1 lb, 3 oz.

I will be testing this extensively this week. Pricing will not be available until I am happy with the design and performance of the skidplate.

[CO-DRZ]

Nice job!! ?

That is awesome - you do good work.

Keep us posted!! ?

[Wayward Son]

unmatched coverage! ?

[GlennDysart]

Any idea of your timeframe on this being completed? I just lost an igition cover this weekend due to my White Bothers skid plate folding underneath it and cracking the cover this weekend on the Shenandoah 500 ride. Would have been fine if it came up around the sides of the cover like yours does.

Glenn

[WFO311]

As always..very nice work ?

[Stu35]

Really nice - great coverage. Will be curious how much you'll need for it.

[panaman]

ooh looks nice, but got a feeling its going to be expensive ?

[MWDRZ]

Beautiful. Looking forward to hearing the price.

Maybe a set of matching clutch and L.H. side covers in carbon kevlar?

? :cry:

Mike

?

[rockchucker22]

? :cry: :worthy:thats awesome !! I WANT one!!! ?

[drzpilot15]

I MUST HAVE ONE!!

I'll get to work amputating an arm and (if necessary) a leg. Which side do you prefer? ?

[KLX_RAMBO]

Nice work. Earlier in my life, I worked as an engineer at Boeing. We designed and built an entire airframe (V-22 Osprey) out of graphite-epoxy composite cloth and tape. The tooling and equipment was very expensive. How are you curing these plates? Do you have a small autoclave?

Very cool! ? :cry:

[racer713]

Great work. Can't wait till they are available.

[Soniq7]

Now thats more like it! I dont care for the bulldozer look.

S7

[coloradorockin]

Looks like a PICASO,,,that thing should be in a museum,,,absolutely beautiful,,,,,sure hope it doesn't cost like a picaso ? :cry: ?

[Skid_Jackson]

If it doesn't have holes in it how will water drain out when you wash it? Or for that matter what will it be like to flush the mud and gunk out that will inevitably get in there?? The idea of having to remove the skid plate everytime i wash the bike doesn't sound good to me. Sometimes that after every ride. I say put some holes in it and make it so you don't have to remove it to change the oil. If the price is right i can deal with the no oil holes. However i'd want something that will drain naturally and be easy to flush mud and gunk out of. Great coverage btw.

[Fullborewhore]

Hats off to you thats for sure!Do you got a bit of indy fever over there? Does it flex at all? Will it withstand direct boulder/ jagged rock blows at speeds over 25 and not come apart or crack? The idea is all that and the over all look is quite aerodyne I must say! And guys if your gonna complain bout it taking 30 seconds to take off a skid you need to get real man! Unibiker it seems that you are setting the standard that all of us other fabricators must follow. WoW you da man ! Price will definitly be a factor , but with something like that you better get more of those boxes ready I see in the back ground. Get that price in a reasonable spot and hell i'll get one ! That thing looks sweet! ?

[Astroman]

it will look great on my supermoto!!! i hope for a good price too.. ?

[snowblind]

Brian, that is awesome! Great job on ver 2.0. I'll be in line to get one, and replace my BD plate.

?

[jchantzWR400F]

As always, looks great Brian. Can't wait to see something on down the road for the WR's. Let me know next time you'll be testing, I'll go with ya. ?

[unabiker]

Glad you guys like it.

It will be expensive compared to aluminum skid plates, but not bad compared to a glide plate+engine guards+ whatever it's worth to you to protect the things that nothing else covers.

As for drainage, water flows out the back of it very nicely. Mud doesn't seem to be much of an issue so far either. There is just not many places for it to get in. The plate and case guards I used to run had to be packed full of foam to keep the mud out. With most of the plate up snug against the motor, most crap stays out.

For the construction of this, I am using a wet lay up, vacuum bagged, and cured in a high temp oven.

The mold for this particular part was made on the bike over 2 weeks. I made it old school, filling and sculpting on the bike, first creating what I wanted the final outter surface of the skid plate to look like, then making a mold off of that. The mold was made with a 2 part surface coat, "mold dough, " and appropiate backing. I used this method because I wanted a very form fitting skid plate, and I can sculpt faster with my hands than I can with a mouse.

I'd like to type more about it, but I gotta get back to work. My boss is a real slave driver.