Just got my engine guard. Holy Cr#p!

[FloridaSteve]

After doing some research I spent a few extra $$ and got the Pat Walsh engine guard/ bash plate (as some folks call it) and holy crap is this thing stout! The extra gauge of the material is no joke. and it's all done on one bend with two short welds. In a pinch this thing could double as a bullet proof shield. If you reeeeeely think you're going to need the protection I'd say it's very well worth the extra coin. I'll be the first to admit though that I doubt that I'll ever pust this thing to it's limits so i may have gone a bit overboard. Drinking and farkling strikes again!👍

[GanjaGorilla]

I saved some money on a skid plate, I patch holes in my case with jb weld

[qwerty1234]

I saved some money on a skid plate, I patch holes in my case with jb weld

+1, not sure why bashplates seem to be so popular on this forum and touted as a 'must have' item

[kelleyrepair]

It'll be a Pat Walsh for me as well. It really looks like a great product.

[Spannermad]

+1, not sure why bashplates seem to be so popular on this forum and touted as a 'must have' item

Every time I rip down a gravel road and hear the stones and rocks clanging off my 5mm bashplate, I know why.

[qwerty1234]

Every time I rip down a gravel road and hear the stones and rocks clanging off my 5mm bashplate, I know why.

Well yes but I rip down those sort of tracks just fine without a bashplate, as do about 90% of the riders I see

Infact reading some of the replies in regards to the DR's top speed and people being scared to go beyond 80mph on a flat empty road i'd say i've ripped down those tracks a heck of a lot faster as well 👍

Let's do a "DR650 top offroad speed" thread, i'll start with 145kph/90mph GPS actual

[mxrob]

Do you wear a helmet? Why? How many times have you actually gone down and hit your head to warrant the expense? Most people could never justify one based on that statistic. Helmets are the obvious safety device for your body. I think a skid plate is the obvious safety device for any off road vehicle... but you are right.. they cause wind drag and reflect noise. Helmets smash my hair (what's left of it) and make my head sweat. 👍

[qwerty1234]

Do you wear a helmet? Why? How many times have you actually gone down and hit your head to warrant the expense? Most people could never justify one based on that statistic. Helmets are the obvious safety device for your body. I think a skid plate is the obvious safety device for any off road vehicle... but you are right.. they cause wind drag and reflect noise. Helmets smash my hair (what's left of it) and make my head sweat. 👍

well should we go ahead and fit that bullbar then? I hear kangaroos or deer can potentially cause some serious damage at speed.... gotta cater for all circumstances don't we?

I just think a bashplate is highly overrated. It takes a hell of a wack to bust an engine case

[stevey3737]

Hi there Qwerty

there are quite a few people on this forum that i have seen that may have once thought the same way you do but now know exactly how much it costs to replace half the case and what the tranny looks like so for people like me its cheap insurance!! up here where i live what you are saying is what we call tempting fate and when we do that we also knock wood to hopefully prevent it from happening (superstitious bunch us canucks) good luck bossman i truly hope you never need one 👍🤣

[FloridaSteve]

Just takes one rock or one good bottom out... so I've got $110 worth of 3/16" thick insurance. Cheap really.

[caymanwent]

well should we go ahead and fit that bullbar then? I hear kangaroos or deer can potentially cause some serious damage at speed.... gotta cater for all circumstances don't we?

I just think a bashplate is highly overrated. It takes a hell of a wack to bust an engine case

While I tend to agree that it takes a hell of a whack to bust a case, sods law says that the one time you do it, You're going to be 1) alone 2) 50 miles from the nearest help...3) with NO JB weld and 4) no oil to put back in too get you home...It just makes sense that if you do ANY offroad riding you should have at least the minimal case protection...I am sometimes amazed at the deep scratches I find on my cases when I wash my bike that must come from small stones thrown up while I ride...and I ride 100% street...better to be safe, than sitting out in the middle of the outback thinking, "F$%....how am I gonna get outta this one???":banghead:

[NMNORGE]

Me like my Happy Trails skid plate and Happy Trails highway pegs (which provide additional engine protection). Better safe than sorry...

[Roadracer Al]

The real problem with putting a hole in your cases is that you rarely notice the loss of oil until the motor starts making really, really ugly, expensive noises.

[NordieBoy]

The real problem with putting a hole in your cases is that you rarely notice the loss of oil until the motor starts making really, really ugly, expensive noises.

You don't even need a hole to do that.

[T30]

I have a Pat Walsh on my DR. Not the cheapest but it certainly looks the cleanest IMHO.

As far as bash plates go, I've babied my 09 DR so far so that one is pristine, but both bash plates on my former DRZ400 and my current CRF230 have suffered major trail carnage. I've bottomed out on many a rock when trying to cross steep deeply eroded washes. DR's engine casings are very exposed.

[smaas]

+1, not sure why bashplates seem to be so popular on this forum and touted as a 'must have' item

:ride:i just did the poker run at the odessa 100 in washington, there are rocks the size of vw there, took one to the skid plate and damn near tore it off, the rock hit so hard it also bent the fram in one small spot just under the sight glass. i thank my skid plat because with out it my engine would have been cracked for sure. it is cheap insurance. mine was the one from procycle, best $80.00 ever spent !👍

i will be buying another one, but for now just bent the old one back so it fits (kinda)

but it is your bike do what you want

[Tatsudoshi]

Congrat's on the new skiplate, I to did a lot of research and also found this to be the best one on the market but I have yet to see it as it is in the mail, can't wait to get that puppy mounted.

Take Care

[mishke]

I just installed a Pat Walsh plate this weekend-rather staight forward,recomends a helper to hold the plate for the front portion of the install (frame clamps like to wiggle around on ya)wife was busy making a salad thing for the 4th,so a well proped peice of 1 by 2 took the place of the extra hand-just use it as a "dead man"like in a sheetrock helper kind of way:thumbsup:I ride fairly mellow-(aka within my level),but i recall riding w/a bud on just some rural dirtback roads where we got on a straight stretch hauling a$# only to have his rear wheel lock-up like i'd never seen his drum brake work b4!(about a 1975 dt?400'ish yamma,looked like a bumble bee -lotta yellow and black.)hole in the case,oil long gone-total seizure @ 60mph.:foul:sucked big time-if this plate cuts that chance even in 1/2,money well spent.🙂

[pg350]

In 2001 I had a brand new Dr650 and was in the middle of nowhere on my brand new/firstbike ever, when a boulder took out a chunck of metal off the right side of my engine. Oil started slowly leaking out so I coasted a couple miles to a highway near Cascade Mt before deciding to push it before it ran out of oil. I luckily found a passing car who called a friend of mine to come get me with a pick-up. I later used JB weld to patch the leak and rode it for another year before selling it due to Military orders. If I would have had a bash gaurd that would have saved me a lot of trouble. If a bad blizzard caught me or if I did not locate a passing car, a bash gaurd might have saved my life.

As to the the one posters request for tops speed. I have100% stock 97 dr350 and top speed is 83mph GPS verified. Speedo says over 95mph but is way off.

[cva4259]

+1, not sure why bashplates seem to be so popular on this forum and touted as a 'must have' item

You need them here in California, we have lots of sharp granite rocks in the mountains.