Disc/Caliper

[BRPR]

Are front disc/caliper gaurds any good?

Are they of any use??

Or are they just more junk on the bike that is unecessary??

Can't find one for my bike.

Is making one out of sheet metal a good option?

Or is that not a good idea??

[wr450fyamaha]

i personaly think they are just for looks.....there is no way that flimsey little piece of plastic could do any good.

[BRPR]

I agree.

There is no way a flimsey piece of plastic is going to

do anything.

Personally, I think it the disc looks better without a cover.

[Troy_Bell]

They are practically useless. I have one on my 1986 YZ250, because it was on the bike when I bought in '88. I can tell you this, it won't do a damn thing in a crash. It will only deflect a few flying rocks and an occasional bush. Mine ended up sliding down the fork a bit and the rotor began "cutting/melting" a slot through it. I had to use double-sided tape and zip-ty's to hold it in place. Now I only keep it on the bike to hide the rusty disc rotor. If you decide to buy one, trash the removeable plastic ty's that are supplied and use the good ones.

[BRPR]

I am not going to buy one.?

They don't make them for my bike anymore anyway.

I think it looks better exposed.

What do you think?

[BRPR]

Thanks for the input.

I now know for sure not to get one.

[Shawn_Mc]

If you do very much high speed braking, the cover will allow the thing to boil the brake fluid in the caliper and warp the hell out of the rotor. If its super muddy they can help, other than that...just a nuisance

[ThunderChicken]

i use one on my 450x because it guards the pick up cable for my enduro computer.

on the 650r i've never used one.

i'd also say that i ruin more rear brake rotors than front rotors.

[BRPR]

My dad was riding with me one time and he said a couple of big sticks/branches got kicked up and hit him in the leg hard.

He said if those came and hit a front plastic flimsey disc gaurd, the gaurd wouldn't do anything, those branches would just snap the gaurd. Which would be a waste of money.

A lot of guys think that disc gaurds are just for looks.

I agree.

Personally I think it looks better without a gaurd, with the disc and caliper exposed.

Also, if you ride in deep mud, the mud will get clogged between the gaurd and the caliper.

Not good.?

[Desmo]

I wish I had one on one ride.

I low sided into a car that came into my portion of a fireroad on a blind corner. The resulting hit bent the rotor. This caused the brake to stop working as the caliper/piston kept losing pressure (no leaks). I could see the same thing happening if you crash hard on a rock.

It was a 300 mile dual sport ride (sheetiron 300). and I had to ride it 50+ miles on paved roads & fireroads with no front brake (and a bent fork!).

The only moto shop at the next stop did not have a rotor, but the owner called a buddy who brought a used xr400 rotor down to the shop (same part#). I was able to ride the next 150mile leg of the trip with front brakes (and a bent fork).

So, I'll probably try to get one. I think the Xr400 one's can be modified to fit, but I'm not sure.

cheers

[BRPR]

Are disc front disc gaurds bolt-on , or are they held on with plastic ties?

I have never seen one up close on a bike,? , are they strong , or are they flimsey crap.

[-=Jughead=-]

If you do very much high speed braking, the cover will allow the thing to boil the brake fluid in the caliper and warp the hell out of the rotor.

Huh?

If brake fliud in a dirt bike is boiling, you've got other problems...like your bike is on fire.

Boiling brake fliud doesn't warp rotors, it just ends up being a gas when you need a fluid, and that's bad for hydraulic devices since they no longer function as designed. The rotor may warp due to uneven heating/cooling from riding the brakes, etc.

If its super muddy they can help, other than that...just a nuisance

x2.

The one on my 250R won't protect from a great impact, but it does keep mud off the brake assembly. Many times the cover is coated in mud, but the rotor/caliper stays relatively clean.

[RingKingPin]

I bent the heck outta a wave rotor while doing some really hard braking with my motard wheels on. I'm not sure if it's because of the idea of the fluid expanding so much that it was engaged or if it just over heated to rotor from jamming on it too hard. In either case, the thing was toast.

[Maladjusted_XR]

I use a Devol Engineering front disc guard on my pig. It has saved the disc from likely damage on more than one occasion...

[wr450fyamaha]

The one on my 250R won't protect from a great impact, but it does keep mud off the brake assembly. Many times the cover is coated in mud, but the rotor/caliper stays relatively clean.

its a dirt bike, its made to get dirty!!!!!!!!

[BRPR]

Exactly!

A DIRTbike is meant to get dirty.?

There is no way a flimsey little piece of plastic would actually do anything in a high speed crash.

Unless a front disc guard has enough strength to support the weight of the bike, there is no point in having one.

And I can tell you right now, no little piece of flimsey plastic is going to do that or help stop anything big like rocks, logs and roots, and the guards look ugly on top of it.

So there is no point in having one. They are a nusence.

[-=Jughead=-]

its a dirt bike, its made to get dirty!!!!!!!!

No doubt, but mud reduces braking, and it also eats up pads/rotors.

Cross-drilled rotors are affected moreso as the mud tends to cake up in the holes. Mud and/or mud/water makes slick rotors. I like my brakes to keep braking, my rotors to keep rotating, and my capacitors to keep capacitating.

The flimsy plastic guards do nothing for an impact. They were never designed to. They are designed for roost/splashing, that's all. Mine works just fine for that on my R.

[BRPR]

You can get metal disc guards, which are stronger, however they don't cover a large area on the rotor.

Are metal ones meant for more than just mud protection, unlike the plastic ones which only help in deep mud.

[-=Jughead=-]

You can get metal disc guards, which are stronger, however they don't cover a large area on the rotor.

Are metal ones meant for more than just mud protection, unlike the plastic ones which only help in deep mud.

Here's one from Devol.

These look to be something that would offer more protection than just flimsy plastic, but I bet if you dented/bent it enough, it might rub the rotor.

Devol also makes something similar for the rear disc.

I just know that the stock plastic rear splashguard on my 250's rear disc didn't last the first weekend.

[SaltyWalrus]

I used to have an aluminum guard on a 300EXC when I was racing. It had enough battle scars on it from rocks that I figure it had to be doing something. I haven't bothered to put one on my XR yet. I am spending too much money on other things I break or bend in the rocks. Like footpegs and peg carriers for example.