Skid Plate, acts as amplifier

[Iggy1]

I tried a search on this but kept coming up with nothing.

I couldn't find a skid plate that protected all of the water pump and the hose coming from it and all of the overflow tank so I built my own. It is fastened to the bike by the 4 bolts as the stock one was, comes up to the header and follows it around to cover the coolant tank and the water pump and hose. It looks great and works great as I live it Nova Scotia and ride in the woods as much as I can and I ride everyday. Nothing has injured the BRP through this Skid plate.

The problem I have is it, the skid plate, acts like an amplifier and amplifies the engines internal sound and was wondering if anyone has experienced this. It even has rubber between the frame and plate. I need as much protection as I can get and was wondering if this is normal with other plates. I could use a 1" hole saw to cut some holes in the sides but will this take care of the problem. I don't want to do this if I will still have the sound.

Any help would be great, Thanks Iggy.

[Thumpmeister]

I run the Baja Designs plate on my bike. I haven't noticed any difference, but there are holes cut into the side of the plate, and I think there might be one on the bottom as well, but I can't remember.

Holes might help, but its hard to say. If you decide on putting them in, just make sure not to make them too close, otherwise your compromise the structural integrity of the plate.

[scapegoat]

I have a 97 Triumph tiger I fabbed a skid for from 3/16 aluminum plate. You wanna talk about engine noise now,holy sheeeet. Kinda of a perpetual ringing/drone. try some rubber isolators between the frame and plate, kinda helped on mine.

[KASUYAHO]

I tried a search on this but kept coming up with nothing.

I couldn't find a skid plate that protected all of the water pump and the hose coming from it and all of the overflow tank so I built my own. It is fastened to the bike by the 4 bolts as the stock one was, comes up to the header and follows it around to cover the coolant tank and the water pump and hose. It looks great and works great as I live it Nova Scotia and ride in the woods as much as I can and I ride everyday. Nothing has injured the BRP through this Skid plate.

The problem I have is it, the skid plate, acts like an amplifier and amplifies the engines internal sound and was wondering if anyone has experienced this. It even has rubber between the frame and plate. I need as much protection as I can get and was wondering if this is normal with other plates. I could use a 1" hole saw to cut some holes in the sides but will this take care of the problem. I don't want to do this if I will still have the sound.

Any help would be great, Thanks Iggy.

Whipps or B&B bash playes are the go, there in aussie,

put rubber between the plate and the frame and it will fix the ptoblem, some even drill holes in the plate to make it quieter.

?

[Kritter]

skid plates amplify sound and there isnt much you can do about it. Its one of the first things sound testers tell you to take off if you are not passing sound at a race.

[XR_mad]

my ballards plate covers everything

[TimBrp]

Aluminum will most certainly magnify motor noise. The 650R is notorious for being a loud motor to begin with.

[-=Jughead=-]

Skid plates can and will make the engine noises more prominent.

Just ride. It's no cause for concern.

[Weimer01]

This was my solution, it cut down about 30-35% of the noise.

Utah Plate

?

[Old_Man_Time]

Though drilling holes may help a bit it will never resolve the problem. All XR650R owners are painfully aware of how loud our aluminum skid plates make the motor. The stock plastic skid plate is the quietest but provides minimum protection.

My aluminum skid plate came with rather large holes drilled in it. When I removed the stock plate and installed the aluminum plate the noise increase was quite noticable.

[ewbish]

I tried a search on this but kept coming up with nothing.

I couldn't find a skid plate that protected all of the water pump and the hose coming from it and all of the overflow tank so I built my own. It is fastened to the bike by the 4 bolts as the stock one was, comes up to the header and follows it around to cover the coolant tank and the water pump and hose. It looks great and works great as I live it Nova Scotia and ride in the woods as much as I can and I ride everyday. Nothing has injured the BRP through this Skid plate.

The problem I have is it, the skid plate, acts like an amplifier and amplifies the engines internal sound and was wondering if anyone has experienced this. It even has rubber between the frame and plate. I need as much protection as I can get and was wondering if this is normal with other plates. I could use a 1" hole saw to cut some holes in the sides but will this take care of the problem. I don't want to do this if I will still have the sound.

Any help would be great, Thanks Iggy.

I have that exact problem with my DG skid plate. It covers the same area you describe and it makes the bottom end sound like a bag of rattling marbles. The only fix I could think of would maybe be some foam shoved between the plate and engine?

I traded the bike in Thursday for a new 450X, so no longer have the problem....................

[Iggy1]

Thanks for all the info from everyone.

I have rubber between the frame and skid plate. I just was wondering if everyone had the same problem when they went from stock to larger aluminum ones. I will live with the sound because I don't want holes that sticks can get through and puncture the hose or coolant tank. I punctured the tank twice and the hose once with the stock skid plate because it didn't cover everything. The tank is not as much a problem as the hose is.

Thanks again everyone, Iggy

[trailsurfer]

I went back to the stock skid plate, it eliminates the noise problem and I have never had a problem with it. I broke the first one and it only costs about $40.00 to replace. Also, the Honda race teams use the stock plate so I figured it must be fine.

[Iggy1]

The stock one was fine until I started riding in the woods and old hiking trails that have grown in. When I said I was riding in the woods, I mean right in the woods of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Had to many run'ins with downed trees and sticks. On open trails, loggin roads and dirt roads the stock one is fine.

[dobent4]

I covered the inside of my Works Connection skid plate with DynaMat 'Xtreme'. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c164/dougbenton/000_0079.jpg . It's available from high end car stereo shops , has an adhesive backed layer on one side, a very thin and dense rubberized middle, ang a foil covering on top, and it had an amazing result.A guy at www.crfsonly.com suggested it.

Yeah, I had the plate anodized red because I'm an idiot who spends money foolishly on this hobby !

It was about 25 bucks, and the minimum I could only get was enough for about 3 skid plates, so I hooked up a couple brothers. Very,very impressive . Doug

[XR_mad]

the noise might actually help if on the rare occasion something in the engine happens

[Kritter]

I went back to the stock skid plate, it eliminates the noise problem and I have never had a problem with it. I broke the first one and it only costs about $40.00 to replace. Also, the Honda race teams use the stock plate so I figured it must be fine.

Honda also gets free parts...on all of american honda race bikes ive seen no matter if its a 450 or 650 they run the factory(650) or none(450)...

[trailsurfer]

I guess the point of my post was that Honda has allot at stake at the races and they choose to use the stock plate. They modify or replace many parts on the race bike as needed but feel the stock plate offers good protection so it must be pretty good. Also, I have about 4,000 miles on my XR and have a couple of friends that have over 20,000 miles each on their Xrs, all with the stock plate without any problems.

[Javelin]

Iggy1,

I had the same problem when I put a Utah SportCycle plate on my '06 YZ 450. I actually installed the new skid plate right after my first oil change. The noise was so bad, I thought I forgot to put oil back in and my motor was going to seize.

I kept riding with the noise, but it got so bad especially at certain RPM's, I wanted to put the stock one back on. I did, however find a solution that cost less than $13. I found some UNI bulk air filter foam that is about 12"x12" (most moto shops will have this) cut to fit between the bottom of the bike and the plate and then reinstalled the plate using neoprene washers in between the metal washers. These 2 processes took all of the noise away as good as it was when the stock plate was installed.

Give it a try, I think you will be satisfied. ?

[Mac_525]

Yeah, I had the plate anodized red because I'm an idiot who spends money foolishly on this hobby!

You ARE the blingmeister, Doug! ? Rick thinks I'm bad with my Katoom - I can't hold a candle to you! ?

To the OP - all the aluminum skidplates reflect noise back at you and make the engine seem louder. I've used rubber on the mounting points, run silicone beads down the frame contact points, etc. - it may stop the resonating, but the skidplate will still reflect the engine noise upward.