Pm Toytec he just bought one.

 

Or do you mean skid plate. I thought you meant for a plow. I'd buy an aluminum one or steel if you were going to buy new ones.

 

yeah I was talking about a skid plate. I hear the UHMW plates are the best but I can only find ones for UTV's. Why wouldn't someone produce these for ATV's? I called Holtz today which is a company that makes them for Polaris Razor's etc. Unfortunately, they said there is no demand for ones for ATV's. Thats just crap. I can't believe that no one with a ATV wants the most durable product made while also offering least resistance while crawling over rocks etc. What the heck?

 

Here you go,,,it's what I'm buying next. I lost an engine over an aluminum skid and those crappy hangers last summer. I want something that bolts to existing oem mounting points,,or drill it to fit..The heavy plastic is quieter,and lets your engine run cooler,,its supposed to be really strong stuff. I would contact them to see if they have any available for your machine yet.
9500

You can also buy a sheet and cut and drill your own,,,just no curves built in from a place like this.
UHMW Sheet | UHMW Sheets | Plastics International

 

Hey STU, can that plastic be heated up with a heat gun and formed into shape? I have had great luck with UHMW in the past.. slick as snot, but I've never tried melting it together or forming it into a shape...

 

I can't help on that one Dan,,lol! Ive never used the stuff before myself. I am going to go to a skid thats not aluminum though on my atv and give it a try.

I can't speak for everyone on it, as its just an opinion of my own,but for me the aftermarket aluminum skid from Ricochet was poor,,,sorry:laugh:

It dented really easy, and the aluminum was soft. The hangars are a joke to put on, and a danger to your engine and other vulnerable areas. They are not nearly as strong a mounting point as your frame mounting holes are. The ones i had on my atv were all creased up on my Rancher from minor scrapes, and the one on my bike,,,well you know what happened there. It wasn't even a hard hit,,i rode it out like nothing and the skidplate dented, and the hanger and skid cracked my engine case open. They may be okay for slow going, but for any spirited riding I would find the sturdiest aluminum brand I could find,,,preferably a model specific build that utilized the stock mounting holes with no hangers. SWmotech mad a nice quality aluminum for that bike, and I should have gotten it instead of the cheapo Ricochet one..end of rant on those things,,,lol!

As far as a arm guards go,,,well if you hit something hard enough to damage the aluminum guard its probably going to damage other things too. Most of the ones I've had had poor coverage,,and poor drainage as far as keeping the CV boots clean from build up, and tearing one...its a big aftermarket for sure,,do your homework before you buy is my best advice.

 

I can't believe no one wants to make a UHMW full skid set for atv's. This is crazy as when I look on the net tons of people are making them themselves. I'm sure they don't look great but this is a sign of demand for them. This is crazy!

 

True, I have a full set of DG skids on my prairie and have to admit I am really pleased for the price I paid though. They have already took a beating and are out of shape, but its saved my front diff and engine casing so far... I have bent my frame right beneath the engine from landing on logs and bottoming out on ditches at speed, so I can't really knock the skids for that... lol.

When it comes to ricochet I think its all about the mounting points and brackets provided like you said. I have been very pleased with there performance on some machines, but other I have had to modify to fit, or made my own mounts if the ones provided were just too flimsy.

I think having something flexible like UHMW that can absorb some of the impact would solve a lot of our problems. I have heard of a lot of rock crawling guys using a sheet of that plastic, with a thin sheet of aluminum sandwitched on the inside to provide better pierce protection when sliding over rocks... Seems to work out for them.