[joedirt1970]

I have seen a few different skid plates out there. Is there a conclusive answer on which one is the best for our T Dub?



Here are the three I have seen:



TCI...expensive...but fully protecting the engine

MSR...similar to the Ricochet

and the Ricochet:

 

[turborob]

I'm certainly happy with the Ricochet. A while back the company was offering 10% discounts to forum members too.



Does the TCI one come with the engine guards or are they an additional expense?

 

[assquatch20]

Does the TCI one come with the engine guards or are they an additional expense?

The TCI plate comes with the guards at a hefty $239.00, however it's extremely sturdy and even moreso when you put the guards on. The guards themselves are tough to get on since you have to thread the lower side nuts with the skid plate already mounted up. Tom was nice enough to send me the kit for free since I helped introduce the idea to him I guess.

 

[azsandrider]

For the price, its hard to beat Ricochet...I have it on my TW and use it often on our rocky Az trails...

 

[lizrdbrth]

The bars are part of the plate. That's our bike in TCI's ad.



There is NO comparison to be made between the TCI plate and the other two, either in materials or in concept. and it costs accordingly.



I recently hit a large, immovable rock that was jutting out of the ground at about a 45 degree angle going about 10 mph. The bike came to a full stop on the rock. The full impact hit the forward part of the TCI bars and the bike stopped dead in its tracks.



The angle of the hit would have taken out the entire right side of the motor with any other skidplate. The TCI bars were bent rearward about 1/16" and there was no other damage.



It's spendy, and I'm not saying the others are neccessarily inadequate, only that they don't compare. If you can swing the cost I'd advise you to get one.

 

[joedirt1970]

[quote name='lizrdbrth' date='17 May 2011 - 08:11 PM' timestamp='1305688269' post='18674']

The bars are part of the plate. That's our bike in TCI's ad.



There is NO comparison to be made between the TCI plate and the other two, either in materials or in concept. and it costs accordingly.



I recently hit a large, immovable rock that was jutting out of the ground at about a 45 degree angle going about 10 mph. The bike came to a full stop on the rock. The full impact hit the forward part of the TCI bars and the bike stopped dead in its tracks.



The angle of the hit would have taken out the entire right side of the motor with any other skidplate. The TCI bars were bent rearward about 1/16" and there was no other damage.



It's spendy, and I'm not saying the others are neccessarily inadequate, only that they don't compare. If you can swing the cost I'd advise you to get one.



I wish I had Santa's address AND he could visit in June...

 

[turborob]

The bars are part of the plate. That's our bike in TCI's ad.



There is NO comparison to be made between the TCI plate and the other two, either in materials or in concept. and it costs accordingly.



I recently hit a large, immovable rock that was jutting out of the ground at about a 45 degree angle going about 10 mph. The bike came to a full stop on the rock. The full impact hit the forward part of the TCI bars and the bike stopped dead in its tracks.



The angle of the hit would have taken out the entire right side of the motor with any other skidplate. The TCI bars were bent rearward about 1/16" and there was no other damage.



It's spendy, and I'm not saying the others are neccessarily inadequate, only that they don't compare. If you can swing the cost I'd advise you to get one.

Sounds like you're a stakeholder; is it your company?





I assume removal is quick to access the oil filter?

 

[assquatch20]

Sounds like you're a stakeholder; is it your company?





I assume removal is quick to access the oil filter?

lizrdbrth is the guy who volunteered his bike to be fitted with the setup. If it weren't for him giving up his TW for a couple weeks we wouldn't have the product. I lived a bit too far away to drop mine off, so I got on here and found someone willing.



Removal isn't too bad. The bars are just tricky to get back on with standard wrenches. It's worth the extra few minutes though.

 

[small's]

I just ordered a ricochet and used "atvmag25" as a discount code and I got 10% off. It was $88 shipped. Hopefully I get it friday. Anything is better than the stamped "soda can "stock one. I might try and make the side ones.

 

[Kev250R]

Sorry for bringing-back an old thread but I just ordered a Ricochet skid plate for my '07 TW and the ATVMag25 discount code still works!



Kevin

 

[lizrdbrth]

Not to make a big deal about it because it may never be an issue for the average owner, but your engine is a stressed member (acts as part of the frame) on a TW. If you plan to keep it for a long time or use it very hard offroad you will eventually elongate the motor mount holes or could even crack a case from the flexing. A good skid of ANY kind will stiffen the frame considerably.



There's a reason there are specific torque listings for the engine mounts and swingarm bolts because they're essential to keeping your frame rigid. Check them often.

 

[Retrofit]

like seatbelts and airbags, bumpers and crumple zones on cages, guess you really wont know how much protection you need until after you need it.



looking at the frame just behind the front tire and along the bottom of the bike... oh wait, there aint one, the TCI concept made complete sense, as it provides what i saw as a huge missing link that the Yamaha engineers felt was unnecessary beyond just a tin can skid plate and a micro nut. (same guys that decided to remove the kick starter?)



on the other hand, thousands of bikes had survived millions of miles with the stock unit. how much protection? guess thats a personal call.



regarding oil change, not sure any of us need nascar speed oil changing, if we did, would we really be riding a TW. Changing the oil require an additional step or two, that are NOT hard at all, and can be done with everyday tools! (how often do you do this anyway? once a day, week, month, year? takes 2 extra minutes) Actually changing the oil is more work than removing the skidplate! guess what I am saying is two extra minutes for an oil change shouldnt be the reason to select a plate.



IT JUST LOOKS DAMN COOL! (again maybe not the reason to buy the plate and guards)



for me.... appreciated the design and thought, and decided id pay up for the extra insurance that i may never need (like does anyone ever plan on driving into a rock at 10 mph that stops dead their bike? maybe i should be upping my medical insurance too?)



and did i say, it just looks damn cool?

 

[Kev250R]

There's no doubt that TCI makes a solid unit and I really wanted to buy one from them (their 15 minutes from my house) however I just couldn't justify the extra cost. I've had Ricochet skids on my other TW's for the past three or four years. One of the TW's is daily-ridden by my wife and see's largely street usage by a person who is near the TW's weight capacity and rides the bike fairly hard (she look's at speed bumps and dips in the road as a personal challenge LOL). Occasionally she rides it in the dirt as well but not often. My TW is the polar opposite; I ride it rarely but when I do it's ridden fairly hard in the dirt, on trails. Over the past couple of years I've not seen any sort of damage to the frame on either one of my bikes and both plates have taken a couple of good hits. Like someone else said, almost anything would be better than the stock skidplate both in terms of protection and as a structural piece.



Another consideration for me was the fact that it takes 2-3 weeks to get a TCI skidplate (according to their website); I ordered the plate from Ricochet (just outside of Provo, UT) on Wednesday night, got an E-mail the next day from them and UPS telling me it's on the way to me and will be here by Monday (which is great because I really want it on this bike in-time for Death Valley). I had a similar experience last May when I needed a full set of skids for my '99 400ex quad in a hurry; ordered one day, on their way to me the next, and on that order they included a bunch of swag!



The Ricochet plate was $100 shipped to me. I didn't have time to have it anodized by them so after Death Valley I'll have to spend a couple of bucks to have it powder coated locally but that's no big deal. If the TCI plate had been within $50 of the cost of the Ricochet and been available within a week of ordering it I would have bought from them.



Just my 0.25 cents

Kevin

 

[Wingnut]

Anyone have a good side view of the Ricochet skid plate installed? Just wondering how high the sides of that come up in protecting the sides of the engine etc.



Thanks.

 

[Bodi]

I have Full Ricochet Skids on my FJ, King Quad ATV, Brute Force ATV and Wolverine ATV and the plates on my 2 TW's. I can't comment on the other plates but I highly support Ricochet plates and customer service.

 

[DonBenito]

Not to be a nay-sayer, but are there any endorsements of ricochet or other plates besides the TCI that speak to the plate's real-world performance?



Lizrdbrth has pictures to back up his endorsement of the TCI, but I haven't seen any pictures of rock-scarred ricochet plates that have protected the engine against similar insults. Now that's not saying the pics don't exist, but the proof is in the pudding as they say.



Looking at the specs alone it seems like the TCI is designed to handle a lot more punishment than the thinner ricochet variants, plus the edition of the side guards seems like a real benefit to those of us who ride in rocky terrain.



An extra $150 is a hefty chunk of cash, but Warn rock bumpers for Jeeps cost a lot more than 2" generic tube bumpers for a reason too.



Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in overpaying for some status accessory, but I'm even less interested in paying for a skid plate that isn't going to keep sharp rocks that I'm too clumsy to dodge from penetrating my engine case.



Has anyone else used their skid plate as a parking brake and had their engine live to tell about it?

 

[rickrobards]

OK Im sold that the TCI is worth the money even if it never hits a rock. The peace of mind that the extra rigidity provides for the engine mounts seems worth it. While Im on the site, do you think its worth the 45 bucks to get the headlamp grill too? Anybody use that? Anybody wish they had?

 

[n2o2diver]

I have both installed. I like the way it looks and I run the bike through the woods a fair bit.

I don't think you would ever be disappointed in either.

 

[kj7687]

I've got a Ricochet on my DR200. It's taken some HARD hits (slamming straight down onto a big rock with enough force to dent/bend the frame); it and my Suzuki (because of it...) are still straight and true. Doesn't get much better than that - you can't go wrong with that one.

 

[Raw7s]

bump for the 10% off at checkout with the ATVMag25 promo code on the Ricochet website, still works!