bumpers with skid plate or not ?

[bigsled]

hello, i was wondering on everyones opinon on bumpers. i'm not buying under carriage skids..( mabey for swingarm ) anyway i see alot of you racers and stuff buying ac bumpers and dg. i am a trail rider. i do not ride mx. so i was thinking about prm bumpers with the skid plate like my stock one. seems like the racers dont need a skid but wouldnt it be best if i had alittle bit of skid for trails? i was also thinking of the popular pro armor one. it looks like it has alittle protection on the bottom front center.

skids are way m,ore important than bumpers on the trails. but any bumper you choose will protect the front end well. as far as skids go, get at least a .250 for the swingarm skid and any thikness for the belly...and get a full chassis skid too...

[bigsled]

basically i'm only gonna go with a new front bumper. partly for looks , partly for protection. i was just wondering if the bumpers with the mini skids on them would be smarter than the ones without, like the ac racing ones and so forth??


i know full armor underneath is the best way to go but i wont be doing that. i may however get a swing arm plate as the stock one seems cheap but than when you go with aftermarket swingarm plate you lose some clearance depending on the design and hit things you may not have with stock.

[bigsled]

" like the ac racing ones " that means they dont have skids on them..

you will not notice that you hit anything with adn aftermarket that you didn't hit with your frame anyway...the belly pan is also known as a glide plate...it will actually help with logs and such as it slides over them easier than the frame does...

the ac stuff has fitment issues...the pro-armor bullhorn bumper i have now adn the ims classic bumper i had before both fit nicely. it would be better to get a bumper that has protection down to the bottom skid plate like my bullhorn does...

[bigsled]

so the belly pan/ slide plate is actually the bottom part of the bumper?:confused: i see what your saying about hitting something w/ the bumper. its then going to rub along bottom of frame. but the impact is going to be the worst at the bumper right ?

[250exkid]

i do the same riding you do but probly worse. i ride mine HARD and all i have are some A arm guards and a .190 skid plate. if i were you i would find the cheapest skidplate and get a AC front bumper. thats a nice combo and thats what ill be running. (friends think im nutz when i take out trees and shrubs!) lol but once you have the skid plate anybumper will do its just the right one you will like.;)

[Stein2088]

Protection is BIG in trail... never know when your going to slide of a rockand set ur motor or swingarm/caliper/sproket and break somethig as well as a stick going up and hitting something... i've just noticed a dent in my remote oil tank on my 01 EX... I'd recomend going with a plastic Full chassi... they are strong and light unless your planin on doing some rocky riding... if u hit anything hard enough to break the maier plastic full chassi skid your gonna have more problems to worry about than just ur quad... that'll run u about 50 bucks but its half the cost of a metal one also get a good swingarm..... as for a front bumper make sure not to get one that sticks out to high or low... itll hurt your approach angles thus if u come to a sharp angle change your front end could dig in sending you for a ride...

[ShiftFMX]

I'll tell you what man, I use an AC bumper/Skid combo, and I cant tell you how many times that little peice of aluminum probably saved my bumper from giant rocks in the trail...

My 450r...

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC01532.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC01539.jpg

My old 330r... (now belongs to trailwart)

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC01377.jpg

[TheFontMaster]

Personaly I would look for a used bumper, and full aluminum chassis skid plate. You can find good deals on used stuff that is still in good condition, and not beat up. If it was me I would want the chassis skid plate before I got the bumper. The bumper might stop some branches from hitting your frame, or a arms up front, but in most cases they won't do anything but give you some scratches. The belly skid will protect your engine, oil pan, anything else that might be there. It will also protect your frame from getting dents in the bottom.

[Kaleigh]

go with a skid plate for your chassis and swingarm.. how many times are you running things over with your bumper.. most of the times you're coming down on rocks or sliding over top of them.. protect your frame and engine..

[250exkid]

for the guy who bought a plastic skid plate. i think ur nutz spending 50$ on somthing like that, i bought a full metal one off ebay for 40$ and works fine. but i guess it matters were you buy it to :ermm:

[gotwarrior]

I would get a full under belly skid. And get a prm summit bumper. Good for pushing people and taking out trees.:D