Swingarm guard qestions . . .

[SPDSNYPR]

I tried a serach, and apparently my search-fu sucks.

I pretty well only ride trails, and after only a year of riding and one race (an XC race), my factory plastic swingarm cover is eaten up right by the sprocket. Of course, a few more hits means likely a new chain and sprocket = angry wife.

I went into the Honda shop, and there were maybe 4 people working. Half said get an aftermarket aluminum guard, and half said just buy the cheap plastic guard and relpace it more often.

They plastic-pushers said that aluminum is likely to bend, which would freeze up the sprocket anyway. They said the plastic ones are dirt cheap, and are kind of meant to be a throw-away part anyway. They also said the aluminum ones stick out too far, and take up precious ground clearance, making you more likely to get stuck. They also said they don't slide as well.

The ones purporting the aluminum guard said that you pretty much have to drive the quad off a cliff to bend them enought to be a problem, and they will last many years with normal use.

They all stood around and argued for several minutes, and I feel now like I have not gotten any further on the subject. It seemed to come down to a Coke/Pepsi or Ford/Chevy discussion.

So, for aggressive XC type riding, what should a brother get? The $20 plastic factory skid plate, or $100 for the aluminum skid?

As always, thanks in advance for the advice to a FNG.

[elmer91]

personally i would rather have the aluminum one. what year is your 400? my stock one was made out of metal.

[SPDSNYPR]

'07. Bought it new, so it's pretty close to box stock.

To be honnest, if you get decent alloy one its not going to bend. I use an RPM skid and have never had any problems.

The last thing you want is a plastic one breaking and popping the chain off the sprocket and smashing the case.

[mat1977]

I'm not a big fan of pro armor, but I have their swing arm skid on my ex and it has taken some serious abuse,and it's still on there.

[elmer91]

Originally posted by mat1977
I'm not a big fan of pro armor, but I have their swing arm skid on my ex and it has taken some serious abuse,and it's still on there.

I also have the pro armor skid, and that thing was heavy! i was surprised when i picked it up.

[racerdan24]

I am surprised the dealer said to replace the plastic more often...but i know that they want you to keep coming back to the dealer and hopefully you will buy more than just the arm skid....So they are smart to tell you that...very good tactic to get repeat business because you will normally go back to your dealer for minor stuff like that and then buy oil,filters,plugs etc....so when you go in for a $20.00 part you walk out spending a $100 clams!!!

Here is my .02....Swing arm quard is the very first thing i bought the day i got my new 08 in August.....I ordered the belly plate,new bumper( wider) and swing arm skid as well as A Arm guards. Todays aluminum skids are usually not going to bend unless you take your quad, go up to 4th or 5th and fly it off a cliff and hit a rock on the bottom of the cliff square on the skid plate....then MAYBE it might bend.....I actually measured my stock clearnace in my gargage and then after with the a/c skid....guess what...lost absolutely nothing.

[SPDSNYPR]

Well, I ordered Ricochet Bullet Swingarm Guard from RMATV. It seemed to be a little more highly thought of than the Pro-Armor and was a few dollars less. I'll let everyone know how it works.

[racerdan24]

Hey snyp...smart move...itll save you in the long run i think...plus you can beat RMATV and Motosport for prices.....unless your local dealer will order it and match prices...mine will sometimes but sometimes he cant even touch those companys prices. Case in point....my Rental bars,clamp,chain,sprockets and grips.....he did install it for me for 100 bucks......couldnt beat that...saved me a day of work!

[SPDSNYPR]

Got my Rocochet swing-arm guard guard tonight. I installed it and a new bumper (my bumper got bent on MY CHEST the day after I bought it - don't fall down hills - it's not good for you or your bumper).

The Ricochet guard is a big, honkin' hunk of aluminum. Very thick, and seems sturdy. it is pretty heavy - it's heft surprised me). My chief worry is that the hunk o' aluminum over the sprocket (where I had already knocked a hole in the factory plastic guard) seems to flex a bit just with hand pressure. We'll see how it holds up under my riding - which unfortunately involves a few rocks.

Install was simple as it gets. Unbolt factory skid, bolt on new one with supplied hex bolts and lock washers. I put a little locktite (blue) on the screws just in case. All the holes lined up nicely. There is a chain guide sort of dealy-whopper on the skid plate. I hope it lasts awhile, as I don't want to have to replace it very often.

A few pics of the part are attached - showing my limited photography skills (I'm mildly intoxicated b/c of my displeasure from the election - I'm a competitive shooter and this is bad news for me - so I didn't take a lot of time getting the perfect shot). Also - my garage isn't normally this messy, and I cleaned it up after I was done.



http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0012.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0015.jpg

next to the old factory part
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0016.jpg

before:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0011.jpg

after:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0017.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0018.jpg

and the new bumper - just for ****s and giggles. Like this it looks like the quad is smiling, so it must like the new parts. :D
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/jlatzke/quads/IMG_0008.jpg

I should be going out to ride a few laps on an 8-mile XC course tomorrow. A few big rocks that you can't really get around, so I'll check and see how it holds up.

[leasureryan]

how much room does it allow for the suspension link? I had to cut my skid plate all up to make it work with my GT Thunder rear link, which leaves it exposed....looks like that skid might not have to be cut...is there about 1"+ between skid and link(stock)???

[SPDSNYPR]

Originally posted by leasureryan
how much room does it allow for the suspension link? I had to cut my skid plate all up to make it work with my GT Thunder rear link, which leaves it exposed....looks like that skid might not have to be cut...is there about 1"+ between skid and link(stock)???

Yes - there appears to be plenty of room. It has about the same amount of room as with the stock skid. of course, this one won't flex like the plastic one, so it could be an issue once I get out and about. I'll pull it off tomorrow after my ride and see if it looks like it's rubbing. BTW - I'm all stock suspension, so that might make a difference (still too new to this to know the ins and outs of changing much).

[bigredisb]

I think I will go with a the Ricochet in the future. I have a DG Baja guard and its extremely low to the ground. For those of you that say its hard to bend I must be really hard on my machine and never realized it since I bend this plate everytime I take athe quad out. I have never had it hit the sprocket but its been really close several times which required beating it to death with a **** to get it straight. Not to mention you need a die grinder to eleongate the holes on it to get it to fit right. Back in the day DG was the way to go but it sure has changed. I wouldnt recommend mine to anyone. One more thing was that I noticed the other night that I have almost wore through the bottom of the plate from rocks scraping across it.

[chayes627]

i have had the same problem on my 400. its just about wore through. and keep an eye on the back two bolts cause they have been chewed up so bad from rocks that they are proli going to have to be drilled and taped to get the out. so if they start getting like that replace them pronto

[katch26]

that looks like a killer peice of aluminum right there
Thumbs up

[Chet]

While on the topic of swingarm protection, here is one on ebay, anyone ever try this one from XFR

Chet

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-400EX-Skid-plate-Swingarm-ATV-Fits-all-years_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el111 6QQitemZ390001913908QQptZMotorsQ5fATVQ5fPartsQ5fAc cessories

[Honda10]

Ok i have some questions does anyone have pictuers of armadillo skid plates on their 400ex(swing arm and chassie or either of the two)? And also are they a good product. Becasue I am probably going to get the armadillo swing arm skid, but for the armadillo belly skid, I read the reveiws on RM atv and people said that their's rattled frequently. Is this true?

[SPDSNYPR]

Seems like unless there was a bolt loose or a broken weld, there wouldn't be anything to rattle. They're just a big hunk of metal.

[Tubsy]

or the vibes from the frame or motor could rattle the skid plate around a bit happened to me an dmy raptor but it was a pro armor

[Mellow Yellow]

Originally posted by Honda10
Ok i have some questions does anyone have pictuers of armadillo skid plates on their 400ex(swing arm and chassie or either of the two)? And also are they a good product. Becasue I am probably going to get the armadillo swing arm skid, but for the armadillo belly skid, I read the reveiws on RM atv and people said that their's rattled frequently. Is this true?

I've had an Armadillo swing arm skid on my 05 since it was new. No problems with it at all. Sorry, no pics. I have a DG belly skid and that rattles.:grr:

[Honda10]

Originally posted by Mellow Yellow
I've had an Armadillo swing arm skid on my 05 since it was new. No problems with it at all. Sorry, no pics. I have a DG belly skid and that rattles.:grr:

did you find that the armadillo swing arm skid plate robbed ground clerence?

[Mellow Yellow]

Yeah, a little. They all do. But I'd rather have that big hunk of alluminum protecting my sprocket and rotor than the piece of plastic that it came with. The bottom of the armadillo is flat so it slides over most everything.

[SPDSNYPR]

Well, I have taken my sled on a few rides. The trails I ride primarily have some really rocky areas. I bounced off a few (hence the need for the skid plate in the first place) as usual. Ran the trails at a decent clip. After maybe 3-4 rides on the home trails with several laps each time, I am pleased to say that the swingarm guard is holding up like a champ. There are a very few surface scratches, but that is to be expected. No real dings or dents. I never got hung up on anything on the trail . . . . . . even though it hac been raining, there was lot of traffic out at the track (because of the nice weather lately), and plenty of deep ruts. It slid over any rutted areas just fine. I am very happy overall with the Ricochet Bullet swingarm guard. I'm glad I got the bullet version over the standard version Ricochet offers. It is larger and covers plenty of real estate. I feel confident this guard will hold up well to my use of trail riding and hopefully my first full season of the local XC racing. I would take pic of the guard, but there's nothing to take pics of, and I'm too lazy to go charge up the dead battery on my camera.