Swinger Skid Options

[Stickman400]

Ok, for all you cross country, hare scramble and GNCC guys, what do you do for swinger protection. I have been running the GT Thunder steel skid but keep bending the rotor guard side and it gets insanely close to bending into my rotor, like 1mm from hitting, literally. It's actually got bent into it once and ruined a rotor, I think I posted pics on here awhile back when that happened. I usually just bend it back down with a BFH but after a couple times of doing that it becomes all warped and isn't close to being straight or level under there and seems like it just keeps bending back up even easier because of how often I'm having to bend it back down. I'm not a hardcore guy off road but it seems like I keep bending this thing every time I ride, I'm on my 3rd skid plate right now. I've been trying to look around for something different but I'm kind of out of options with my unique setup. I've got the stock 400 swinger with GT Thunder XC link, RAD tapered bearing carrier, but with the 450 brake caliper mounting plate because I have the 450R caliper setup. Can't get a poly rotor guard because no one makes them for a 400, only 450s, and mounts are different so they won't swap. Only other thing is the $150 Blingstar guard that replaces the caliper mounting plate, but they stick down a lot further than the GT Thunder chain skid that I would be running on the other side, and they don't actually cover the rotor. Can't run sprocket guards to match the rotor side because of the XC link and the additional travel, it would demolish my frame rail and airbox. I'd like to get a Houser 450 swinger and then get the poly guard but don't have enough $ saved right now. Might just take my new GT skid to a fab shop and see if the can reinforce the rotor side a little more than it is now. Idk, this seems like a stupid problem but us 400 guys don't have much options since the aftermarket isn't there for us anymore.

[#484]

The GT Thunder skid is the best option, I have tried a bunch of different ones and all of the others don't leave any ground clearance. About the only other option is to make one, that's what I just got done doing. I made it very similar to the GT skid, I just beefed it up around the sprocket and rotor.

[400man]

one option could be to find a good used 450r stock swingarm, they are alot cheaper than 400ex swingarms for some reason. then you would have alot more options for skidplates. and the GTT skid is what i run. it is alot better when you had some extra bracing and steel to beef it up.

[Stickman400]

Well I got another GT Thunder for now, hopefully it'll hold up until I can get a Houser. I would get a stock 450 swinger, but I plan on getting a 450 Houser swinger sometime so it would be somewhat of a waste of money.

[Fix29]

I started out with an AC skid, which I was constantly trying to bend back so it wasn't bending into the rotor. I have since switched to a 450r swinger and was running the GT skid. Only problem was it had to be spaced way down to clear the bigger 400ex rotor and ended up tearing it off along with some threads in some pretty rocky terrain. After fixing the threads, I changed the EX rear brake setup to the 450 setup. I also modified the 400ex GT skid so it is basically just a rotor guard and has a "fin" on the chain side to offer some protection by sitting slightly lower than the chain/sprocket. The skid/guard is now mounted directly to the swinger and not using any spacers. In addition to that I installed a Teixeira Tech sprocket guard. I have not gone riding with the new setup yet but it is very noticeable that I have gained a decent amount of ground clearance. I will let you know how the current setup holds up when I get some time on it.

[ride red 14]

I use a 450r outer sprocket guard and made a rotor guard out of 3/16 plate steel. works real good so far.

[400man]

I started out with an AC skid, which I was constantly trying to bend back so it wasn't bending into the rotor. I have since switched to a 450r swinger and was running the GT skid. Only problem was it had to be spaced way down to clear the bigger 400ex rotor and ended up tearing it off along with some threads in some pretty rocky terrain. After fixing the threads, I changed the EX rear brake setup to the 450 setup. I also modified the 400ex GT skid so it is basically just a rotor guard and has a "fin" on the chain side to offer some protection by sitting slightly lower than the chain/sprocket. The skid/guard is now mounted directly to the swinger and not using any spacers. In addition to that I installed a Teixeira Tech sprocket guard. I have not gone riding with the new setup yet but it is very noticeable that I have gained a decent amount of ground clearance. I will let you know how the current setup holds up when I get some time on it.

pretty much the same thing I did a few years ago. I modified a 400ex gt thunder skid plate to work with a 450r rear brake setup and single sprocket guard. heres some old pics back when I made it.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/ky2stroker/gncc400ex011.jpg (http://s417.photobucket.com/user/ky2stroker/media/gncc400ex011.jpg.html)

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/ky2stroker/gncc400ex013.jpg (http://s417.photobucket.com/user/ky2stroker/media/gncc400ex013.jpg.html)

[MtnEX]

Well I STILL just run the thickest PRM rear skid.

I do the same thing on my other quads too and I have never had an issue. The butt hair of extra clearance you get from the sprocket and rotor guard headaches ain't even half worth the trouble involved. I have had companies straight up give me their sprocket and rotor guards to crash test and I still end up running a PRM skid.

If you get hung up all the time with a PRM skid, either you or your tire selection is the problem, not the skid vs sprocket/rotor guard.

[CJM]

Must suck to have rocks where you ride. I ran the GT Thunder skid and never had an issue. I also dinged the hell out of a proarmor 1/4 thick skid in the hills of pa on rocks but it barely bent.

[DragonGunner]

I like those pictures of the cut down skid plate. I had the full AC and a DG but when riding got hung up on some steep uphills….so off they went and never put anything back on all these years. Not a lot of rocks on my race area though, however I will bend a rotor now and then at the Badlands in Indiana…I just take t off and run it in my roll former at work and straighten, flatten it right out and good to go again.

[400man]

I like those pictures of the cut down skid plate. I had the full AC and a DG but when riding got hung up on some steep uphills….so off they went and never put anything back on all these years. Not a lot of rocks on my race area though, however I will bend a rotor now and then at the Badlands in Indiana…I just take t off and run it in my roll former at work and straighten, flatten it right out and good to go again.

lol that's pretty much what my brother has done with his banshee. he hasn't run a skidplate in a long time and somehow has never messed up anything, although his rotor is a little bit wobbly.

as of right now, im running just a plain gt thunder 400ex skid with some piece of plastic pop riveted for a chain slide so its not as noisy on the chain side, and I cut and re-welded the rotor guard part to fit closer with the 450r brake rotor.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/ky2stroker/Photo10231057_1_zps5935e2c7.jpg (http://s417.photobucket.com/user/ky2stroker/media/Photo10231057_1_zps5935e2c7.jpg.html)

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/ky2stroker/Photo10231057_zps5f19ac00.jpg (http://s417.photobucket.com/user/ky2stroker/media/Photo10231057_zps5f19ac00.jpg.html)

[Fix29]

Well I STILL just run the thickest PRM rear skid.

I do the same thing on my other quads too and I have never had an issue. The butt hair of extra clearance you get from the sprocket and rotor guard headaches ain't even half worth the trouble involved. I have had companies straight up give me their sprocket and rotor guards to crash test and I still end up running a PRM skid.

If you get hung up all the time with a PRM skid, either you or your tire selection is the problem, not the skid vs sprocket/rotor guard.

With all due respect, we obviously ride at much different places. A lot of the trails I ride around here are rutted up pretty good by all the side by sides and utility bikes. I run 20" Razr Xc's out back and I can assure you, the rider isn't the problem. In all fairness, I haven't run a PRM skid yet and I have yet to try out the setup I am running now with the sprocket guard. I can say I haven't had a ton of success with the skids I have used (AC, GTT). Other than tearing the GTT skid off, it held up and took a hell of a beating, which is why I reused it with some modification.

[MtnEX]

Google image search and youtube search Brown Mountain OHV.

This is our goof-off easy riding location. Compared to our trails and race tracks its a wide open interstate and we ride it as such. Too hard/fast. I have lived here all my life and I am the only person I know of to ever get ticketed in the OHV. You are supposed to be able to ride as hard and fast as you want so long as you stay on designated trails. I have even been told that by the rangers. But I apparently exceeded "as fast as you wanna go" because I got a big fat ticket... got the book thrown at me. There were only 4 riders on the whole dang OHV that day, but I got careless/wreckless/exceeding safe speed, etc, etc... I was just testing shocks. I told him he would stroke out if he saw a race... lol.

I like Razr XC's but they do run a little short.

I have been running PRM skids every since I can remember... and I typically run them until they are scraped thin enough to finally bend and cut a grove in the poly.

[CJM]

I find that if its very rutted out and filled with rocks you need the 22" tires.

Also, it would be smart that you dont run hex head type bolts if they are event he least bit exposed. Instead run button head with allen insets in them. Thats all I run, a bad form mc-master carr cost me like 10 bucks..25 bolts.

[400man]

yea, it all depends on what kind of terrain your riding or racing in. i will say though, a low hanging skid plate will screw you bad in a xc race, the more muddy and rutted up, the worse. but if ur not racing, the more protection the better i guess.

[MtnEX]

I find that if its very rutted out and filled with rocks you need the 22" tires.

Also, it would be smart that you dont run hex head type bolts if they are event he least bit exposed. Instead run button head with allen insets in them. Thats all I run, a bad form mc-master carr cost me like 10 bucks..25 bolts.

I run 21" rears sometimes. Good compromise in my opinion. Actually can't even notice a difference from 20" rears if you space the width out just a little. Like 3/4" per side or so and I cannot tell a bit of handling difference.

Also another option on exposed bolts is bolt head protectors. You have probably seen some and never realized. A lot of truck/jeep beadlock wheels have them on the beadlock ring bolts. It's basically a round piece big enough to clear a socket that protects the bolt head. Its sorta like a hollow point bullet washer if you will...


yea, it all depends on what kind of terrain your riding or racing in. i will say though, a low hanging skid plate will screw you bad in a xc race, the more muddy and rutted up, the worse. but if ur not racing, the more protection the better i guess.

I have been there also. I have gone stupid a couple of times and did things like by a full set of Pro Armor crap for a quad. Their swinger skids for some models are like a stupid plow that hangs a couple inches off the ground. Couple that with a rear tire that runs short like say 19"... and it's a long friggin day at the races. End up high centered just rolling along the track where the tire tracks get rutted out even.

PRM offers pretty good clearance.

[MtnEX]

I find that if its very rutted out and filled with rocks you need the 22" tires.

Also, it would be smart that you dont run hex head type bolts if they are event he least bit exposed. Instead run button head with allen insets in them. Thats all I run, a bad form mc-master carr cost me like 10 bucks..25 bolts.

I run 21" rears sometimes. Good compromise in my opinion. Actually can't even notice a difference from 20" rears if you space the width out just a little. Like 3/4" per side or so and I cannot tell a bit of handling difference.

Also another option on exposed bolts is bolt head protectors. You have probably seen some and never realized. A lot of truck/jeep beadlock wheels have them on the beadlock ring bolts. It's basically a round piece big enough to clear a socket that protects the bolt head. Its sorta like a hollow point bullet washer if you will...


yea, it all depends on what kind of terrain your riding or racing in. i will say though, a low hanging skid plate will screw you bad in a xc race, the more muddy and rutted up, the worse. but if ur not racing, the more protection the better i guess.

I have been there also. I have gone stupid a couple of times and did things like by a full set of Pro Armor crap for a quad. Their swinger skids for some models are like a stupid plow that hangs a couple inches off the ground. Couple that with a rear tire that runs short like say 19"... and it's a long friggin day at the races. End up high centered just rolling along the track where the tire tracks get rutted out even.

PRM offers pretty good clearance.

[Fix29]

I have actually considered going to a taller tire. I will see where I'm at once I try out the new setup and go from there.

[Stickman400]

I actually ended up bending it the worst and finishing it off at Hatfield McCoys Rock House trails. If you've ever ridden there then you will know how it got bent that bad. That place is SOLID rock as soon as you get on the trails. Only place that doesn't have rocks everywhere is the basic green trails that are flat smooth and are just "connectors" in my mind. Most of the trails are 100% rocks that are anywhere from the size of you hand to the size of your quad. It beats the ever loving s#it out of everything on yourself and your quad. I'll get some pictures of my new setup once I get it on later today.

[Stickman400]

Got my skid on, looks pretty beefy too. I had it Line X'd just to give it a little more protection and it helped it quite a bit. I used button head allens to hold my chain slider on just like before but with the Line X they counter sunk into it and helped there too. I drilled the holes out to use the large washers that the stock skid used on the top side to help spread the pressure out from the hits but they made the holes about 1/32" off so I didn't end up using them. I did drill and tap the bolt holes out to 10mm in the swingarm and the skid because I stripped the stock 8mm threads out. Also used button head allen bolts there too, but I used a washer to help fill the holes I drilled for the washers so they didn't countersink as much, but they're still better than normal bolts. I've also had my GT Thunder frame skid Line X'd for the last year or so and it's holding up great. I did clip the edge of some asphalt with it a month or so ago and it tore a chunk off, but they re-did it under warranty and it's much thicker and they used a new bonding agent that helps it hold to poly better so it should last. I couldn't even bend it by hand when they re-sprayed it. I should also mention that I'm running DWT XC Run Flat 22x11x9 tires, but they only measure 20 1/2" which was kind of a disappointment, but they are definitely a run flat, it was a giant pain getting them on. They didn't even collapse when I stood on them when they weren't mounted. So I shouldn't have to worry about a flat atleast. Anyway here's some pics of my setup so far, I'm liking the input everyone is giving, quite a few different setups that seem to be working.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172537_zpswffiiat9.jpg (http://s683.photobucket.com/user/Stickman400/media/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172537_zpswffiiat9.jpg.html)
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172625_zpstrlkyyt7.jpg (http://s683.photobucket.com/user/Stickman400/media/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172625_zpstrlkyyt7.jpg.html)
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172601_zpsx3nqzvaa.jpg (http://s683.photobucket.com/user/Stickman400/media/Quad%20Pics/20141109_172601_zpsx3nqzvaa.jpg.html)
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20141109_174316_zpsoloxok25.jpg (http://s683.photobucket.com/user/Stickman400/media/Quad%20Pics/20141109_174316_zpsoloxok25.jpg.html)
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/Stickman400/Quad%20Pics/20141109_174333_zps01kmgzh8.jpg (http://s683.photobucket.com/user/Stickman400/media/Quad%20Pics/20141109_174333_zps01kmgzh8.jpg.html)

[400man]

dang thats a slick looking skid plate setup, i dont think you will have any problems. question about those dwt tires, how you like em?? they look pretty much like razr2's and gbc xc master tires. are they pretty heavy with the extra plys compared to other tires you have ran?

[MtnEX]

His whole bike is slick... does his own thing. I like it.

[Fix29]

That looks pretty much just like what I did 400man. Here it is with the 450r rear brake installed as well.

1718109528

1718109529

[Fix29]

I will be testing it out for the first time tomorrow so we'll see how it does. Won't be doing any rocky trails, so that will be the real test but still interested to see how I like/dislike it.

[MtnEX]

Be interesting to me to see how the chain guide survives.

I have always thought they would be good to have, but also feared they would get hit and messed up.

[Stickman400]

They are a Razr 2 knock off with the tread design, exact same. They are heavier than a 6 ply Razr 2, not sure how much since I didn't hold each at the same time but I would say a good 5 pounds each or so. But that's to be expected since they are double the ply in a run flat. I love them though, my Razr 2s were still in really good shape so I didn't actually need these, but I decided to get a run flat tire before I went to Rock House out at Hatfield and splurged on these. Glad I did because they are the last tire I will ever buy. Won't need to worry about a flat and they will have insanely good wear. Thinking about selling the Razr 2s now, lol. I would highly recommend them to anyone that rides in really rocky rutted terrain all the time. I would suggest that you have some motor work though since they are heavier. I've got the basic Uni filter/EHS llid, 450 carb., 407 11:1, Stage 2 HC and full HMF. I had 15/36 gearing and it pulled them fine, but was constantly shifting between 1st and 2nd in the slow spots because of it. I changed it to 14/36 and it's perfect, really low crawling in 1st and 2nd is perfect for those long hills with little run.

[MtnEX]

Do you have any air in them?

Next time you have one off, see how the tire/wheel bounces?

I was thinking they may reduce bounce? Dead thud like tire balls do.

[Fix29]

Be interesting to me to see how the chain guide survives.

I have always thought they would be good to have, but also feared they would get hit and messed up.

It's the stock 450r chain guide. Has held up great, but I did have to trim it up when I decided to run the rotor guard.

[Stickman400]

I've got 5psi in them just to harden the centers up for the really hard hits that may compress them, otherwise I wouldn't even run air in them since they are so stiff. I had to put 15+psi in them to get the center to "bubble up". I would imagine that they don't bounce very much, but I will do that next time I'm tinkering with it.