New dl650 v strom !! Best skid plate/crash bar??

I pulled the trigger yesterday on a new 2009 dl650 after going back and forth betwwen it and a klr 650. I immediately took it down a 2 track farm road with rocks, gravel, potholes and washes in it. It does just fine. I even crossed a pretty good ditch with it. I wanted to prove to myself I made the right choice and I think I did.It is not hard for me to handle on fairly rough dirt roads. I see more aggressive tires on it in the future, however. On the street, it was really sweet of course. I am going to need a skid plate and crash bars and was wanting to hear suggestions. Any other suggestions or info on the bike is welcome as well. Thanks dogdoc1

i have a patwalsh which i like (i don't ride nasty offroad w/ my strom. will say i've lifted my bike on a atv lift w/ no issues). i also have frame sliders added on mine which also helps protect a sideway bike. most of the other crashbar designs utilize the upper engine through bolt as a mounting point or cover that area so an additional slider can't be used. patwalsh is open in the area, but his design has less sideways support imo because of this. i also have his hiway pegs because the strom is more of a street bike for me and dr is my offroad bike.

...but i really like what this guy produces
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=577802
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=543353&highlight=strom+skid+plate
i'd match that w/ motech bars. i think they are the strongest (reinforced/gusseted the most) and come up nice and high .
http://www.sporttour.com/VStrom.htm
(650 is the black bike on right)

others are
-patwalsh http://www.patwalshdesigns.com/guard.html
-givi bars, hepco becker bars, adv moto stuff plate
http://www.amotostuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=dl650
-altrider bars/plate http://www.altrider.com/product/category/filter_make/Suzuki/cid/2
-motech plate http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5232/
-touratech stuff http://www.touratech-usa.com/Store/1373/Protection

I can vouch for the quality and functionality of the Givi's bars and Amoto stuff bash plate.

as far as tire check into the new radial shinko 705s or if you have $ to spend the more agressive heindau k60. i'm thinking about a k60 front and 705 rear.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443226
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443958

If I had the choice again I would skip the givi stuff and get the pat walsh bars and skidplate. Only setup I know of that's strong enough to be able to use a bike jack. The givi bars add a lot of vibration to the bike too.

i've read givi does that and also cracks (but that might be older generation design)
some like givi some don't.
most seem to like the newest design from motech. i like how they've reinforced the design.
hepco becker are also well received.

...i think that's because the patwalsh setup bolts together as a complete package vrs the others which are crash bars with a skid plate bolted to the crossbar portion. patwalsh also has a very large flat surface on the bottom of the skid plate vrs the narrowed design of the others.

i think another factor is patwalsh's skidplate design does not use additional rear brackets to connect to the bike. his plate angles up at the rear and bolts directly to the bike. i assume this is stronger here. where i see a weakness in patwalsh design is he only has 1 attachment at the top so a sideway drop might tweak his bars more sideways. this is the reason i added sliders. they provide additional support if the bike goes on it's side. will say i've read reports of em being dropped with no issues though.

if you had a center stand, lifting the bike might not be a needed issue.
i use a motech center stand which i like.
like i said i've also completely lifted the bike.

so dogdoc,
this getting you any closer? everyone always has a different opinion.

...and Mr Bill Eakins... if I may add, different tastes and experiences.

Yes i am closer. I like the skid plate on strom-trooper in that I could use my motorcycle jack with it in place. I appreciate everyones input and references. i have not had time to research everything provided but I am on it. dogdoc

agreed.

let's not forget dan vesel's
http://community-2.webtv.net/CHERDAN/MyVStromAccessories/page2.html
or the greek one
http://www.motoagora.com/podia650.html
or hyde's thermoplastic one
http://www.hyderacing.com/store/adventure/suzuki/650.htm
b&b (oz) which could be the strongest out there
http://www.bboffroad.com.au/dl650_v_strom.htm

Not only did the bike do several trips around death valley with multiple drops.


But is also held up to a side swipe by a cager on the freeway at 45mph. Totaled the bike but the bars and plate held up. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a crash-bar, skid plate setup.



After the crash...

that's easily weldable.
cheaper than trashing plastic.

if that's the one you're talking about I have it on my vee. It's attached to givi crash bars (never had vibe problems from them) and it's great. It is a little heavy (steel so less chance of fatuige cracking) but it's low so it doesn't upset things. Frankly I wouldn't buy a different one. I've bottomed my bike out on big rocks many times (and a culvert tube once) and it didn't dent or bend at all. It just bounced off whatever I hit and kept going. It's something I have complete confidence in. It's worth more than Yann charges for them. Lots of other plates are aluminum that costs more, so as far as I could tell it's a more durable product at a cheaper price. I couldn't be more satisfied with it.

I'm not saying the givi crash bars are the best, but at this point (3 tip overs) I've got no reason to be dissatisfied with them.

I like my Pat Walsh set up. They survived t-boning a SUV and sliding down the road, protected the engine and oil cooler/filter, etc. They bent a little but were easy to bend back into shape. You can also put a floor jack underneath to lift it up and jack stands on the bottom where each the side bars connect. Makes it easy for front wheel removal.

It looks like the Pat Walsh system is pretty durable.

Would you guys recommended getting the optional radiator covers? And how much does all this stuff weigh anyway?

The Givis aren't too bad, they've more than protected my bike on quite a few occasions. One was a pretty brutal lay down offroad. The sandy trail nearly sand blasted the things. But if I hold onto mine I can feel them vibrating like nuts.


Also the SW-motech skid plate was a complete waste of money. I've had to hammer that thing back into shape I don't know how many times.

I agree that they vibrate if I grab on to them going down the road. But I think most of the vibe complaints relate to the vibes being felt through the handlebars. As far as that goes I've never felt any difference in the amount of vibration since I've had them on the bike. I was suprised that in my few tip overs they didn't bend. But I guess that's a good thing.

I have the Hepco-Becker bars with the Adventure Motostuff skid plate. I had a nasty, impromptu off-road excursion a couple years ago and would have trashed the radiator if not for the bars. A little bending and some flat black spray paint and they looked good as new. They won't stop damage to the Tupperware, but I feel that do mitigate the damage to some extent. I haven't stress-tested the skid plate (thankfully), but it looks the business. It easily supports the weight of the bike when using an ATV jack.

I can vouch for the SW Motech bars. ZERO vibration, and I have...um..."tested" them multiple times, once on a hard drop on pavement that sent my bike over so hard it scraped the top of my box and windshield. They didn't even bend in. My concern with the Walsh setup would be longevity—if you lay it down over and over, it appears to start cracking.

For skid plates, there are a lot of good ones out there, just don't get anything that has a cut-out for the exhaust pipe! It seems like a nice idea, until a big sharp rock nails your pipe and you find yourself replacing your exhaust instead of your plate...

I would also recommend Barkbuster-type metal handguards. They can really save you from a lot of grief (not to mention your hands) if you go down in rocks or pavement. The stock ones just explode on contact.

Good luck, they're pretty amazing bikes!