GunNut37086
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I installed this skid plate this weekend on my 2014 NC700X. The old brackets came off and the new brackets went on without any issues. When it came time to install the plate itself, the front screws went in fine, but the rear ones were WAY off. I couldn't even see the the hole in the bracket from underneath and shining a light in the skid plate hole produced zero light through the bracket hole. Removing the front screws and mounting the rear ones first, didn't work out much better, but at least I could see how far off the hole alignment was. The holes were off center by about a half inch. I was not a happy camper.
I used some squeeze clamps to get the left front screw lined up, but it took a worrisome amount of pressure with those clamps to get that first screw in place. When the first screw was in place, the second screw on the right front was still off by about 1/8". I had to grind the hole out to an oval shape to get the last screw in place. By that point I'm really really not a happy camper. At this point I was very disappointed, but didn't want to remove all those brackets to return the skid plate. It still feels solid, so I don't think the oval shaped hole will affect the strength of the plate. However, I'm not looking forward what happens at maintenance time when the Honda service tech starts charging me a bazillion dollars an hour to reinstall the skid plate when he's done.
I saw an old thread from a few years ago about warped SW-Motech crash bars, but that seemed to me to be due to the welding. It seems more likely to me that the brackets are not shaped properly instead of the skid plate holes being drilled in the wrong places. The brackets are just bent to shape and drilled, no welds are involved that I recall. I did a lot of research deciding which of the several skid plates would provide the most coverage, which was made of the strongest material, and which looked like it would be easiest to install. Looks like I picked the wrong one, LOL.
Anyone else with a manual transmission have this much trouble with the SW-Motech skid plate?
I used some squeeze clamps to get the left front screw lined up, but it took a worrisome amount of pressure with those clamps to get that first screw in place. When the first screw was in place, the second screw on the right front was still off by about 1/8". I had to grind the hole out to an oval shape to get the last screw in place. By that point I'm really really not a happy camper. At this point I was very disappointed, but didn't want to remove all those brackets to return the skid plate. It still feels solid, so I don't think the oval shaped hole will affect the strength of the plate. However, I'm not looking forward what happens at maintenance time when the Honda service tech starts charging me a bazillion dollars an hour to reinstall the skid plate when he's done.
I saw an old thread from a few years ago about warped SW-Motech crash bars, but that seemed to me to be due to the welding. It seems more likely to me that the brackets are not shaped properly instead of the skid plate holes being drilled in the wrong places. The brackets are just bent to shape and drilled, no welds are involved that I recall. I did a lot of research deciding which of the several skid plates would provide the most coverage, which was made of the strongest material, and which looked like it would be easiest to install. Looks like I picked the wrong one, LOL.
Anyone else with a manual transmission have this much trouble with the SW-Motech skid plate?