are bump skids worth the $300.00? Do they help? I have a 2017 RTL & was wondering about bump skids. I have asked 2 different people & o course 2 different answers , Thanks !
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are bump skids worth the $300.00? Do they help? I have a 2017 RTL & was wondering about bump skids. I have asked 2 different people & o course 2 different answers , Thanks !
The one from WWW.Spyderpops.com is absolutely great and protects the front end and underneath of your Spyder, dont know about the others.Quote:
Originally Posted by shoppersal
Cruzr Joe
I have had lighted bumpskids on three of my Spyders. 2014 RT-S, 2019 F3L and 2020 F3L.
They light up the bike very good from the front, and protect the bike from most damage underneath. I have no problems with the led's. They still are working just as when new. Worth the asking price, IMO.
Spyderpops' bump skid was one of the three farkles I put on my Spyder as soon as I rode it home from the dealership. Nuff said.
Short answer, no. Long answer, maybe. If you hit anything hard enough the bump skid is not likely to perform as you'd hoped. With that said I have the lighted one like ARtraveler. I haven't hit or scraped anything with mine, yet.
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If you saw the gouges on the bottom of my bumpskid you would know the answer. As a bumper------ not much.
Lew L
The unlighted ones are cheaper and are worth it, I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by shoppersal
:thumbup::agree:Quote:
Originally Posted by ARtraveler
extra lighting to help you see & be seen:firstplace: no it’s not a bumper yes does help you see the bump- pot hole -road kill (whatever) in your path. Good investment not just FARKLE:2thumbs:
I like my BS on my '17 RTL, it looks good and lights up the road directly in front of me. I think it helps people see me coming. My LEDS have burned out for the 2nd time, just individual LEDS not the whole thing. I need to find a source for a new set bc they're expensive if you go back to where you got the BS.
spyder01, You might take a look at this from Oznium. I just got one 20" strip to light up the amber reflectors on our RT-L. It's still a work in progress, but looks like a quality product.
I think it worth it, these machines sit so low to the road pulling onto gravel driveways and roads you're always hitting and dragging! I call it cheap insurance!
Not if you don't care how beat up the underside of your RT gets from hitting rocks, parking lot concrete bumpers, pavement scrapes from dips, and so on. Otherwise, absolutely yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by shoppersal
I will not put one on mine, dont want any less ground clearance.
If you ride on roads with frost heaves as I do, the loss of 3/8" in ground clearance with a Spyder Pops Bump Skid is well worth it. I've had them on both Spyders I've owned.
Just the basic bump skid, no lights, yes, it has saved the underside of the nose from many gouges and scrapes that would have damaged the front end. No much good as a bumper, but works great as a skid plate, which is what it is.
From what I understand is that the way these are fastened to the bike that they can cause frame damage if you hit something hard enough where if you did not have them the front is designed to give to protect the rest of the bike from greater damage. I could be wrong but it would be worth investigating more before installing it.
I have the lighted spyderpops on my 17RTL. FIRST THING I PUT ON. I live on dirt road and will say on the first ride out scratched underneath. 3 days later put it on and have hit it pretty hard with transitions dirt to blacktop, loading with trailer, gas station dips and roadkill. I think it’s well protected. It’s also one heck of an eye catcher for 4 wheeled friends. So my answer is YES. If your worried about ground clearance add Ron’s shock adjuster. Crank them 2.5 turned and you have more than you had without it. I run 2 up so single is probably 1.5-2 turns.
If your headlights don’t light up potholes and road kill in front of you as you approach, I can’t see how 5 feet of light at road level would help, Bfromia.:dontknow:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bfromla
Pete
I think if you hit something hard enough to damage the frame the bolts that hold the skid plate on will shear off and/or bend over. Also, the part of the frame the skid plate fastens to would probably twist and be repairable. There are only two bolts that attach to the frame, and they screw into metal clips like you see used on the tupperware. All the rest go into clips at the edges of various tupperware pieces.Quote:
Originally Posted by shardt
While I could appreciate one for the extra lights, I question the "skid" part. I mean, ... you already have a very minimum of ground clearance. So, to protect it, you install something that gives even LESS clearance???
.
The loss of clearance is an insignificant 1/4", well worth the trade off. See post #17. The plate is about 3/8" thick but you remove the OEM skid plate which is about 1/8" thick, so net loss is about 1/4". Plus, the skid plate is stout enough to allow the Spyder to slide over an obstruction whereas the OEM one might well be torn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve W.
Well Lin , I live across the river from you , in Vermont and I'm pretty sure your Frost Heaves arn't any bigger than ours ..... If / when they get that big they close the road and FIX them .... I have never hit a frost heave ( with the nose of the RT ) .... I have also driven on some fairly rough " gravel/dirt roads" and haven't encountered anything that prevented my RT from negotiating it. When I became an LEO, we were taught something they termed " situational awareness ". I've applied it to my Spyder riding techniques, ie. don't approach steep driveways ... straight on ... always do it at an angle. Or don't do it at all .... as far as hitting curbs, ...Why do have to get that close, the Spyder is only 9 1/2 ft long, this is way shorter than any car made...... So the cost + labor to put a " bump skid " on has never appealed to me. I drive an avg. of 7000 mi. per year , and spend about $500.00 in gas , so this would a year's worth of driving ...... not going to buy one ..... JMHO .... Mike :thumbup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lin
I've got a little over 51K miles on my RT and I've only scraped (scratched) the OEM skid plate once. That was before I had 10K miles on it. Lesson well learned. Like BK says above, be aware of where you are and what you are doing, and the limitations of your machine. That awareness hopefully should be 360 degrees if at all possible. When you have an adam henry come up behind you so close you can't read his (her) license plate you'll start developing your hind sight. Stay safe ride safe and improve your "situational awareness".
No - once I got into the habit of reading the road I no longer need one. You just have to hone your peripheral perception.
I use SLiPLO stick on strips/pads. My front scraped on something on most of my rydes until I realised that the pre-load had never been set. 3 clear threads of pre-load from the bottom stopped almost all of my scrapings. I'm about to make that 4 threads clear threads to stiffen up my cornering a little more (to go with my Rabbit Sway Bar). The hardest part of this adjustment was trying to make the supplied C spanner work without it ripping into the notched lock nuts. I failed at that but Multi Grips did the trick in the end. A little black paint to cover the scratches and all will be well, especially my cornering and front clearance.
Google SLiPLO and go from there.
I agree. Those LEDs are nothing more than bling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peteoz
I disagree. Those lights have no practical value other than 'bling'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bfromla
Yes, the poly bump skid (SpyderPops) is worth every penny. It is hard enough to protect the frunk, and soft enough to absorb any hits.
The LED lights are a nice addition, but I found that individual lights would fail after a small hit so you'd get the Jack O'Lantern look. I have no experience with the new design with the LED's imbedded in the plastic, but I'd be skeptical.
The acrylic ones from Halo are very nice bling and provide a light show, but I'd be concerned that the hard plastic would crack if struck.
I'm severely disappointed that I can't get a bump skid for the 2020 and up RT.
Another ryder in our group has a lighted skid and it sure shows up espcially when he is sweep. And his name is Lou ( not quite like mine)Quote:
Originally Posted by UtahPete
Bling or not---- easy to spot------
Lew L
Thread hijack here. That SLiPLO looks promising.Quote:
Originally Posted by RazzleH
Looks like a loser to me. You accidentally ride up onto a parking lot concrete bumper, then of course you back off. What happens? The back edge of the SLiPLO catches the rough surface of the bumper and gets ripped right off! And for the price you're well on your way to paying for real protection with the Bumpskid plate.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrogmanDave
Not to me Idaho. Best not to knock something before you have some real facts, hey! SLiPLO is working for us on two cars as well as the Spyder. For those who drive over curbs and things that are obviously likely to do damage ... good luck.Quote:
Originally Posted by IdahoMtnSpyder
That may be so, Lew, but the OP was asking if the bumpskids are worth the money, and my response was that the skid itself is, but the lights don't add much benefit and may not be worth the added cost. We have both lighted and unlighted: the lighted is on Jane's because she thinks they look cool. When we're touring, she's on the road behind me and I don't see her bumpskid lights; just the glare of her headlights and foglights.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lew L
,
Guess my mirrors are adjusted differently:joke::joke::joke:
I gotta go with Jane on this one Pete. The lighted skid plate just plain looks cool. I'm not one for a lot of farkles but I've never seen anything else on the highway that resembles the lighted bumpskid. JMHO, it's an eye catcher, and that what's it's mostly about. Merry Xmas.Quote:
Originally Posted by UtahPete
I got my lighted bump skid from Spyderpops because I really liked how bright they are. To me, anything that makes your bike more visible to other motorists is a good thing.
There was one ride I did up a mountain road, and I had to get to the shoulder for some reason. The transition between the road and the shoulder was abrupt, and I ended up scraping the area underneath the frunk.
IMHO, I think it's worth it for the safety AND the protection factor ....
:2thumbs: :cheers:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lew L
I ride on a lot of two lane asphalt, with cracks, and chunks of blacktop laying on the surface, occasionally i have hit one or dodged but went off on the shoulder and ground down the original skid plate a bit. i bought the Spyder Pops bumpskid and it looks pretty good yet, it does have some nicks but nothing i can't fill or smooth out.