Replacing stock bump skid on 2014 RT with Spyderpops' lighted
Recently, I ordered a Gen2 bumpskid from Spyderpops to replace the older aftermarket lighted bumpskid on my wife's bike; the LED lights on hers had finally failed after repeated bashing against curbs, etc. On the former version, the led light strip was glued onto the front of the bumpskid, leaving it exposed and vulnerable. The Gen2 is beefier at the front and the lights are recessed for protection.
My bike had no aftermarket bumpskid, being completely stock in that regard, so I stripped the broken lights off Jane's old one and installed it on mine. The factory panel is a pathetic little thing that only serves to keep water splashing up into the battery and fuse boxes I think; it and the bottom body panels are pretty scratched up. The aftermarket bumpskid covers the entire underside of the frunk and extends beyond the lower edges, providing plenty of protection for the lower front body panels.
Spyderpops provides all the hardware necessary to install the aftermarket bumpskid, and pretty good instructions for doing the job, including connecting the lights. There are a couple of places where the instructions probably refer to a different year RT than mine, so I'll point that out. And, his photos aren't the best, so I'm including my own.Between Spyderpops' instructions and this post, anyone with rudimentary mechanic skills and tools should be able to do this upgrade themselves.
Here are pics of the factory panel to be removed, comparison in thickness between it an aftermarket one, and the old aftermarket one showing the abuse it took while on Jane's bike. To remove the factory panel and removing the bolts from bolts from the two side bottom body panels required removing (4) T20 screws and (6) hex head bolts with 4mm Allen wrench. The Spyderpops instructions were a little unclear on this point.
To install the Spyderpops bumpskid (both generations) requires (13) SS screws, which are provided. These also take 4mm Allen wrench or bit. You will have to hold the bumpskid up in place while installing two (2) of the SS screws, one on either side in the row of 4 near the back. After the first two screws, the bumpskid will stay in place while installing the rest. Note; before installing the bumpskid be sure to drill the 2 1/4" holes in the steel frame as described in the instructions.
Their LED light strips leave a bit to be desired. I'm on my 3rd turn signal LED strips and my 1st bump skid strip. The 1st bump skid LED light went out the first time I turned it on.