flatlands raceing skid plate noise

Wow, this bike must be really quiet, I havent noticed any special noice, compared to other bikes. But have never driven the wr250r without a skidplate

Jens Eskildsen wrote:

Wow, this bike must be really quiet, I havent noticed any special noice, compared to other bikes. But have never driven the wr250r without a skidplate

What?

Sorry, english is not my naive language.

1) I own a wr250r wih a skidplate
2) I've had several other bikes with skidplates.
3) The WR doesn't make any more noice compared to other bikes with skidplates.
4) Therefor I concluded that the WR must be really quite without the skidplate, because I notice no "xtra" noice because of the skid.
5) I included a disclaimer that I haven't heard my WR without the skidplate.
6) It was also a small hint about I just dont get what all the fuzz is about, the bike sounds fiiiiiiiiine.
Hope that makes it easier to read.

Jens Eskildsen wrote:

Sorry, english is not my naive language.

1) I own a wr250r wih a skidplate
2) I've had several other bikes with skidplates.
3) The WR doesn't make any more noice compared to other bikes with skidplates.
4) Therefor I concluded that the WR must be really quite without the skidplate, because I notice no "xtra" noice because of the skid.
5) I included a disclaimer that I haven't heard my WR without the skidplate.
6) It was also a small hint about I just dont get what all the fuzz is about, the bike sounds fiiiiiiiiine.
Hope that makes it easier to read.  

It's all good man!
Glad you like the bike!

Jens Eskildsen wrote:

Sorry, english is not my naive language.

1) I own a wr250r wih a skidplate
2) I've had several other bikes with skidplates.
3) The WR doesn't make any more noice compared to other bikes with skidplates.
4) Therefor I concluded that the WR must be really quite without the skidplate, because I notice no "xtra" noice because of the skid.
5) I included a disclaimer that I haven't heard my WR without the skidplate.
6) It was also a small hint about I just dont get what all the fuzz is about, the bike sounds fiiiiiiiiine.
Hope that makes it easier to read.  

Sorry I was making a joke... You were saying the WRR is a quiet bike and I was saying 'what' as if I couldn't hear you.

Haha, no problem...

Just got home from a 50 mile slab commute... holy crap this thing drove me NUTS!!!!
I see all the suggested remedies.....from reading these posts and actually staring at this hunk of aluminum.... I think I'm gonna attack this 2 ways....first isolate the vibes with rubber washers like a few folks did...and second absorb the reflected engine noise with some neoprene
Think the neoprene will take the heat from the engine?

not sure what size the skid plate attachment bolts are but i googled 6mm motor mounts and thought these would be cool to isolate the skid plate with, since the bolt terminates inside the motor mount rubber. The opp side has a  nut that  could be used to receive the skid plate bolt.....would keep everything "separate"

link HERE

Used garden hose washers on mine and it worked great. Took 8 of them at the hard points but it worked. Rode it before and after, WOW, what a difference $1.15 worth of washers can make. It will never be as quiet as not having it on but that is the price of protection. Done the same thing on my wife's XT250. Moose plate required 10 washers but it sure took rattle out of it.

I reduced skid plate noise noticeably by placing 1/2" high-density foam weatherstrip tape sandwiched between the skid plate and the frame.  I wiped the frame down with a clean rag and windex first to help the tape adhere long enough to bolt the skid plate in place.  I had to temporarily use longer bolts to overcome the extra 1/2" gap caused by the foam.  Once the skid plate was secure I replaced the longer bolts with the regular skid plate bolts one at a time.  When mounting the bolts are tight the foam is compressed to 1/8" or less.

Here are a couple of links to the M-D Building Products 2311 foam that I used.  $3.50 gets you a 10' roll, which should be enough for 2 installations.
- M-D 2311 at Amazon
- M-D 2311 at Home Depot

Diamond K wrote:

Used garden hose washers on mine and it worked great. Took 8 of them at the hard points but it worked. Rode it before and after, WOW, what a difference $1.15 worth of washers can make. It will never be as quiet as not having it on but that is the price of protection. Done the same thing on my wife's XT250. Moose plate required 10 washers but it sure took rattle out of it.

Diamond K - you said you used 8 hose washers at the hard points - what do you mean by this?
I had thought the hose washers were being used normal-like (on the bolts), one between bolt head and plate, and one between plate and frame (on bolt) x 4.
Are you using them to wedge between the frame and skidplate to prevent contact at the closer points, or am I reading wrong?

Thanks - asking because I have a new skidplate sitting in front of me and looking for best solution with least amount of additional cash spent.

Fender washers with thin rubber disks towards the frame kills all resonance, and dampens the reflected sound, (the latter will never go away no matter what plate is used). This also creates enough separation to ease flushing the mud off the plate, as well as any oil spills during service. To finish deadening the plate, put a rubber strip between the trailing edge and the frame cross-member. This approach works so well I never ever notice any bash plate sounds. The loudest sound I ever hear down there is my rear sprocket guard smacking the chain when the bike is lugging.

I have the California model, so which hose am I supposed to leave open and which one do I plug?

I figured it out with regards to which hose to plug.  Also, I came up with my own sound/vibration eliminator solution.  Told my wife I have a crafting project for her.  

I used car door rubber gasket with one sided tape, not sure how long this will last but it did the job.  I did cut in some channels in the rubber for drainage.