flatlands raceing skid plate noise

Great idea, thanks!

I just rode mine for the first time with the skid plate and it sounded kinda loud. I sprayed it with a Rubberized coating. Thought it would stop this noise I read about but not sure it worked so well. Unless it's much louder than what I experienced today.

I did everything to mine to try and quiet it down but it still drove me crazy on the road...took it off and if I see a rock I'll just turn around, head back to the campground and

If you examine the design of the skid plate, It leaves about five inches or so after the rear mount points unsecured and free to vibrate and produce feedback. Wedging enough rubber or foam between the frame and this unsupported edge to apply some tension and reduce movement should reduce a lot of the noise.

I don't think any of us are talking about the plate itself vibrating...most are concerned about the reflected engine noise. I coated the entire plate with bedliner spray. It is still loud but muted now.
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i used sound reducing material purchased on amazon and spray glued it on. It helps but its still loud. I may buy some hdpe and hope its quiet enough.

yes, I do believe sound is being reflected back. But I just know from attempting to soundproof an older loud clack-ity diesel pickup that eliminating any thing that is able to move or "resonate" will reduce sound levels and harshness.
My skid plate is home made, it is essentially the same except that the tail end on mine was not cut quite as long so it may act differently but i noticed some noise reduction after wedging a piece rubber between the engine and the plate.

HI folks

There are sheets of  open foam {in sizes from 1/4" to 2" thick} available known as  air compressor pre-filters.. it’s also used for speakers . It's pretty tough stuff... my place of employment has a large Kaeser compressor .. i just wash the filter in soapy water and rinse /dry to clean it..

HERE is the link.

I was thinking that the air filter foam jammed between the skid plate and engine  would reduce noise but allow the engine to cool on the bottom side as well due to the open foam breathability..  

I am afraid that foam would hold a lot of water that could really corrode things. Thats open cell foam where as you would be better off with closed cell foam that won't allow moisture to penetrate. Though any material you add is going to insulate, I'm not sure how much cooling really occurs through the bottom of the motor so it probably isn't a big deal.

this foam seems to be holding up well so far. Plus I have enough to cover the thing twice more if it gets hashed up:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OQTV2I/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

blusmoke wrote:

If you examine the design of the skid plate, It leaves about five inches or so after the rear mount points unsecured and free to vibrate and produce feedback. Wedging enough rubber or foam between the frame and this unsupported edge to apply some tension and reduce movement should reduce a lot of the noise.

I think your right, mine vibrates really bad at a certain speed and is quite loud, its not just the motors noise being bounced back up.

I have the zeta skid plate tho it may resonate at a different rpm/speed than the flat land.

I have an old 1/2 inch thick foam work mat I may stick between the frame and skid plate, I ride on the road more now so this noise is starting to bug me, offraod its a non issue.

Thats what i noticed too was that certain rpm would create much more noise.

As for eliminating actual noise from the head some diesel guys swear by having their valve covers coated in a thick amount of bed liner, I think i may actually try this out.

blusmoke wrote:

I am afraid that foam would hold a lot of water that could really corrode things. Thats open cell foam where as you would be better off with closed cell foam that won't allow moisture to penetrate. Though any material you add is going to insulate, I'm not sure how much cooling really occurs through the bottom of the motor so it probably isn't a big deal.

The air compressor filter foam is easy to see through . If you submerge it in a bucket of water and remove it ... the water would run freely out ..would not need to squeeze etc..

That sounds great but dont let any mud or sand get in the water in your bucket lol.

That open cell foam holds a lot of mud and water, the open pores plug up with dirt, washing it out after a ride is a bunch of work, I would never use it on a skid plate...

Some pro racers use it on their skid plates for mud races to keep mud from building up as much on the skid plate but they remove it after the race as you cant wash it and get it clean.

point taken on the mud. I'm probably a bit biased since i'm making a skid plate and not using a flat lands. All that being said this info is all good,,, if i jamb the open cell foam in to kill sound ...i'd need to have a  quick removal method of the skid plate to clean the foam ..you know...  not have to lay on the floor or jack the bike up in the air to access or remove skid plate bolts. I think biglake ...that you also mentioned a heavy duty plastic skid plate.. i'm still pondering that since i have some cutting board type stock in 1/2" thickness

do you have any pictures of the heavy plastic skid plate handy?

rarepartbuilder wrote:

point taken on the mud. I'm probably a bit biased since i'm making a skid plate and not using a flat lands. All that being said this info is all good,,, if i jamb the open cell foam in to kill sound ...i'd need to have a  quick removal method of the skid plate to clean the foam ..you know...  not have to lay on the floor or jack the bike up in the air to access or remove skid plate bolts. I think biglake ...that you also mentioned a heavy duty plastic skid plate.. i'm still pondering that since i have some cutting board type stock in 1/2" thickness

do you have any pictures of the heavy plastic skid plate handy?

Moose racing makes this for the WR..made of the hard plastic stuff.

Tewster2 wrote:

rarepartbuilder wrote:

point taken on the mud. I'm probably a bit biased since i'm making a skid plate and not using a flat lands. All that being said this info is all good,,, if i jamb the open cell foam in to kill sound ...i'd need to have a  quick removal method of the skid plate to clean the foam ..you know...  not have to lay on the floor or jack the bike up in the air to access or remove skid plate bolts. I think biglake ...that you also mentioned a heavy duty plastic skid plate.. i'm still pondering that since i have some cutting board type stock in 1/2" thickness

do you have any pictures of the heavy plastic skid plate handy?

Moose racing makes this for the WR..made of the hard plastic stuff.

I found the product page for the WRR/X specific model: http://www.mooseracing.com/products/?productId=166226&productGroupId=78440&partNumber=05060655
My question is, are the plastic type skid plates really quieter or do they still reflect a lot of noise?

rarepartbuilder wrote:

do you have any pictures of the heavy plastic skid plate handy?

Do a search for DIY cutting board skid plate, its been done to WRRs before and with pics, I dont know how to make it a link.

My experience is that those Plastic plates end up cracking and breaking.
Go Metal to Go Home!! ;)

Evol wrote:

Tewster2 wrote:

rarepartbuilder wrote:

point taken on the mud. I'm probably a bit biased since i'm making a skid plate and not using a flat lands. All that being said this info is all good,,, if i jamb the open cell foam in to kill sound ...i'd need to have a  quick removal method of the skid plate to clean the foam ..you know...  not have to lay on the floor or jack the bike up in the air to access or remove skid plate bolts. I think biglake ...that you also mentioned a heavy duty plastic skid plate.. i'm still pondering that since i have some cutting board type stock in 1/2" thickness

do you have any pictures of the heavy plastic skid plate handy?

Moose racing makes this for the WR..made of the hard plastic stuff.

I found the product page for the WRR/X specific model: http://www.mooseracing.com/products/?productId=166226&productGroupId=78440&partNumber=05060655
My question is, are the plastic type skid plates really quieter or do they still reflect a lot of noise?

They do reflect some but they do not reflect as much nor do they resonate. I have one on my WRR now and it has been on there for the last 9000 miles. Been through the COBDR, Smoky Mountain 500, and many many rides in the GA, TN, and NC mountains. Has a few scars on it but nothing major.

Gath3r13 wrote:

My experience is that those Plastic plates end up cracking and breaking.
Go Metal to Go Home!!  ;)

All depends what you are going to do with the bike. Looking back I suspect I would have been fine with just the stock protection when I bought the bike new. I really don't rock jump or crawl with this bike. I use it as a commuter bike in my town and a long distance DS camping type bike. If I want be a hooligan I take the Beta.

"All depends what you are going to do with the bike.   Looking back I suspect I would have been fine with just the stock protection when I bought the bike new.  I really don't rock jump or crawl with this bike.  I use it as a commuter bike in my town and a long distance DS camping type bike."

I agree...I took my metal plate off and will ride accordingly....BTW, for me $160 for the Moose plate is too much....but I'm really cheap

I purchased the WRR to rip through the woods, and have the ability to ride the roads to get to said woods.
If I was going to ride dirt roads and pavement I would have purchased a nice Adventure 690. Or something with more than 250 cc's.
If my plan was to trailer a bike to the trails I would have went with a WRF or Husky.

I guess for me it depends on what you intend to do with the bike.

If you want to prevent rocks flying up from the front tire and hitting your frame and single valve power plant, then get the plastic skid.
If you ride in the woods where its rocky, your going to bash the plate, so get a metal one.

I threw a couple coats of Spray rubber on my Flatlands plate. I put a couple strips of weather strip on my frame where the plate would hit, then attached it with some rubber washers.
I don't think its exceptionally noisy what so ever when I ride.

I ware earplugs and a full faced helmet, I really dont hear much noise, but then I have been married for like ever and seem to be able to cut out irritating noise`s no problem. cheer`s

Fiftygrit wrote:

I ware earplugs and a full faced helmet, I really dont hear much noise, but then I have been married for like ever and seem to be able to cut out irritating noise`s no problem. cheer`s

your a good sport fifty grit.. keep leading by the "long term" example .
.....
Maybe  a  plastic skid plate ... small   contoured  aluminum side rails as transition media  to attach   protective plastic skid plate sides  {for engine side case protection}.

I had the bike out for a spin between snow banks yesterday... viewed things... what looks  like a "rubber" oem chain slider{ } .. The rear shock "link" and how to maybe make it ride height adjustable {over and above that shock nut moving toward the rubber bumper}    for the price of the yama link if falls way short of what a pricey unit should be able to do {other than provide a grease fitting as a bonus}.


  its time to put some of the   WR  forum  fact gathering data  to the rails so to speak on my end...

I really appreciate the info in the threads here... mucho common sense prevails  

blusmoke wrote:

If you examine the design of the skid plate, It leaves about five inches or so after the rear mount points unsecured and free to vibrate and produce feedback. Wedging enough rubber or foam between the frame and this unsupported edge to apply some tension and reduce movement should reduce a lot of the noise.

Just finally got my MSR plate to quit making noise today. I had put the asphalt dynamat type product on it, but it was still making noise. I put some stuff to leave witness marks on it and found that the rear left to right cross piece has a couple bumps in it from welds that hang down just a bit, and the rear cross piece itself also rubs. Found that out before I read this thread, but what the above poster said is what I was experiencing.

I used a couple of upper shock washer rubbers from my old rear shocks off of an AMC I own for the front mounting. They have a little lip on them that slides right into the front mounting bolt spacers welded to the plate so they can't move and are about 3/16" thick. I cleaned off the plate and put the closed cell door foam I'd used on the frame rails previously, on the rub points at the rear of the frame, and after a short ride I can finally say that it's nice and quiet again. Also, make sure to adjust your chain properly as that makes some noise if it's a tad on the loose side. My bike is FINALLY back to being as quiet as when it didn't have a skid plate on it, which is nice since it was super annoying riding it at highway speeds when it was the noisiest. Took a bit to get there, but I'm happy with how it sounds now. I really need a metal skid plate for rocks, so it's a necessary evil.