Flatland Skid Plate doesn't come with rubber frame guards?

I was a bit surprised when my skid didn't arrive with any rubber for the plate.  After installing it I was even more concerned.  As any XR400 owner will tell you, having a plate that lies flush to the frame rails will not only be noisy, but will cause premature rust of the frame because the skid rubs away the paint as it vibrates and then it traps water against the exposed steel.  I had a fairly significant frame fabrication/repair due to this on my old XR b/c the previous owner ran a plate like this.

Solution:  I used some 3/16" thick neoprene gasket material and cut 8 small rectangles.  Sprayed one side with spray adhesive and mounted them between the frame and the skid.  Vibration noise was eliminated, but more importantly, now water isn't going to sit against the frame.  

Good Job.  It takes a little more effort to wash out the mud, but, for the noise elimination alone, it's worth it to isolate the plate from the frame.  I had to with my Zeta plate.

I first installed mine without any rubber frame guards. Big mistake as the rattle was very bad. I purchased some adhesive rubber step material from Harbor freight and cut it to dimension. Works great and no rattle noise.

A good solution is a pack of garden hose washers from Home Depot. They work excellent as vibration dampeners.

Wrapped an old innertube around mine - no probs.

Wrapping the rails is most likely going to also lead to a rusted out frame. It's not something you'd think would happen just by adding a proper skid plate, but it does with any plate that hugs the frame closely. I had to graft in about 6" of steel tubing on my old XR when the frame rail rotted away. The vibration noise is annoying, but not terribly serious - the rust issue is the main concern.

This is a great tip. I cut pieces of inner tube and put it between all the metal on metal contact points and the sound problem is gone!

I've had great results with high density foam weatherseal tape sandwiched between the skid plate and frame.  Been running it for about 1800 miles now.

If you search this on this forum it has been brought up a lot, I just sprayed mine with black gravel guard inside and out, let it dry and bolted it up, works for me.

Fiftygrit wrote:

If you search this on this forum it has been brought up a lot, I just sprayed mine with black gravel guard inside and out, let it dry and bolted it up, works for me.

I think the key item this fellow brought up is that whatever we use, it really should not ride flush up against the frame rails. This causes contact abrasion and then also corrosion. I think his point is a valid one, and he backs it up by saying that he had to have one of his bikes repaired due to this corrosion issue.

Someone here suggested rubber hose gaskets between the frame and the plate in a few places, and I'm going to try that as it will also leave plenty of space for air etc. to circulate (and to wash/rinse things out). I'll report back, but one thing's for sure - I can't take the noise from the Flatlands skid plate as it comes. Egads it's terrible.

Oly