Hagar
Pack Dog
Bought a piece of 5mm ali, cut it up after playing with cardboard , and made myself a bash plate. I initally only fitted the plate at the bottom of the engine, and did a few trips like that, but then decided to add the wings on the side to protect the casings during a fall. The result is similar to the Austalian Whipps and B&B plates, which the Aussies seem to like a lot.
Cost till now: Plate R60 + bending tip to Rasta on the bending brake at local steel supplier R50 + welding R150 = R210. It is sturdy and does not really add to noise, mostly I like it.
My problem now is to decide how many holes to cut into it. I will add one for the sump plug but what about cooling?
I am sure the casings feel quite a lot hotter than it did before, especially since I added the wings. How important is this? I looked on the net and I did not find a lot on this apart from this: https://www.topgunmotorcycles.com/ti_archive/tiaug06.html article.
The wings are sturdy enough that some cutouts would not really hurt, if I cut holes in the bottom plate where they will help for cooling they will also be in line with the wheel where it will throw up all kinds of k*k on the engine, which will now be more difficult to clean properly.
The Aussies operate their DRs with this kind of plate and I have never seen heat discussed as an issue. Cutting the holes should not be a problem; I would be able to cut any type or shape of hole I want. (Garage well equipped)
Suggestions?
Cost till now: Plate R60 + bending tip to Rasta on the bending brake at local steel supplier R50 + welding R150 = R210. It is sturdy and does not really add to noise, mostly I like it.
My problem now is to decide how many holes to cut into it. I will add one for the sump plug but what about cooling?
I am sure the casings feel quite a lot hotter than it did before, especially since I added the wings. How important is this? I looked on the net and I did not find a lot on this apart from this: https://www.topgunmotorcycles.com/ti_archive/tiaug06.html article.
The wings are sturdy enough that some cutouts would not really hurt, if I cut holes in the bottom plate where they will help for cooling they will also be in line with the wheel where it will throw up all kinds of k*k on the engine, which will now be more difficult to clean properly.
The Aussies operate their DRs with this kind of plate and I have never seen heat discussed as an issue. Cutting the holes should not be a problem; I would be able to cut any type or shape of hole I want. (Garage well equipped)
Suggestions?