BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I really like the looks of the AltRider skid plate, but the price (while not bad) was stretching my budget. Then over on advrider I was some posts about Twin Headlight Ernie Bell's skid plates for the R1200GS (http://www.twinheadlighternie.smugmug.com/). Since the AltRider and the stock R1200GS skid plates all seem to work with our bikes, I wondered about Ernie's. I corresponded with him and he was encouraging and quoted a price a bit lower than the AltRider. Then I found one for sale on the advrider flea market. The guy was selling his GS and so selling the skid plate and a nifty center stand plate to continue the coverage farther back and the price was right, so I got it.

It came with the rear mounting bits (rubber bumpers and screws) and a spacer for the front, but I had to order the front mounting bracket and screws from Max's. When the skid plate arrived, it turned out (as I had feared) that the GS has a completely different center stand and so that part of the set wouldn't work (anyone have an R1200GS and want a center stand plate cheap?).

On Friday I got the mounting bits from Max's and after a bit of fussing, got it mounted to the bike. Looked really great. Then, as I was showing it to my appreciative wife, she had to ask "Will it fit with the center stand?" - oops, the tail of the skid plate hit the center stand preventing full deployment. Back to the drawing board. Took it off and after measuring a few times, figured I could get away with removing some small pieces from each side of the back to allow it to clear the stand (more on the right due to the spring). Did that today and SUCCESS! Mounts cleanly and looks like it will add significant protection from my dirt road and whatever else might get kicked up.



The original unit looked like:


and after modification, looked like:


The album has some additional pictures if you are interested.
http://s1026.photobucket.com/albums/y32 ... vt/R1200R/

UPDATE: I heard back from Ernie and it appears that the used skid plate I got was for a 2005 GS and that one is 2" longer than the ones being made now for later bikes, so the surgery I had to do would not apply any more. (Guess you get what you pay for

cool skid plate but out of topic how do you like those michelins. Are they good in the wet? And how good are they when leaned over having some fun in the twisties.



Thanks in advance

Great looking plate! I'm definitely needing one of these, but I am really leaning towards the GS plate. It's not cheap, but I like it's functionality and looks. I've been extremely happy with the GS aluminum cylinder head guards. Haven't needed them yet (knock on wood), but they feel/look like they'll take the brunt of a low speed fall on some of the trails and back roads that I ride.

Dad2g5 wrote:cool skid plate but out of topic how do you like those michelins. Are they good in the wet? And how good are they when leaned over having some fun in the twisties.



Thanks in advance

I have the Michelin Pilots on my bike, and I can honestly say that I'm pleased with them. Nothing to write home about, but good wet weather traction, and I've stuck to all the corners I've taken. I'm not too aggressive of a rider, but we have some nice twists around the hills west of town and I've always been satisfied with the performance. Where they lack, obviously, is their off pavement capabilities. Get into a bit of mud or dirt and they're not meeting my needs. My next set will be a set of Pirelli Scorpion Sync tires. Hope this little bit helps.