Flatland Racing Skid Plate Reviews

While my 2017 KTM 690 Enduro R came from the factory with an actually not-too-bad plastic skid plate, it's really only up for light to moderate-duty off-road riding and even then, its rounded bottom profile makes it perfectly useless if you want to use a flat topped lift stand for maintenance tasks. After a bit of searching, the Flatland Racing offering stood out to me. It seemed to have the skid plate bases covered and maybe best of all, a retail price of $109.95. I'm sure that they could ask more, but I'm glad that Flatland kept its eye on value, not just squeezing riders because adventure riders must have money to burn.

Installation

The Flatland Racing Skid Plate for the 690 Enduro R installs exactly like the factory unit, which is a good thing! It's one of the easiest skid plates to remove and reinstall for oil changes and other maintenance tasks. Flatland did provide a built-in clean out slot, an oil plug hole, and a hole for oil screen removal, but the plate is so easy to remove (just two bolts), I never bothered with these features.

Fit & Finish

To me, the Flatland Racing Skid Plate looks bullet proof. It's made from burly 3/16" aluminum and is clear anodized for long-lasting good looks. Its welds are clean & uniform and all the mounting points lined up spot-on. I have zero complaints on how this product looks and fits; it definitely compliments the bike.

Function

The bottom of the Flatland Racing Skid plate is plenty wide, smooth, and completely flat, allowing me to use a lift stand to perform maintenance. This was one of my key objectives, so  box checked. It also slides nicely over the downed trees that I encountered after hurricane Irma, with no sharp edges or points to get hung up on.

In terms of coverage of vital components, I think Flatlands nailed it. The ignition cover and water pump housing are completely shielded and the clutch cover as much as possible. This part of the engine sits higher, further back, and wider than the ignition side, so to come out past it, the skid plate would have to be excessively wide on the right side. Regardless, I don't think that Flatland left anything on the table in the coverage department.

In terms of mud collection and drainage, we have pretty much no clay where I ride, so nothing too sticky or gooey. But, the summer riding season is very, very wet, so at least in the many water crossings that I've ridden, whatever sandy, loamy silt that I managed to pick up didn't seem to congregate in the plate. But if you ride in terribly muddy conditions, running skid plate foam isn't a bad idea anyway.

Does the Flatland Racing Skid Plate reflect back engine sound? To a tiny degree, yes. But, that's is that is to be expected at some level. However, the skid plate has a somewhat thick, dense rubber strip glued to the inside of the skid plate to reduce resonance. Hard to say its affect since I've not run an aluminum skid plate on the 690 without this feature, but the net is that any increase in perceived engine noise is a non-issue for me, something I simply don't notice when enjoying the ride.

So, anything that sucks about the Flatland Racing Skid Plate? Honestly, no. It looks good, fits good, it's tough, and it covers all my bike's vitals from damage. Add in the affordable retail price of $109.95 and a 100% customer satisfaction warranty, it's a no-brainer buy. Honest product at an honest price. Good job Flatland Racing. 

I got mine from the folks at http://www.ktmtwins.com