Beta Riders Club Discussion Forum

Purchased a new one from Beta. Don't waste your money. The stock skidplate covers the frame, engine cases and other areas much better. P3 definitely needs to go back to the design phase and reengineer their product on this one. Just saying...

Putting coverage comparisons aside for a minute, CF has great strength-to-weight ratio but isn't a very durable material for this type of application. I.e. you can bash one with a rubber sledgehammer all day long and it'll take the beating. But sharp rocks will quickly tear it apart, whether from skidding or bashing. The other problem with CF is that it becomes significantly weaker as the outer layer wears away.

Here's a pic of the P3 CF skidplate that i removed from my bike and replaced with a much more durable 8mm plastic plate from AXP Racing.



Beware of the stock skidplate. It will hold up to a bit of skidding, but is so thin that energy from bashing is transferred directly through to the frame rails.

You don't want to end up like this guy, from a post over in the ThumperTalk forum:

wwguy - that CF plate looks pretty good yet! I bought the EE alum skid plate with linkage guard when I ordered the 300. Pretty good as well, doesnt rattle & can take a hard rock smash.

Trail Rider wrote:wwguy - that CF plate looks pretty good yet! I bought the EE alum skid plate with linkage guard when I ordered the 300. Pretty good as well, doesnt rattle & can take a hard rock smash.

I paid $200 for it and will happily sell it to you (or anyone else) for the price of a case of beer and shipping.

Completely agree with your post & thanks for the warning about the stock skid-plate. Crushed frame! Geeessshhh

I agree on both topics. CF is not good against abrasions and CF pipe guards transfer the energy of a hit into the neck and exhaust flange. the stock skid can give you a disappointing surprise when you take it off. Now I only use alum skids. It is noisier, especially on my 4T. but what the hey. I'd rather put up with a little racket than get my frame tubes crushed in.