KDXRIDER.NET

I did order a msr pipe guard the other day, and they evidently dont carry them any more. the guy recomended that I get a carbon fiber pipe guard from e-line. yeah right, $140 bucks might as well buy a new pipe. so which pipe guard protects excellent. basically give me what pipe guard works the best for under $60.

i got an eline, works very well. But i would not buy a new one, it came with my bike. Make your own, it would be fun and you would gain some experience.

Ryan wrote:i got an eline, works very well. But i would not buy a new one, it came with my bike. Make your own, it would be fun and you would gain some experience.

What materials have people used to make their own?

http://groups.msn.com/KDXRidersCommunit ... snw?Page=4 shows some pics for a home-made fiberglass one. No clue how good it is and the e-mail addr bounces.

I still have the stock dbl wall pipe so I figure I don't have to worry about it too much till I replace it with a/m.

Tony

Fredette makes a great fiberglass pipe guard for both the -30 and -35 pipes (I have both). Last time I looked it was around $50 or so. They look good and offer great protection. When some of the paint cooked off I just used some flat black high temp (stove) spray paint to repaint them. It seems that my paint job is lasting much better than the original paint did.

I use a Moose thick aluminum guard. I think these are a great way to go. You buy it almost flat, and attach it to the pipe near the head, and pound it to form around the pipe as you work toward the fat part. Hose clamps hold it in place. Looking at the package , and knowing it was aluminum, I thought it might be flimsy. Once it gets formed around the pipe and supported, it's very strong. I have bashed the thing into boulders hard, where the whole weight of the bike, rider, and inertia was all supported by the pipe guard, it didn't dent the pipe. It's like a heavy skid plate on the pipe. I used a 3 lb. hammer to persuade it to conform to the pipe.

I made one as described in a post by KDX'r, of course mine looks much better , it was fairly messy but fun.

Like Mike-I also use the Moose Alum. Guard. The center DOES NOT sit flat on the pipe, so if it takes a HIT it has a little movement in it not allowing the FULL FORCE to hit.
Do you know what I mean Mike??

Heavy duty aluminium moose guard used on a couple of bikes in our garage also. Cost about $40 and much thicker aluminum than most. Flatlander also used to make a heavy duty guard - not sure if they make it for a KDX but worth checking.

FWIW - Years ago (mid 90s) there use to be Desert skid plate guards made for KDX and YZ and other bikes. The guard was a full skid plate with an intergel pipe guard made out of heavy aluminum. I ran one on a 94 WR250 for a couple of years and although it made cleaning the pipe a PIA it did offer excellent protection for log crossings, etc. Recently saw a picture of one from a bike from Down Under. Now if a person could come up with one of these guards ......

homemade fiberglass for me, followed the instructions on justkdx site. i got the kit from home depot for around $10 i think and a can of high temp grill paint. i built mine up to about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. VERY strong. i am not good working with glass though and it is not the pretty smooth looking one, but very effective and easy to make if you get a new pipe and build it on the pipe before mounting it.

I bought mine from Fredette. It's fiber glass but it works! I hit some large rocks and it tore the fibers and did'nt dent the pipe. they are easy to repair too, another plus. Alittle glass resin and glass repair clothe and your good to go. I biult mine up when I repaired it last time in that area. I'd buy another one if need be.

I assume this is the Moose one people are referring to. http://monkeybuttparts.com/pk4/store.pl ... roduct=328

How does it compare to the Meier universal one? http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?p=WX2&i=70022

Does anyone bother installing either onto the stock pipe? I'm not sure how durable it is.

Also are they one time use only or if you were to later upgrade from stock to a single wall aftermarket, could it be reshaped?

I wouldn't bother putting one on the stock pipe. It's double wall, so doesn't dent easy anyway. plus if you protect it, it ruins your excuse for getting a good one.

I just put mine on yesterday. I got it from Jeff (Fredette)
It was $55 and fit perfectly to my FMF desert pipe. Sounds cool to do your own, but I like giving Jeff the buisness. Without him the KDX probably would have been ditched by Kawasaki long ago. He is really helpful with advice and gets orders out (in my experience) right away. While your at it, order up a kickstarter from him and take the stocker off and see how far you can throw it! That is the next thing I'm getting from him.
Braaap!!!!!

do pipe gourds cause the pipe to crack ? any one with experience?

I've got the Moose guard as well. That sucker is strong! I used my mangled stock pipe as a form to get the rough shape into the guard then mounted it to the new FMF. It has taken a couple really solid hits and no dents to the pipe yet. And there is a small gap between the guard and the lower section of pipe so it has a little give.

There is no comparison between the moose and maier guards. The maier guard is smaller and thinner. Looks like you could mold it around the pipe with your hands.

krazyinski, I have the Fredette guards for both the -30 and -35 FMF pipes. There's not the slightest hint of these causing any problem with the pipe. I highly recommend them.

I also have the Moose guard. Very strong. I only wish that I could polish it so it wouldn't be so butt-ugly, but it is VERY functional. A stout hammer or rubber mallet is required for "custom fitting".

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I was able to successfully dent the stock pipe before switching to a Gnarly one...

My stock pipe was getting beat up pretty bad from rocks kicked up by the front tire. The coup de grace occured when I cartwheeled it into a tree.

I didn't mind trashing the stocker, but when I bolted the $200 FMF on there I decided I would be protecting it. I don't remember what I spent for that moose guard but I'm sure it has paid for itself several times over.