justxr.com evaluation

INITIAL IMPRESSION:

Upon opening up the package I was quite impressed with the overall look of the plate, including it's construction (with nice neat welds!)  I was initially surprised however to see the mounting system resembling conduit saddles, how very far from the truth that turned out to be though.
 

Weld & Brackets Click to enlarge

Bottom View Click to enlarge

Top & Side Click to Enlarge

www.utahsportcycle.com Utah Sportcycle        3375 West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115  Phone: Toll Free at 1-866-273-1197

Cost:
Skid plate - $64.95 USD *

* Note: prices current at time of review, subject to change without notice.

The plate itself is constructed from 5/32" (.160") #5052 Aluminium, and the brackets from 1/8" aircraft grade 4130 Chrome-moly steel which is then heat treated.  The brackets also incorporate "Stover" type lock nuts welded into place.

At this time I'll quote the company philosophy, "Our design philosophy, keep it simple, rugged and securely mounted."   With the impressive materials list and the qaulity of the workmanship in conjunction with 30 years in business I certainly feel they have achieved what they set out to do.  However they seem to have managed to make, "rugged" look good.

WELL, THATS NICE BUT HOW HARD IS IT TO FIT?

I'm sure this is the question on the top of everyone's tongues.  Most of us have had something to do with one of those Skid or Bash plates that is harder than a rubix cube to install.  I found this unit straight forward to bolt up.  Basically I removed the clamps and sat the plate approximately where it would fit to determine the clamp location.  Then I just sat the clamps on the frame roughly where they needed to go, lifted the plate up, used an allen key to align each individual clamp to the plate and put each bolt in a few turns.  Then simply aligned the plate and tightened it all up.  The end result looks great and is solid as a rock.

HOW DOES IT WORK IN PRACTICE?
So we've had absolutely no problems with the plate.  While we haven't tested it in real snotty rocky terrain as of yet I have no doubt it will hold up well.  Long term information and pictures of the plate on the bike will be posted here shortly.