Skid plate KTM EXC, Husqvarna, GasGas 250/300 2024-2027 – HDPE

• KTM 250 EXC and 300 EXC TBI, including 300 EXC Six Days and Hardenduro: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
• KTM 250 XC-W and 300 XC-W TBI: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
• Husqvarna TE 250 and TE 300 TBI: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
• GasGas EC 250 and EC 300 TBI: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027

The standard KTM EXC leaves the factory without a skid plate from model year 2024. That same year these two-strokes got a new frame and TBI injection in place of TPI, so plates for older model years will not fit them. For 2020–2023 TPI two-strokes there is the aluminium SP11 and the lighter 6 mm HDPE SP12, and for the EXC and TE 150 TBI there is a separate plate, SP09. For Husqvarna and GasGas we also make SP16, an 8 mm HDPE plate with a linkage guard.

The plate covers the engine cases, starter motor, clutch and ignition covers, water pump and the lower frame rails up to the footpeg mounts from underneath. Without a guard, those parts take the hits on rocks, roots and logs, plus the stones thrown up by your front wheel and by the bikes riding ahead of you. A cracked case or cover means an oil leak and usually the end of the ride, and replacing an engine case means splitting the engine.

HDPE has low friction, so the smooth underside slides over logs and rock edges and the bike hangs up on them less often. A hole at the lowest point lets mud out. A tab at the top stops mud and stones before they get into the gap between the engine and the plate.

HDPE is high-density polyethylene, a plastic that stands up to impacts and abrasion and is also used for safety helmets. Here is what that means on the trail:

• Less weight. An 8 mm HDPE sheet weighs about 30% less than a 4 mm aluminium sheet of the same size.
• Springs back. On impact the plate flexes, absorbs the energy and returns to its shape.
• Quieter, no vibration. The plastic damps rock strikes and does not pass vibration on.
• Winter-proof. HDPE does not turn brittle in the cold.

We heat-bend the plate on a press brake from a single sheet, with no welding and no cuts. Welding polyethylene removes original material at the seam, and on impact the stress concentrates at the edge of the weld, which is where cracks start. The German standard DVS 2203, used to test welds in plastics, compares the strength of a weld with the base material and allows a polyethylene weld to be weaker. A bent plate keeps all of its material, including at the bends, where a welded plate would have a seam.

On sharp rocks the plastic will pick up scratches and gouges over time. Those are working marks, and the plate keeps protecting.

The kit includes the brackets and bolts. You bolt the plate to the frame at four factory points with no drilling and no changes to the bike, so an impact goes into the frame and not through the bolts into the engine cases. You can drain the oil without removing the plate, and the bike with the plate fitted still sits on a stand. SP08 works with clutch and ignition cover guards and with the PG10 pipe guard or the larger PG10 X, with PG15 or PG15 X on an FMF exhaust, and with PG21 on an OXA, also with no changes to the bike.

We design every plate from a 3D scan of the specific bike and cut it on CNC machines in Katowice, Poland, so every plate fits the same way. Professional riders test every new model before it goes on sale.