Skid plate with linkage guard Husqvarna, GasGas 250/300 24-27

• Husqvarna TE 250 and TE 300 TBI: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
• GasGas EC 250 and EC 300 TBI: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027

The plate fits only TBI-injected two-strokes, that is model year 2024 onwards. For older Husqvarna and GasGas models with a linkage guard there is the SP13 (2017–2023). For KTM EXC and XC-W TBI there are the SP08 (8 mm HDPE) and the SP04 (aluminium), and for Husqvarna and GasGas without a linkage guard the SP08.

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 riders ahead of you. A cracked case or cover means an oil leak, which usually ends the ride, and replacing a case means splitting the engine.

The linkage guard (prolink) shields the linkage from impacts, so the bike does not catch its linkage on logs and rocks or hang up on them. The smooth underside slides over logs and rock edges. There is a hole at the lowest point for mud to flow out, and 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. 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. This plate with its linkage guard weighs 1.11 kg, the same as the aluminium SP04 without one.
• 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 loses 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, rates a weld against 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.

Sharp rocks will scratch and gouge the plastic over time. Those are working marks, and the plate keeps protecting.

The kit includes the brackets, mounting bolts and washers. You bolt the plate to the frame at four points with no drilling and no changes to the bike, so an impact goes into the frame and not through the bolts into the cases. You can drain the oil without removing the plate, and the bike still sits on a stand. The SP16 works with clutch and ignition cover guards and with the PG21 pipe guard for the OXA exhaust.

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