Outback Motortek | 12 month Review

12 months ago I installed the Outback Motortek crash bars and skid plate on my Yamaha Tenere 700. Since then I have completed 20,000km of adventure trails and commuter miles, and while I sit here in the summer sun, in the no mans land between Christmas and New Year, with a beer in hand, it's time to evaluate.

As well as for inspection purposes, I took the skid plate off to complete an oil change, and clean out some of the chain oil thats been accumulating on on the hard to reach places. Some degreaser and a bit of bike cleaner, a scrubbing brush, then hose off and its pretty clean.

First thing to note, there wasn't much in the way of stones of other road debris on the inside of the plate. I expected river rocks, stones and maybe a bit of mud. Apart from one stone which was stuck with some tar, and a bit of road grime, there was nothing. Clearly the fitment is good and the sides of the plate come up high enough to fend off most rocks.

The skid plate its self is made from some strong stuff, with good thick solid welds. Just handling the skid plate you can tell its solid, with no flex and a good bit of weight to it. When riding along, occasionally you can hear the rocks being deflected with a gong-like sound.

Just look at these photos of the damage the skid plate has sustained over the past 12 months of adventure riding, and imagine if that stones and other debris that caused that had hit my engine, frame or radiator.

The crash bars are just as solid, protecting the bike well during a couple of slow speed drops. I have read about some people with fitment issues, however I've not experienced any such issues at any stage. In fact, the bars bolted straight up and are still symmetrical even after some abuse.

So, would I recommend Outback Motortek crash bars and skid plate?
Well, this will be easy.... YES!
I absolutely love the Outback Motortek kit, its strong, easy to install, and does exactly what it says on the box. After 12 months of abuse, it's ready to go for another round.