Any one out there know if the factory Suzuki skid plate for the Ozark belly is really supposed to be only 1/8" thick? I just bought one off of Ebay from a guy with 100% Positive feedback and I want to make sure I got what I paid for. It had the Suzuki hardware pack, still sealed, but the skid was not in the factory packing. It doesn't look like a knock off, when comparing it to the picture in the directions.

I also bought a Suzuki rear end skid plate off of another guy and it was more like 1/4".

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

 

1/8 inch sounds about right. It's pretty thin however I have whacked it pretty hard on the rocks and have put some dents in it but it does it's job of protecting the underside of the quad. I'd take the thin metal skidplate of my Ozark over any of those plastic skidplates on the high-end quads any day.

Just curious--what happened to the skidplate that came with your Ozark? Did it get destroyed somehow? Why replace it?

 

The factory one is still on it. From the looks of it, the full one will offer a little more protection, but not much. I've never seen a skid this thin, I expected it to be more in the 3/16" - 1/4" range. The rear plastic skid was pretty beat up, so it was a no-brainer.

Thanks for the reply.

 

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the stock skids not the Suzuki add-on skids (which are better than stock)

I think 1/8 inch thick max makes the most sense for a quad. You have to consider weight. Most skidplates for Jeeps and other 4X4 trucks are 3/16-1/4 inch thick but these skids are really friggin heavy! I just put some on my Nissan Xterra--3/16" thick. Jeep and truck skidplates need to be thicker because you bang into rocks harder than any quad would. You just have more weight behind it. While adding 50 pounds of weight to your truck would do little to slow you down, it could make a difference on your quad with it's little 246cc engine. So it's important to keep your skids light on your quad. For this reason I highly doubt that Suzuki makes metal skidplates for an Ozark that are 3/16-1/4 inch thick.

I just looked at the stock skid plates on my Ozark. They are sheet metal maybe less than 1/16 inch thick and I have banged them pretty hard. They dent but they hold. The 1/8" thick skid plates should be more than adequate without weighing you down too much.

 

Thanks for the reply...I feel better about the purchase. I really doubted the guy I bought it from was trying to screw me. His follow-up with me was second to none and he still had 100% feedback.

Got a Great deal on the rear Ozark Suzuki skid, off Ebay too. $22.50, to the door, still in the factory packing. I emailed the guy and said that this was too good to be true, what's up. He said it was new, in the pack and was getting rid of excess stock. Well, it was just as he described.