1 are they worth the price
2 can i make my own
3 do they protect all that well

 

I certainly think they are worth the price unless all you ride in is the sand. One rock can tear up the bottom of your quad. One stick can rip a CV joint. The guards protect that and save that cost. Most of the plates are aluminum so you could fab one up. I just wanted to bolt on so I went the Ricochet way.
The only drawback is if you are thinking of going with a plow, some skid plates will interfere with the plow mount. One other advantage is that the skid plates will give the machine a smooth bottom to help go over trees and other obstacles.
I'm not sure if your BF650 was like the other Praries but the skid that was under the engine acted liked a scoop going through mud or snow. The stock skids were as thin as pie pans, one hit and see ya. Some aftermarket brands do protect better than others. Highlifters protected the best but also were the priciest. Ricochet was a good compromise and also Aluminum Products is not bad but I don't care for the mounting(it will rust).

 

I made my own using diamond plate.

 

xman, can you post pics of your diamond plate skid plates. I'd like to do the same and a couple pics would help.

thanks