Well, we’ve just trial-fitted the first run of our skid plates for the plastic 85L tank, and they’re perfect:
Finally you can pull that ridiculously cool, vintage RS tank (actually offered in 1970) down from the attic and put it back in service without fear of damage from road hazards.
We designed these after the factory Rally skid plate used under the shallow-bottomed tanks, paying careful attention to the proper large radius at the front (for correct visual appearance when mounted), the overall width, and the placement and location of the mounting holes in the trunk floor – to produce the skid plate that the factory would have made (had they made one for these tanks!)
Our design deviates from the typical aftermarket offerings by shaping the rear of the skid plate to protect the fuel line ports (a critical area that is in harm’s way by virtue of the very design of these low-slung fuel tanks) – and made our plate work in conjunction with the factory ‘Protection Plate’ as pictured:
CNC-cut & bent from a single piece of burly stainless steel; our skid plate weighs in at 18 pounds – roughly one pound over the factory rally plate – and that weight is low and between the front axles, right where you want it.
We’ll be putting these in kit form with the appropriate hardware and making them available this week, so get in touch with us if you want one of these from the first manufacturing run.
(products@zuffenhaus.us)