Belly Pan and other things

I believe the main reason we run the belly pan is to protect the oil filter from possible puncture, that can't be good, and to an extent to protect the bottom of the engine. Well having lowered my bike appx 1" I am either more prone to those issues or not so much, I know I have not decreased the chances. I do know that the combination of lowering and belly plan has caused me to scrape on the belly pan more than I would like to. I am less concerned about the engine than I am about the filter. What if I purchased a oil filter sleeve/protector and removed the belly pan and worried less about scraping in da twisties ?

It doesn't just protect the oil filter, it also protects your coolant bottle. I would leave the pan on and if it starts to wear bad on the rear corner, pop rivet an aluminum angle over it.

+1…and I have both!!!

I will leave it on.

Another thing I noticed this weekend that I never noticed before, was riding on roads that had small debris such as sand very small stones..., I had a lot of sht come up the opening ,were you look down the fork tubes, and keep hitting me in the face, very irritating.

There is a foam insert you can purchase to fill them holes, I have never used them so I can't give any opinion on them.

Just took my black belly pan off and it sure is beat up. Going to clean it up and repaint it. I know from it's looks I'm not going far without it. I also live out in the country and ride a few gravels roads at time. I now believe it's a necessity.

Took mine off. Only the outside edges had any damage. Made a simple 24 GA 'cover' for the bottom of the O.F. reservoir. Held on w/3M tape. Leaving the pan off for know.
Oil filter doesn't bother me,,, I use a power-sports oil filter w/thick walls. (Not a car filter with thin walls.) Also,,, if you've ever owned a Roadliner/Stratoliner, with it's filter located sideways directly behind the front tire, eh,, like myself,,, you will also will feel the higher / offset location of the filter on the flat 6 has nothing to worry about!!! LOL!!!

Something else worth considering is the Mcgyver Belly Pan. At least in my case, it installed more deeply than the previous thin black one I had and, as a result, doesn't hang down as low. No doubt, it's still possible to hit an edge but much less likely and it hasn't happened so far. Also, this pan is considerably more robust than my previous one and should provide more protection. I don't even mind that it is shiny diamond-plate because you can barely see it in the first place. The only negative I can think of, and this is a minor one, is that it was more difficult to install.

I agree with Hornblower:yes:

I considered the Mcgyver belly pan. I went with the aluminum Big Bike instead. I fijured if I got to it in a corner it would give a little better than the diamond plate. I was right. The paint is gone on the entire right edge. Well so is some paint on the right exhaust shield and some paint and weld on the right front crash bar. Hum I must be doing more rights than lefts. :shrug: my main concern was the over flow jug.