Hybrid Belly Pan,,

[Scotrod]

Anyone ever thought of shortening the belly pan by about half?

I already have an overflow tank protector mod in mind,,,, Just wondering if removing the rear 1/2 of the pan will aid in engine/exhaust heat-flush while still retaining some of the aerodynamics/small projectile deflection,,, (I say small as a 1 mm thick sheet of aluminum, whether the pan is full length or half, ain't gonna stop a 70 mph 'brick',,,)

Heat flush,,,

I'm not attempting to address anything relative to the ENGINE OVERHEATING,

None of our F6B's will overheat with any flavor of belly pan installed, vented or not.

I'm wondering about 'flushing' more of the header/transmission/oil pan heat down / out where the rear half of a belly pan would reside.

Attachment 5867

A few posts on the GL board indicate the pan may increase heat felt by the rider. (Many say it makes no difference, far more are stuck in the "NO, it doesn't make your engine overheat!" loop,,, )

Just for S + G, I pulled the pans off last night, but have not ridden since.

I've got some nice 24 GA flat I can make an overflow protector out of,,,, Just wondering if 1/2 the pan might evacuate as well as 'no-pan' and still help fend off a few small missiles,,,

[Steve 0080]

I have a belly pan that is very thick and I have never felt any heat from under the bike...then again, when I turn off the key I walk away from the bike and not hang around the bike!!!!

[Scotrod]

Only very few folks indicate it's 'hotter' riding a Wing with a belly plate than it is riding one w/o,,, (Lower legs mainly)

Most will say there is no difference,,,

Me?

About the only way it 'might' increase leg warmth would be if heat the headers/trans/etc were somehow 'diverted' and/or restricted from exiting out from under the bike,,,

(I've experimented with my mirror wind-wings and certain settings are better for purging warm air from out around the legs. I'm just trying not to turn the 6 into rolling plexi-display by adding even more wind wings!!! )

I'm willing to pull the plate's and see it it makes any difference...

The Wifes plate is 'ding-free', but has the 'hot spot' where the header cooked the anodizing,,, Mine has some light scratching along both outside edges,,, (She doesn't ride quite as hard/rough as I do) Mine doesn't have a 'hot-spot' as it was originally plain aluminum,,,, until I blacked it out w/BBQ paint!! LOL!!!

I like the basic protection that a belly pan provides from scud and small projectiles , but perhaps 1/2 a plate w/reservoir protection might purge a bit more heat,, maybe,,

(I have a mighty-fine pair of aviation snips from my previous life, and I ain't skeered ta use 'em!!! )

[bobbyf6b]

When I did my last oil change the allen bolts that hold the front piece on stripped out so I had to remove the whole pan. I decided to leave it off. That's the way it came so why not.

[Scotrod]

A person does hear about the occasional hole in the overflow tank, but the bike will run indefinitely w/o tank,,, no overheating issue. (Tank is ~$35-40~ to purchase, so not a HUGE amount)

Many ride w/o pans and have no 'projectile problems'

Some have worn/torn holes in the pans, but still, it's not like the pan is 1/2 thick hardened steel and it's taking ALL the abuse,,, It's only a light 'skin' of protection,,, meant to deflect ~smaller~ stuff. (If you hit something hard enough to rip your oil filter apart, I'm not sure an extra 1 mm 'skin' of aluminum would prevent that.)

Steves pan is 5/64 inch diamond plate. 1 mm = 0.03937 inch. 5/64 = 0.07812 inch, so about twice as thick as the show-chrome pans. No slots/venting in Steve's pan, so

(FWIW - Steve's pan = one made by a member of the GL board. Same entity has recently signed on with a Vendor on the GL board to sell his pan. Should be listed on the Vendor's website shortly. Sorry, Vendors name not yet available at the time of this post)

[Hornblower]

The belly pan I recently installed is the Macgyver pan. This is the thicker, diamond-plate version. Cruiseman has a YouTube on the installation if you want to view it. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Edx3Q0e3o

I originally had the thinner, black one that I purchased, I believe from WingStuff, but decided I would go with something a little more robust. With the original thin black one, as I drug the peg feelers, I was also dragging the bottom edges of the pan. Possibly, I didn't install that one correctly but I noticed that the Macgyer pan installed more fully which left less exposed pan to drag. So far, I don't believe it is touching on aggressive lean angles. I do imagine that it is still possible to hit but it would take something pretty extreme.

Finally, I should add that the Macgyer pan is more difficult to install due to the thicker metal and higher rigidity. Once I was sure I had the acorn nuts loose enough and the slots lined up properly, I carefully used a jack to help push the pan fully up. I was surprised at how far it went in .

Speaking of robust belly pans...even though the Macgyer pan is thicker and stronger than some of the others, I don't believe it will support jacking without bending. OTOH, it should provide protection against most strikes from road debris.

[stepbill]

The belly pan I recently installed is the Macgyver pan. This is the thicker, diamond-plate version. Cruiseman has a YouTube on the installation if you want to view it. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Edx3Q0e3o

I originally had the thinner, black one that I purchased, I believe from WingStuff, but decided I would go with something a little more robust. With the original thin black one, as I drug the peg feelers, I was also dragging the bottom edges of the pan. Possibly, I didn't install that one correctly but I noticed that the Macgyer pan installed more fully which left less exposed pan to drag. So far, I don't believe it is touching on aggressive lean angles. I do imagine that it is still possible to hit but it would take something pretty extreme.

Finally, I should add that the Macgyer pan is more difficult to install due to the thicker metal and higher rigidity. Once I was sure I had the acorn nuts loose enough and the slots lined up properly, I carefully used a jack to help push the pan fully up. I was surprised at how far it went in .

Speaking of robust belly pans...even though the Macgyer pan is thicker and stronger than some of the others, I don't believe it will support jacking without bending. OTOH, it should provide protection against most strikes from road debris.

That's the one that I bought but I have yet to install it .

[kjelders]

I just ordered the Louvered Stainless Steel belly pan again. I had one on my 07 Wing. I went with the black belly pan on the F6B. This past weekend when I went to change the oil and filter the two screws were "frozen in time". I had to remove the whole belly pan to change the oil.

[F6B-RICH]

I just ordered the Louvered Stainless Steel belly pan again. I had one on my 07 Wing. I went with the black belly pan on the F6B. This past weekend when I went to change the oil and filter the two screws were "frozen in time". I had to remove the whole belly pan to change the oil.

Yes mine were frozen also at first oil change.I removed the whole pan and beat the crap out of the screws to get them out.I installed allen cap screws and so far no problems

[Scotrod]

I made a point out of dippin the screws in the old oil before re-installing after hearing of seizures.

The louvered pan looks like it would vent better than the rest, and probably a bit more sturdy than the (thin) aluminum pans,,,

(Good price on Amazon for the stainless pans right now)