Tenere 700: Outback Motortek engine guards and skidplate

Oh boy, did I ever agonize over what skid plate and crash bars to choose! On the one hand were excellent options based on engineering requirements: these included guards and skid plate from Adventure Spec, the plastic skid plate from AXP Racing, and even the Yamaha OEM guards and skid plate. On the other hand, COVID's interference with supply chains made some options unavailable within a reasonable timeframe. Since I didn't want to get stuck with nothing for when my bike arrived in early June, my options converged to the lower crash bars and skid plate from Outback Motortek. They appeared to be in stock and I'd been satisfied with the versions I'd installed on my Africa Twin. 

Evidently, every other proud new owner of a Tenere in Canada had the same idea. My "in stock" items were actually sold out at the Canadian distributor and so I ended up waiting more than a month for delivery after placing my order. Now that I've finally sorted out the installation, here are my observations and recommendations in case you're considering the same parts. 

First, Outback Motortek is widely recognized as having good stuff. Their materials, design, fit, and engineering all seem pretty solid and the company takes pains to test the practical effectiveness of their products. So, no real concerns about the engineering. I didn't opt for the full (upper) crash bars because of the weight they posed up high, and I figure that the combination of lower engine guards with pannier rack and panniers will provide adequate protection for low-speed tumbles. (R&G engine case covers are also on order to protect the vulnerable water pump.)

The high molecular weight tape inside the frame clamps is a nice touch to protect your bike. However, the clamp was more than snug on the frame, and tightening the bolts proved tricky. 

Some customers have reported poor finishing on some of Outback Motortek's parts lately (e.g. weld spatter and uneven fill) as well as some fitment being a nuisance. Both my left and right guards showed some of these minor problems, but they were easily resolved. 

The hardware included in my kit did have one significant shortcoming. Each guard uses an M12 bolt inserted through a 15mm high collar to mount the midpoint of the guard to the engine case through a frame member. The right-side bolt is 50mm long; the left side about 35mm. Since they thread into a major load point, you need a solid connection. However, the longer of the two M12 bolts provided in my kit was only about 55mm long--too short to provide more than about 6mm of thread inserted into the engine case. There's no way I'd compromise the connection strength at this location with such little thread insertion, where at least 20mm is required as per the OEM bolt. 

The following pic shows the OEM M12 engine bolt for the right side (black; 50mm long) compared with the longer of the two bolts provided in the kit (55mm; silver, in the middle). On the right side is a 65mm bolt which I ordered to ensure sufficient thread insertion. The specification of the 65mm bolt is:

M12-1.25 x 65mm, DIN960 Class10.9 Zinc (note the thread spacing of 1.25mm; 1.50 mm is more common in M12). Fastenal.ca carries this as part #11114018, cost of $2.00. The 65mm bolt has a 19mm hex head vs. 17mm for all the other bolts; I couldn't find a 17mm version. 

Here's the right side OEM bolt compared to the new 65mm bolt in the same position. The photo distorts the length difference; they're actually very close. 

For the left side engine guard, you can re-use the 50mm OEM bolt from the right side since it gives exactly the extra 15mm you need to ensure sufficient threading (and is the same length as the longer of the two kit bolts I received). Here's the 50mm bolt from the kit mounted in the collar and compared with the OEM left side bolt. Don't forget to use a washer when installing either of the 50mm bolts on the left side. 

The inside of the collar had a rough weld that needed a bit of filing so the bolt would sit flush.

The easiest way to install the guards is to first remove the two front body panels on each side of the bike (i.e. the panel with the turn signal attached and the small vented panel next to it). This provides access to properly align, hand-thread, and then torque the engine bolts to 75 N-m. I was not able to fit a socket onto the left side engine bolt because the guard was in the way (a minor design flaw). The two M6 hex bolts for the upper guard attachment point should be torqued to 30 N-m. Note that Yamaha thoughtfully made the OEM bolts long enough to accept the guard and ensure complete threading. Here are the OEM bolts (black) compared with the kit bolts. The OEM bolts on the left side have little rubber sleeves over the extra exposed thread on the inside. 

I found it easiest to install the engine bolt first, then the two M6 hex bolts at the top, then the lower cross-bar bolts, then the lower frame bolts for the U-bracket. 

The finished assembly seems to be sturdy. 

 

If I was choosing engine guards again, I'd probably opt for the Yamaha guards since they seem to have held up well for Nick Sanders and the two KAP2CAP riders. Plus they give the option to mount small bags, which is appealing. However, for my modest needs, the lower guards should do just fine.

As for the skid plate, it's a no-brainer to install and is a serious upgrade from the flimsy stock guard. I added a patch of 3M sound deadening material to the inside bottom on the left side (away from the exhaust pipe) to help reduce ringing vibrations. This seems to work, based on a highly scientific finger-flick test. 

The Outback Motortek guard uses much thicker material.