[Mtnharleyguy]

Has anyone installed a Black Dog skid plate on their Pan America special?
I attempted to install one today. It will not bolt on without hitting the voltage regulator. With the front 2 bolts loosely in place, the rear of the plate is still over an inch from reaching the mounting bar that Black Dog supplies with the skid plate.
If I push the plate up to the bar so the rear bolts can be threaded in, the front of the plate pulls back on the bottom of the voltage regular. The regulator is mounted to a plastic bracket that flexes upon contact with the skid plate. I have no doubt that this contact will either crack the mounting bracket or damage the voltage regulator. Most likely both of these things will happen
Has anyone else had this problem? If so, did you contact Black Dog about the problem? What did they say?
I’ve been running a Black Dog skid plate on a R1200GS for over 10 years. The plate has withstood a lot of abuse. The only thing I’ve had to do is replace the mounts that come with the plate twice. They bend/crack with repeated contact with rocks etc… I expect this with repeated ground contact. I also expect to be able to install a new plate on a nearly new bike with no clearance issues.
Any input would be welcome.

 

[ODGreenPA]

Mine was a tad pain getting the rear/bracket bolts to line up and notice the front was little awkward. But I did play with it and bolts all went in and the front attached way it should.... So I might not have either noticed whats happening to you or mine installed way it should.... honestly, my issue was with the center stand springs, getting them off and back on... oh, This is my first adv bike and BDCW guard. Again, it was a bit of pain to get bolts lined up and started but I was able to.

Sorry not much help but thought I'd say I was able to get mine installed and bike still operates.

 

[Mtnharleyguy]

View attachment 1467

Mine was a tad pain getting the rear/bracket bolts to line up and notice the front was little awkward. But I did play with it and bolts all went in and the front attached way it should.... So I might not have either noticed whats happening to you or mine installed way it should.... honestly, my issue was with the center stand springs, getting them off and back on... oh, This is my first adv bike and BDCW guard. Again, it was a bit of pain to get bolts lined up and started but I was able to.

Sorry not much help but thought I'd say I was able to get mine installed and bike still operates.

ODGreen,

Thanks for the input. I have a request. Could you post 2 more pictures?

1 a closeup looking through the vent holes at the regulator. As low as possible. I’m trying to see if your skid plate contacts the regulator the way mine does.

2 a shot of the bottom bolt on the right brush guard. My skid plate makes contact with the flange that the bolt goes through on the brush guard shortly after making contact with the regulator. I want to see if your skid plate has adequate clearance there.

Thank you

 

[ODGreenPA]

Sure but gotta work then will

 

[ODGreenPA]

First off, don't think pics are gonna be helpful. Pretty difficult taking a good pic with light and focus.
But it looks very tight but does have room and I could see me touching/scraping regulator during install but at the time I didn't notice.
So here's a handful hopefully you'll be able to make sense out of them.

If/when you hear from BDCW I'd like to know what they say.
Sorry if this just confused you more

 

[Qmann6821]

Has anyone installed a Black Dog skid plate on their Pan America special?
I attempted to install one today. It will not bolt on without hitting the voltage regulator. With the front 2 bolts loosely in place, the rear of the plate is still over an inch from reaching the mounting bar that Black Dog supplies with the skid plate.
If I push the plate up to the bar so the rear bolts can be threaded in, the front of the plate pulls back on the bottom of the voltage regular. The regulator is mounted to a plastic bracket that flexes upon contact with the skid plate. I have no doubt that this contact will either crack the mounting bracket or damage the voltage regulator. Most likely both of these things will happen
Has anyone else had this problem? If so, did you contact Black Dog about the problem? What did they say?
I’ve been running a Black Dog skid plate on a R1200GS for over 10 years. The plate has withstood a lot of abuse. The only thing I’ve had to do is replace the mounts that come with the plate twice. They bend/crack with repeated contact with rocks etc… I expect this with repeated ground contact. I also expect to be able to install a new plate on a nearly new bike with no clearance issues.
Any input would be welcome.

I installed mine last week. Good quality and looks nice on bike. I had a hell of a time getting the rear to line up properly so I could install the bolts. I didn't consider that it may be hitting the voltage regulator up front. Everything appeared fine. I am not looking forward to removing at my next service, however, at that time I may look at "slotting" the 4 bolt holes to give me a little more flexibility when remounting. One thing I did notice pulling into garage, yesterday - I went to put side stand down, however, it was stuck in the up position. I pushed my rear stand down a little and this seemed to have released my side stand. I have not looked to see what the issue was, however, never had this issue prior to putting on skid plate.