—By Chad de Alva
In model year 2023, the KTM group launched a new generation of dirt bike chassis with up to 95% new parts compared to the previous generation. In some cases, this means that there are new parts that need protecting, and in other cases such as the new swing arm, parts designed for the old swing arm will not work. Bullet Proof Designs (BPD) is a well-known American manufacturer of top shelf protective parts for dirt bikes and adventure bikes, and they've been hard at work developing new protective parts for the new Gen KTM group bikes. In no particular order, here is a selection of some of the protective parts that they make for the new Gen KTM group two strokes. In this case, we are working on a 2023 KTM 300 XC:
Power Valve Cover
2023 + KTM group two strokes use Throttle Body Injection (TBI) in conjunction with an electronic power valve. This means that on the left side of the motor there is an electronic actuator that controls the power valve or exhaust valve in place of a mechanical linkage. While this does make for some awesome two stroke performance, it also means that there is one more electronic part screwed to the side of your motor that is vulnerable to the perfectly aimed stick, or other source of impact from an obstacle or crash. Installation requires removing the bike’s fuel tank and stock power valve cover, but the process can be completed in just a few minutes. At the time of this writing, the actuator is not available from major online retailers, and sellers on eBay are asking for a couple hundred bucks for one, which makes adding a $60-$70 (price depends on color) cover a no brainer for added peace of mind.
Throttle Body Guard
Like the Power Valve Cover, the Throttle Body Guard protects critical components that are very expensive to replace. The Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) on these bikes retails for nearly $400, and there are two electrical connectors below the TPS that are not protected by the OEM plastic cover. The Bullet Proof Designs Throttle Body Guard protects the TPS, and these electrical connections from sticks and impacts resulting from a crash or even an errant strike from the heel of your boot. Installation takes a couple of minutes – you simply remove the OEM guard and install the BPD guard in its place. The Throttle Body Guard is an effective way to eliminate multiple potential points of failure on these new bikes.
Exhaust Flange Guard
Want to know what is not fun? When your two stroke pipe gets smashed on an obstacle and decides to take your bike’s cylinder exhaust flange out as well. Buying a new cylinder is a four-figure fix, assuming you can find a cylinder to buy. Getting the exhaust flange repaired, assuming you can, or finding a shop to do the work isn’t exactly a quick and/or cheap fix either. Just ask my friend Rob how he knows that. Installing the BPD Exhaust Flange Guard requires removing the bike’s pipe and pipe spring hangers before installing the BPD guard and the other parts. The process can be completed in 15 minutes, and BPD has an install video if you want to see the installation process beforehand. For a mere $50, you can add a BPD Exhaust Flange Guard to your bike, which will considerably strengthen your bike’s exhaust flange, making you far less likely to become a member of the broken exhaust flange club.
Swingarm Guard
To their credit, KTM’s new Gen Swingarm has better protected chain keeper mounting tabs than the old Gen Swingarm, yet it’s still possible to damage these tabs or the chain keeper screws if you smash your Swingarm into something hard enough. Installing the BPD Swingarm Guard takes a couple of minutes, as all that is required is removing the two chain keeper screws, positioning the guard, and reinstalling the screws. Where we ride, we spend a lot of time working in and around big basalt boulders and in other rocky places that have been known to kill unprotected chain keeper tabs, so the BPD Swingarm Guard is the deal of the century at $59 – especially compared to the cost a new one.
Fork Lug Guards
Next on our list of protective parts for riders who like to play in the rocks are BPD’s Fork Lug Guards. These burly billet parts shield your fork lugs and front brake caliper from damage. Access holes on the bottom of the guards allow you to adjust front suspension settings without removing the guards. Installing the guards takes a few minutes per side; the right side guard is held in place with longer fork lug pinch bolts, and the left side guard is held in place with the bottom brake caliper bolt and the axle bolt.
My one wish for the Left Lug Guard would be that it had the cutouts for accessing the pinch bolts with a socket wrench like the BPD front disk guard has. With the Left Lug Guard, you have to use a combination wrench to loosen and torque the pinch bolts, so running these bolts back up to spec requires using a combination wrench torque wrench adapter or other creative solution.
Rear Disk Guard
Rounding out the trifecta of protection from the big rocks in the world is the BPD Rear Disk Guard. We’ve been using these guards for years on everything from dirt bikes to adventure bikes, and after countless encounters with all sorts of rocks, roots, and other trail obstacles they are still going strong. An optional caliper guard can be added to protect your rear caliper (and ABS cable) as well. Installing requires removing the rear wheel and transferring the brake caliper over to the BPD guard. I have seen other brands of disk guards bend or break on the trail, but I have yet to see or hear of one of these BPD guards fail.
Radiator Guards
Bullet Proof Designs is probably best known for their Radiator Guards, and holding a set in your hands makes it easy to see why. There is just something impressive about large, well machined parts, and BPD Radiator Guards are a textbook example. Installing the BPD Radiator Guards over undamaged radiators is as easy as removing the bike’s fuel tank and shrouds, removing the stock radiator louvers, and replacing them with the BPD parts.
Compared to the stock louvers, the BPD Radiator Guards provide comprehensive frontal protection, better side crush protection, and additional support against folding compared to the stock parts.
The BPD Radiator Guards will flow a little bit less air than the OEM louvers, and in the case of our 2023 300 XC, we noticed a 5-10 degree increase in temperatures while riding in slow technical terrain. Yet that’s the price of protection, and something that we will happily pay to prevent skewering or smashing a radiator. BPD Radiator Guards aren’t cheap, but they’re well worth it for the peace of mind that they provide when you’re deep in the backcountry on your snow bike or dirt bike, and they’re a bargain compared to what cooking a motor can cost.
There is no shortage of CNC parts for dirt bikes on the market, but when it comes to these cheap Ali Baba specials, you’re rolling the dice on fit, finish, and material quality. Bullet Proof Designs on the other hand is the gold standard for quality, American-made CNC parts. Some of my BPD parts are more than seven years old, yet they still look good and are perfectly functional – the same can’t be said for other cheapo parts I’ve seen where the anodizing fades after a few days in the sun, or the part breaks after a couple of hits.
Dirt bikes are only getting more expensive, and many of the individual parts on these bikes command three or even four figure price tags IF you can find them, which makes BPD protection parts a smart move given the costs and potential down time spent waiting for replacement parts.
For more information on BPD parts, visit www.bulletproofdesigns.com.
