#winner

Some months back, nearly a year now, I wrote about the Black Dog Cycle Works Ultimate Skid Plate for the KTM Adventure 1190 R in our EZ ADV Upgrades series. Since then, Black Dog has dipped its paws into the smaller dual-sport skid plate market, offering their Ultimate Skid Plate for KTM and Husqvarna dual-sport machines such as the EXC and FE lines. We were offered the chance to test the new skid plate just in time for a 1,000-mile dual-sport ride through Baja, Mexico. A rocky ride with everything from technical boulder bashing trails and rock gardens to long high-speed gravel roads. The perfect place to put the Ultimate Skid Plate to the ultimate test.

It’s not rocket science, is it people? We codgers know the value of keeping cables lubed and adjusted, along with positioning all the bike’s controls for optimum ergonomic comfort, preferably before the first ride, but I, for one, wasn’t born with this knowledge.