If you are riding in rough and rocky terrain, you may want to consider a little more protection to the bottom side of your vehicle. Since there are lots of obstacles in the mountains and high desert where we ride, the editors of Dirt Toys Magazine decided to beef up the belly of our Polaris Ace 570 Sportsman with the Factory UTV Ace Skid Plate.
The Ace comes stock with a skid plate. However, the OEM plate covers only the area directly under the rider and is about a quarter-inch thick. A thin metal plate covers the back end where the engine sits.
Although that’s adequate protection, the Factory UTV skid plate is three-eighths of an inch thick and covers the entire bottom of the Ace—basically twice the area with twice the protection. The Factory UTV skid plate is made from UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) plastic and is significantly lighter and more efficient than aluminum. The skid plate has an incredibly low coefficient of friction and outstanding impact strength.
It comes in two pieces with a smaller piece that covers the front bottom of the Ace giving the protection to where your A-arms attach. The Factory UTV actually fits perfectly with the pre-drilled holes located exactly where they need to be.
Installation is pretty straightforward. I did it by myself but this is a process that would go much easier with two people because of the bulkiness of the large skid plate. The advantage I had was I could hook the Ace up to my winch and lift the front end up so I didn’t have to crawl under it to get to the bolts.
