Curious on what the experience has been towards replacement plastics over the last couple of years. I have purchased four sets of Acerbis plastics. 2 sets for a '23 MC350F, 1 set of a '21 YZ250f and another set for a '21 KX250. I have not been very impressed with the fit on any of these bikes. Mainly stuff like how the number plates meet the fenders, line up with seat bolts, how the radiator shrouds line up with the tank and rad mounting holes, etc. I have not experienced these issues in the past, pre-pandemic - but I am seriously considering going with a different brand on an upcoming build. Reason I went with Acerbis in the last two occasions, is because they had full kits available, where both Polisport and UFO will always have me ordering individual plastics from different vendors to get everything I need.
I wanted to gather some feedback on whether others have experienced similar issues and if Polisport or UFO is known to be better fit? On both sets of Acerbis for the MC350 (about 6 months apart), they did NOT include reflective heat tape on the exhaust side number plate or in the package, where with the KX and YZF they did. I thought that was a bit cheap, because the bottom of the number plate DOES make contact with the exhaust. Without the tape, it melts the plastic. Had to address this myself.
Anyways, just curious if going with Polisport or UFO and the inconvenience of piecing the kits together is justified. They seem to never have the full kits in stock. And when I go to order at least something needed, like fork guards, shrouds, front number plates, rear fender, etc always seem to be out of stock and needs to be procured from different companies.
Hands Down Acerbis
In the last year I've had an Acerbis set and a Polisport set. Both were not that great. I just ordered a UFO set so we'll see how they fair.
UFO is the best in my experience. Great quality and fit. Colors are consistent.
Of the Acerbis I’ve used the colors have been off (especially noticeable with individual pieces) and I’ve had to enlarge bolt holes to make things fit.
Polisport was really cheap feeling. Easy to crease
UFO fit the best for me..looked correct too...on a Kawasaki...
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
FWIW UFO has had a 45% off sale for like the last 6 months on their website. I just bought a full set of plastic for my old 125 for $80.
I've always used UFO and Acerbis, especially because of their catalog for old dirtbikes, great quality in both brands...it's true that in some kits, Acerbis has turned out to be better, and in other kits UFO has been better.
On the other hand there are Polisport and Rtech, I've not used them, but it seems that they have improved a lot in recent years.
Other brands, like DC, Preston petty, Maier... are specialized in vintage, but they are more "handmade" in manufacturing
Cheers.
For the KTM/ GG/ Husky.......go with Polisport. They match up perfectly and i believe they make the plastic for KTM (that's the rumor anyways). For Yamaha.....Cycra is a good choice.
Everything else.....Acerbis is the closest
Up until this new set of plastics, I would say Acerbis, but they fell short on my newest purchase. I even purchased the number plates again, thinking it was maybe a one time deal. Nope, the bolt hole is still half inch off. I ended up having to use a self-tapping screw to keep the damn thing in place. I may try a different company next time.
What about Cycra?
Interesting to see everyone's experiences.
Acerbis has always been spot on for me through multiple bikes and brands. I always order through RMATVMC, if that makes any difference.
UFO for me second would be Acerbis.
I just rebuilt my wifes 2005 crf250x top end and got some new Acerbis plastics. Not a very good fit anywhere. Gave up on Polisport a long time ago for the reasons mentioned above. I'll try UFO next time.
The Polisport on my sons 125 creases really easy. Felt cheap.
Acerbis on my 250 fit decent aside from some small gaps at the air box.
UFO had the best fit of all three. The CR red was brighter, almost fluorescent compared to what I actually thought I would get.
I ordered the UFO direct instead of through Motosport or, RMATV. I got two full sets of plastic for $88 each compared to $125+ for what it’s worth.
I like UFO best but Acerbis is just as good, though UFO felt stronger. The cycra powerflow shroud kit for my YZF was one of the worst fitting plastic I have ever used, just ahead of the vacuum formed Maier vintage stuff.
UFO and Acerbis are splitting hairs in quality and fitment. Polisport feels a little cheaper but it’s held up nonetheless
UFO and Acerbis are both excellent but recently things have gotten rocky. My 23 KX450 Acerbis set did not fit terribly good. For my 23 CRF250R I grabbed a full UFO set and the OEM red color was so bad I had to buy a full Acerbis set.
I've never had any fitment issues with Cycra or Polisport, I have with Acerbis and UFO.
UFO hands down, plus cheap and quick to get. I used to use acerbis, but lately they're a lot more expensive
Pit Row
I
ive always had best luck with UFO and acerbis
You guys with the couple issues with Aceribis should reach out to them-Brian there is the shit and has amazing customer service.
On my '20 husky the Acerbis kit fit better than the OEM stuff I took off that was brand new.
UFO has always worked great for me, Acerbis was hit or miss.
You guys do know that ACERBIS get most of their plastics made by UFO? Have a look at the casting marks on the back, they'll tell you. Cycra is now owned by ACERBIS... All these brands now share manufacturing, due to the cost of molds. Fact.
I sell Acerbis,Cycra,UFO,Polisport,R-tech and Powerparts plastic kits. I have installed 100's of sets of graphics onto plastic kits and installed many of those plastic kits onto bikes, or got feedback from the customers who installed them.
For any of the KTM brands, POLISPORT is the best . The Gasgas red that Polisport makes has a lot more pigment and is more opaque than Acerbis and UFO. Only bummer with Polisport Gasgas plastic is they have a single part number rear fender and it comes with the tabs and cutouts for the off road versions light and kickstand. Hopefully that changes. On recently made Polisport Gasgas plastic kits , You can see grind marks where they grind off the Gasgas logos. The OEM color KTM kits used to also have KTM logos. But are now no longer there. I had a piece of Gasgas Polisport that they did not totally grind off the logo. I compared the OEM color Polisport to OEM KTM plastic and it was identical on the 2019-22 model. Molded the same, same metal inserts , etc.
But for Honda's and Yamaha's the polisport will show stress marks the easiest of all the brands . Acerbis and UFO are better than Polisport for these bikes. R-tech is harder to get in the US now, But for Honda and Yamaha they have the best resistance to the white stress marks of all the brands. Polisport always fits well , R-tech has been the best fitting Italian brand. Cleanest molding and best overall plastic across all brands.
UFO plastic has also been great fitting and some customers of mine prefer it over Polisport on Gasgas because they have the MX specific rear fender . Some of my most picky customers have bought the UFO kits for Gasgas and now request it over the Polisport. For Honda and Yamaha I would say to go with UFO if R-tech is unavailable for you.
Polisport,and UFO have part numbers for FULL kits that come with everything the Acerbis full kits come with now. Polisport has some mixed color kits too like Acerbis now. WIth a OEM color front and black rear. UFO tends to be OEM or single color kits on kits with Fork guards.
Gray plastic... The Acerbis is more silver, Polisport is a Nardo gray that is a coolish shade. Stark Varg OEM gray has a green tint to it when compared to others. I have not had a chance to compare UFO or R-techs grays to Polisport or Acerbis. Both are different than the OEM gray on Husky. the OEM husky gray is kinda between the Polisport and Acerbis lighter than Polisport ,darker than Acerbis.
I am working on a video series that will show a lot of the Pro's and cons of each brand and comparing it to OEM.And showing stress testing on the colors that tend to show those white marks. I was going to make a single video for all brands. But I think breaking it up might make more sense and keep it from getting too boring . So people can get info for the brand bike they are looking for.
R-tech also makes some stuff for other brands. Acerbis/Cycra/UFO/R-tech. Not on every piece , but there are some parts that all use the same molds. And UFO makes some for the other brands. My old US rep told me about R-tech making some stuff for other brands. And comparing parts over the years I've noticed some parts from UFO and Acerbis had identical moldings.
The new Acerbis Raptor plates are Cycra stadium plates. The Cycra OEM style kits that come with a stadium plate, but the rest is OE style fit, its all Acerbis. You can see the Acerbis logos on some, made in Italy on all of it. I don't know if any Cycra ius still made in the US anymore. They got in trouble a while back for importing stuff with made in the USA labels on it. I think there is a thread on here someplace with info about that.
Very informative and great information. Thanks for sharing!!
Acerbis owns Cycra fyi.
I didn’t know that. Discount prices 13.00 for front fender . If ya click on ufo on the racer x vet series site.
Acerbis bought them a couple of years ago. So they are basically Acerbis.
To the OP. I have used all three brands the last 5-7 years and all have been good. So go with the cheapest colorway that you want.
To summarize- Acerbis, UFO, Cycra and Polisport all fit the best and worst..
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