Frame Sliders- Do they work?

[kkim]

First off, frame sliders were designed to protect the frame/engine during higher track speeds to minimize costly damage to race bikes. There is still some debate among racers if they indeed do that or make matters worse... I've heard the arguments for each.

Lately, frame sliders seem to be installed as a measure to minimize/avoid any damage due to low speed and stationary drops for beginner riders. I understand the whole concept is like insurance... you hope you never need them, but are good to have just in case of an accident, but that's the question... do they really work for that purpose?

For those of you that have frame sliders and have been involved in minor mishaps (or more major ones, if you want to share), did they work as designed and prevent any damage to your bike during a drop? If not, what was the cost of the damage done to the bike... more or less than the cost of the sliders themselves?

I see a lot of members wanting to put sliders on to protect their bikes, so I guess this is the after the fact question to those unfortunate to test theirs out and for anecdotal (based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis) evidence to those looking to install. Help us out with your real world feedback.

[Xoulrath]

Well thankfully I have never been down at speed and I hope to keep it that way (*knocks on wood*).

I did have a small drop in a parking lot about a month or so after I got the 250. Nothing serious at all, but the bike slammed down hard. I was doing a 360 turn and was trying to turn as tightly as possible. I already decided to use minimal counter balancing and to simply catch the bike with my foot if anything should happen.

Well, I turned too tight too fast and I started to put my foot down. My boot got caught against the guard and peg (brake side) and the bike went from upright to flat on the ground.

I can't say with 100% certainty that anything would have happened. However, based on the gash the frame slider put in the asphalt, I can imagine the fairing would have cracked. What's that, a $200 - $400 replacement? The frame sliders cost me about $200. I feel it was a good investment. Literally the only damage I had was to the end cap of the frame slider and mirror. I was missing paint on the end cap, but it is also replaceable. The very outside edge of the right mirror looked like it had a bit of sandpaper rubbed against it, otherwise it was fine.

For my planned track use, based on what I have read, I do not think I will use frame sliders. For the street, though, I have no problem with them and prefer them. My ZX came with them and I left them on.

[Toly]

I have just seen someone drop his bike during a low-speed, tight turn. Had there been no frame sliders, the fairing would have needed replacement, and it is expensive. Mind you, a bike can be dropped more than once. Watching that drop made me an instant believer in frame sliders. All we had to do was to bend back the clutch lever. I really want to get sliders for my bike, asap.

[wyckedflesh]

My 250R was dropped over on the right side thanks to a big Logger Boot print into the left side of the bike while I was in a movie theater.

Slight scuff on the fairing where it flares out from the seat before tapering back to the tail light.

Couldn't do anything about the very large puddle of Fuel around the bike though...

[Zombiphone]

The first time I dropped my bike without sliders, I ended up with a big crack punched into the fairings from the turn signal, light scrapes, and a broken clutch lever. The last time I dropped it with sliders, I ended up with a slightly scuffed slider and nothing else wrong. But those were both drops at a standstill- I've yet to ever go down with them on at speed.

I would say, so long as the asphalt is level, they should work fine at low/no speed drops that a lot of beginners will suffer. They're probably very well worth it for those who decide to get a new or just pristine bike as they're first bike. I probably wouldn't be rocking a left fairing decorated with battle scars if I had had them when I was still rather new to it all.

But, all that said, I removed mine a month or so ago. Setting aside that they supposedly make a bike very prone to flipping when crashed on the track (I've still yet to personally try this), it turns out that that big bar that mounts them very obnoxiously blocks access to the carburetor, making it both difficult to remove and replace, and near impossible to access while it's attached.

So if you work on your bike or expect to crash at speed, they probably aren't a good call. But they'd likely be worth their weight in gold to the average commuter or newer rider.

[oroboros]

I just had the displeasure of sliding my bike across about 25ft of pavement into a ditch this morning. While I do not have frame sliders I am going to guess that they would have done little to help. The pictures don't look that bad and honestly I guess everything considered the bike did O.K.

I bent the left handle bar, rash all over the left fairing and rear plastics are broken in a few places. Both turn signals are gone. I pulled my bike out the ditch and picked up my parts...had to pull out leaves and dirt from everywhere and brush the chain off. Thankfully there does not seem to be any major damage. I rode it the 20 miles back home.





I was in the curve at about 40 leaned over and everything was going perfectly. Stuck like glue.

I suspect that my problem was the kickstand switch. It lifted up the rear tire and we went for a slide.




My gear did its job. The jacket is torn up! Wear your gear folks.

[kaiserz]

^ what kind of jacket is that? mesh? textile?

[oroboros]

It's a Cortech HRX jacket and is a combination of leather, textile and mesh. I like it. Zipps together with the pants.

[kaiserz]

Sweet! 3 in one jacket combo, do they come with fries? (okay that was lame XD ). are they gonna be good when you use it on 70° - 80° weather? because I have a textile "winter jacket", perf leather"colder spring", mesh "summer" and I'm a little concern about the mesh's abbreviation resistant. THANKS (:!

(Sorry for hijacking this tread that's gonna be my last question )

[HKr1]

They seemed to help allot on the other bike, tested them at around 70.

So much so, Iam looking into more of them. Rhinomoto for some fork sliders, Agras for another case slider & Driven for some axle block sliders

Wish I had a race team to put my baby back together after a mishap, then I wouldnt worry.

[oroboros]

Originally Posted by kaiserz

Sweet! 3 in one jacket combo, do they come with fries? (okay that was lame XD ). are they gonna be good when you use it on 70° - 80° weather? because I have a textile "winter jacket", perf leather"colder spring", mesh "summer" and I'm a little concern about the mesh's abbreviation resistant. THANKS (:!

(Sorry for hijacking this tread that's gonna be my last question )

The jacket has been fine in the upper 80's. I bought it for summer so have not used the liner.

[Kevin2109]

They do work! And thank God for them. I was showing someone my bike this morning and had to put the kickstand up then forgot to put it back down and dropped the bike I did baby her down but she doesnt have one scratch

[Green Streak]

Good thread. I have been contemplating putting them on, but wasn't sure how much they would help. I checked out the Wiki and this thread and I think I will go for it. Thanks!

[Talonne]

They do work.

I have the Shogun frame sliders, and have dropped by bike twice (both times at a standstill). One drop was in a gravelly alleyway, and the other in a parking lot. If I hadn't had sliders installed, I would have at the very least scratched up my fairings and turn signal trying to lift the bike back up. After both of these drops, all I have to show for it is a tiny gouge on the bar end slider, some scratching on the main slider, and the tinest (1cm long but very thin) scratch on the tail fairing.

[reaubideux]

Yep, they work. I low-sided 2 days ago on the left side. Good portion of the puck is gone, the bracket is bent - possibly able to bend it back and keep using but the fairings survived with some rash on the front by the headlight, some scratched up bar ends and clutch lever but other than that they saved me some expensive repairs which most likely would've required an insurance claim. I'll probably get around to repairing the body work.

[coondog]

With sales having like tripled and this AFTER prices quadrupled (R&D in there though) frame sliders are almost considered mandatory my many. The development bears that out. In fact it was a joke amongst pre-08 ninja riders, where can I get some? Everyone knew you couldn't.

[rockNroll]

I've never run frame sliders, even on a race bike, but I have been a fan of non folding foot pegs for years. There's a chance of one catching and causing a sliding bike to flip just like a frame slider, but I've thrown a few bikes down and have seen hundreds and I'm convinced they help more than hurt.

[Penguin250]

Am I the only one who got some, while not hoping to use them, but also because I like the way they look? Got the CF ones from shogun with red end caps for the whitey. They installed like a breeze... except the crank case killed 1 dremel and about 15-20 discs before I finally got the cut out finished.

Can't say how they work though, as I dropped it twice before I got them. One high side at maybe 5 mph. Nothing happened to anything except I learned how to put a turn signal back on. The other drop, even the slider wouldn't have helped because it hit some ceramic pots before it hit the ground, grinding off some of the decal on the rear.

[Little_Ghost]

Like a dumbass, I bought my bike before I learned to ride it and then proceeded to try to learn on it with no sliders. Surprise surprise... I dropped it at a standstill on the asphalt and punched a big hole around the turn signal and scratched the hell out of the right fairing. I ended up buying an all new set of fairing$. I learned my lesson and just finished putting on the Shogun sliders, bar ends and spools.

Makes me feel better to hear everyone talk about dropping their bike. And it makes me feel better knowing the frame sliders will probably save the fairings if I do the same stupid thing again someday.

My advice to anyone new to riding: Get sliders and install them BEFORE you try to learn to ride on your new bike - no matter how tempting it is to ride it beforehand. The sliders are a good investment.

Drew, that sucks. The bike looks better than I expected it to though after your story. Glad you had on the proper gear.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Little_Ghost

Makes me feel better to hear everyone talk about dropping their bike.

You're not alone.

[Kevin2109]

Not only do they help in a drop but they help when your hit Last night as I was on the freeway (splitting lanes ) A lady changed lanes as I was next to her. She hit me pretty hard, I wasnt wearing boots at the time to my foot got hit pretty hard. When we pulled over I noticed half her car had a HUGE gash in it from my frame slider and my peg. Seriously if it wasnt for the frame sliders by bones would have been crushed not bruised!

Before the ride I was planning on checking out boots that weekend. But literally 45 min after that I spent $430 (Damn CA tax) On a pair of SIDI ST Airs. I will never ride without a boot again!

[gfloyd2002]

At high speed, sliders could catch and flip the bike, particularly dangerous for a high side. The couple of people I know who race won't touch them. And at low speed, the amount of damage they prevent might be less than the cost of the sliders. The shogun sliders cost $175. I dropped my bike twice (well, my wife dropped it once, and I dropped it once) - both low speed. Total damage done was about $100 for both drops. So did I save $75 by not installing?

There is a sweet spot in between the high and ultra-low speed drops, though, where it looks like they would be really useful. There is also some insurance value for them, particularly if you aren't going to take your bike to the track. And, I think I might be in the market. Just noting that it might be a closer call than responses in this thread so far indicate.

[peachdiddy]

A friend of mine went high side on his SV1000S. Not only did they flip the bike right into him, but after they landed the second time, they shattered. Both fairings, front cowl, rear plastics, all totaled. And the injury on his left hip from the bike. I think I'll ride without 'em, for now.

[SSR]

Heh, my left fairing is all scratched to hell from when I low-sided it early last year. I was thinking of replacing the fairing and buying frame sliders, but, eh, what the heck, I decided to leave my scratched up fairing on and just use those as my "frame sliders". Adds personality to the bike, and when people ask, gives me a chance to give 'em a good story.

[rusninja]

To be honest i think if you change the big shrek ear turn signals to low profile flush mounts theres less chance of cracking because most cracking seems around the turn signals. So if you drop it or low side not much to hook and hopefully if it does happen, only scrapes on bikes and maybe turn signals then needing to replace fairings.

[Lowspeed Lowside]

Low leftside @ 15mph-20mph with frame-sliders and ending up in a ditch:

• slightly bent left handlebar
• broken left signal
• snapped off left rear-view mirror
• scratched and cracked nose fairing
• scratched and cracked (frame-slider bent and pushed it upward) left front fairing
• scratched and cracked left rear fairing
• chipped taillight
• big piece missing from the right rear fairing

Can't imagine it could have been much worse without frame-sliders. Probably the best advice is:

• sell off all the OEM stuff including the fairings and replace it with the least expensive after-market stuff available. The odds are that beginners will break something within six months, so they might as well make it cheap
• Use the savings to buy a functional back protector to replace that flimsy piece of foam that apparently passes for armor when you get an armored jacket. Saves $2000 in medical bills if you can avoid breaking your ribs (ask me how I know ).

[wtfh4xx]

I am sure that the quality fo the sliders also affects their performance.
Which brand were you using LL?

[wtfh4xx]

Originally Posted by Penguin250

Can't say how they work though, as I dropped it twice before I got them. One high side at maybe 5 mph. Nothing happened to anything except I learned how to put a turn signal back on. The other drop, even the slider wouldn't have helped because it hit some ceramic pots before it hit the ground, grinding off some of the decal on the rear.

How do you highside at 5mph?

[Lowspeed Lowside]

Originally Posted by wtfh4xx

I am sure that the quality fo the sliders also affects their performance.
Which brand were you using LL?

Unfortunately I don't know for sure as I bought the bike used. Each one poked through the bend in the slit of the fairing had an 'arm' and bolts that were fastened to where the long engine-bolt was. I think they looked like these:



Obviously I wasn't impressed enough to keep them on. Anything remotely practical needs to be spring loaded and have a large convex rubber surface. My : all standard frame sliders are snake-oil and worth exactly $0.00.

[randy328]

Have sliders on the race bike (I'm guessing about a third of the racers have them around here).

In the lowsides we've experienced, they have done exactly what they are supposed to do: the frame and engine has not been damaged. Any other protection is icing on the cake and any other damage is to be expected, as they are not designed to protect levers, pegs, steps, fairings, etc.

[adri99an]

Originally Posted by SSR

Heh, my left fairing is all scratched to hell from when I low-sided it early last year. I was thinking of replacing the fairing and buying frame sliders, but, eh, what the heck, I decided to leave my scratched up fairing on and just use those as my "frame sliders". Adds personality to the bike, and when people ask, gives me a chance to give 'em a good story.

My bike has 2 sides to it...
A good side- to show its beauty
A bad scratched up side- to show that you must respect her

[pushkin]

Originally Posted by Little_Ghost

Like a dumbass, I bought my bike before I learned to ride it and then proceeded to try to learn on it with no sliders. Surprise surprise... I dropped it at a standstill on the asphalt and punched a big hole around the turn signal and scratched the hell out of the right fairing. I ended up buying an all new set of fairing$. I learned my lesson and just finished putting on the Shogun sliders, bar ends and spools.

Makes me feel better to hear everyone talk about dropping their bike. And it makes me feel better knowing the frame sliders will probably save the fairings if I do the same stupid thing again someday.

My advice to anyone new to riding: Get sliders and install them BEFORE you try to learn to ride on your new bike - no matter how tempting it is to ride it beforehand. The sliders are a good investment.

Drew, that sucks. The bike looks better than I expected it to though after your story. Glad you had on the proper gear.

my fairing got scratched and broken (looking for sliders now ) i'm wondering if i should play around with plastic welding and painting or just get a new ones.
how much did your fairing cost ?

[Little_Ghost]

Dropped my bike for the first time since installing the Shogun Crash Kit Friday night, trying to do a tight turn in a parking lot at a low speed (I think I should have been going even slower than I was) and nothing is damaged at all except for a little scuff on the right slider. So happy I installed the sliders. Not only is the bike looking good, it was a lot less embarrassing than had I totally effed my bike up in front of a bunch of people.

[ungluck]

my shogun kit held up and def cut down on damage at a 55mph drop and tumble across a lane into a ditch...**** happens. i bought sliders for it.

they work.