Crash Sliders. Do they really "slide" a crash?

[Abu_Mishary]

I had an unfortunate event on Sunday when I low sided while going through a corner. My leathers saved me. Nothing big to repair on the bike as nothing was serious; just cosmetics except for the left foot peg (broken). As soon as the bike stop sliding, I got my bike up, looked at the side fairings; feeling glad that nothing serious and no fairings replacement needed. But I noticed one thing that If I had crash sliders, that thing would be bent towards the fairings and my left fairings would completely damaged. So doesn't it defeat its purpose of having the sliders at the first place?

But I am definitely getting those engine covers!

[Mechanikrazy]

It really depends on the type of crash. But the primary thing is that frame sliders are not designed to protect the fairing. They are supposed to protect the frame from damage.

In some cases, the bolt holding the slider should be strong enough to keep the slider in place. However, if the slider catches, it might snap/bend. You'll see a lot of debates about the usefulness of sliders.

Personally, I've experienced both situations. I currently run underfairing sliders on the 300 due to the narrow engine.

[Abu_Mishary]

Originally Posted by Mechanikrazy

It really depends on the type of crash. But the primary thing is that frame sliders are not designed to protect the fairing. They are supposed to protect the frame from damage.

Ahh... Thank you for this explanation. I have always thought that the sliders were supposed to protect the fairings, as that was what told to me. Never had any in any of my bikes.

Originally Posted by Mechanikrazy

In some cases, the bolt holding the slider should be strong enough to keep the slider in place. However, if the slider catches, it might snap/bend. You'll see a lot of debates about the usefulness of sliders.

Wouldn't the force of impact from the bending itself affects the frame?

Originally Posted by Mechanikrazy

Personally, I've experienced both situations. I currently run underfairing sliders on the 300 due to the narrow engine.

What do you mean by this?

[Mechanikrazy]

Originally Posted by Abu_Mishary

Wouldn't the force of impact from the bending itself affects the frame?

Usually, the frame should be thick enough that the impact will yield the bolt. But theoretically (e.g. the rearset mount area that sometimes bends), yes, a frame might be affected.

Originally Posted by Abu_Mishary

What do you mean by this?

It's a leverage issue. On an inline 4, the ends of the engine extend farther out. So the distance from the edge of the engine to the outside of the fairings is shorter than the Ninja 300 where there is a larger distance. Woodcraft specifically makes underfairing sliders for twins like the 300 and the Ducatis.

[Mechanikrazy]

Taken from elsewhere on the internet, allegedly from Woodcraft:

" . . .

Bikes with narrow engines like the Ninja 300 (and Ducati's, and several Triumphs) have a particular challenge with frame sliders in that it is a long reach to get outside the bodywork. This long reach gives obstacles a lot of leverage to bend the slider and cause damage. To combat this, we made "under the bodywork" sliders for Ducati's several years ago, and I have raced on them for years. After crashing on them a few times I confirmed my initial thoughts on this design, and that was that while they did not protect the fairings from being scratched in a fall (no sliders can ever do this in any kind of real crash anyway), they did a great job of protecting the engine cases and other critical parts like the radiators, etc.... As a big side benefit, the fairing gets "trapped" between the slider and the ground in a fall. This actually does a fantastic job to keep the fairing intact during a crash. I had a fall at over 140mph on my Ducati during which the bike hit airfence, a wall (backwards) and then slid down the asphalt to a stop. The bodywork had worn a 2 inch hole (the diameter of the puck) in it, but other than that was 100% usable. This saved a lot of money and time for me. I mounted this bodywork on my backup bike and raced it an hour later.

The reason we show the sliders without the bodywork is that with the fairings on, they cannot be seen. They sit right behind the bodywork and the puck makes light contact with the inside of the fairing. I can tell you that we are putting together a Ninja 300 for the track this season and we will have these pucks on there for sure.

I hope this helps you decide if these are for you.

Thanks,

Eric Wood
President"

[cbinker]

My experience with frame sliders, they either bend or flip the bike.

[T11ravis]

Originally Posted by cbinker

My experience with frame sliders, they either bend or flip the bike.

Yep, mine too.

[adouglas]

Since I've not crashed I have no first-hand experience. However, I can say this:

My R6 track bike was crashed before I bought it. It has Woodcraft sliders and engine cases.

On the side that hit the ground, the slider did indeed bend somewhat. It also ground down, therefore it did slide on the pavement. Other damage included scratches on the left clip-on, a ground-down rearset peg and shifter tip, standard-issue R6 tank dent (every R6 that hits the ground has this) and scratches to the engine case cover.

Not counting the bodywork (which was in rough shape anyway), there was NO other damage and the bike is straight and rideable; I did a track day on the bike in this condition. I did replace the puck and bolt the following winter, but only because I was replacing the bodywork and wanted it back in the proper location.

So did the sliders work? Hell yes. The R6 has a lot of components under the fairing that would get destroyed if the slider wasn't there to keep them off the ground.

As stated, the point isn't to keep your bike pretty. It's to keep your bike from getting destroyed. For what it's worth, much of the debate about sliders centers on whether they do more harm than good. The logic is that the slider can catch in the dirt, dig in and flip the bike. My $0.02: While this does happen, without sliders you WILL damage the bike if you go down, whereas with them you MIGHT flip it. (Note that "damage" does not mean scuffed fairings: That's going to happen anyway.)

Photo of the bike the day I purchased it attached. You can see the ground-down puck, peg, shifter tip, and scratches on the case that still have dirt in them. You can also see the big silver coolant pipe that would ruin your day if it hit the ground.

[Abu_Mishary]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Since I've not crashed I have no first-hand experience. However, I can say this:

My R6 track bike was crashed before I bought it. It has Woodcraft sliders and engine cases.

On the side that hit the ground, the slider did indeed bend somewhat. It also ground down, therefore it did slide on the pavement. Other damage included scratches on the left clip-on, a ground-down rearset peg and shifter tip, standard-issue R6 tank dent (every R6 that hits the ground has this) and scratches to the engine case cover.

Not counting the bodywork (which was in rough shape anyway), there was NO other damage and the bike is straight and rideable; I did a track day on the bike in this condition. I did replace the puck and bolt the following winter, but only because I was replacing the bodywork and wanted it back in the proper location.

So did the sliders work? Hell yes. The R6 has a lot of components under the fairing that would get destroyed if the slider wasn't there to keep them off the ground.

As stated, the point isn't to keep your bike pretty. It's to keep your bike from getting destroyed. For what it's worth, much of the debate about sliders centers on whether they do more harm than good. The logic is that the slider can catch in the dirt, dig in and flip the bike. My $0.02: While this does happen, without sliders you WILL damage the bike if you go down, whereas with them you MIGHT flip it. (Note that "damage" does not mean scuffed fairings: That's going to happen anyway.)

Photo of the bike the day I purchased it attached. You can see the ground-down puck, peg, shifter tip, and scratches on the case that still have dirt in them. You can also see the big silver coolant pipe that would ruin your day if it hit the ground.

Is getting an engine cover suffice?

What about those impaktech race rails? I bet they protect more than the crash sliders.