[Billybob]

Any recommendations?

 

[Will]

I don't have 'em yet (foolishness, really). Skyking has always supported Triumph well, so that is what I was going to do, but T3 in England has come up with some really good looking ones, and they help out with a race bike, so chances are they have been well tested already.

 

[SDFOUR]

a crash here in my town, had the skyking slider punch thru the engine casing on the right side....only heard of this one instance....

I have skyking and people have told me to change them, I am not changing them.

GSG makes a slider that a lot of people are using, fits differently then the skyking....

all in personal preference......

 

[Guest]

T3 in England, Woodcraft, and LSL all make products for the 675 and have been recommended to me by people with track experience.

I'm in the same boat as sliders are a part of my winter "get ready for your first track day" purchases.


Have a go at a few searches over at triumhp675.net. There are a ton of pictures and opinions on the subject. Some based on fact, others...well, not so much.

 

[Billybob]

Just to follow-up after some web browsing. GSG has a two bolt mounting set-up that does NOT require a hole in the fairing. LSL seems to be the same (but I haven't confirmed this). Woodcraft is a single straight bolt mount that requires a hole in the fairing. Skyking is a offset single bolt which does not require a hole in the fairing but I question whether the offset and the leverage it involves is sound engineering (sorry, John). Don't know about other providers.

 

[Will]

There have been reports over at Triumph675.net of GSG sliders having weld problems. It may not be an issue any more, but it was for a while.

 

[Kima]

I have the R&G sliders which are straight through the fairing. I think they look cleanest. That being said, I low-sided and found damage to the engine mount the slider attaches through. I wouldn't put an offset slider on a bike. I envision it potentially spinning around and ripping through the fairing or bending back and damaging the cam cover. I think the two point mounting system is safer for the engine & frame mounts. But I already have the holes in my fairing :roll:

 

[SDFOUR]

well, IMHO, frame sliders do their job best for slow speed downs and just tip overs, for those high speed crashes, I don't feel no matter what kind you have on, theres gonna be tons of damage.

The question is , I guess, do frame sliders cause more damage to frame and engine in a severe crash or not...... but in most cases a severe crash is gonna be a total anyway...but if you did not have the sliders and didnot have irrepairable frame or engine damage COULD the bike be salvaged more easily????

It's just like the tire questions...which are best... different crashes pruduce different results....and opinions usually are made by experience, and most experiences vary somewhat.

So I guess you take all the info out there and explore your options, then make your personal choice and take the consequences...what more can you do???

 

[Will]

Nearly every race bike I see at a club race has frame sliders. If they didn't do something worthwhile, those guys wouldn't use them.

 

[Guest]

I've never been completly sold on what to do with the bike as far as sliders go. Just when you think you have made up your mind, you read something that sways you.

 

[Billybob]

On 2006-11-08 06:30, SDFOUR wrote:
well, IMHO, frame sliders do their job best for slow speed downs and just tip overs, for those high speed crashes, I don't feel no matter what kind you have on, theres gonna be tons of damage.

The question is , I guess, do frame sliders cause more damage to frame and engine in a severe crash or not...... but in most cases a severe crash is gonna be a total anyway...but if you did not have the sliders and didnot have irrepairable frame or engine damage COULD the bike be salvaged more easily????

It's just like the tire questions...which are best... different crashes pruduce different results....and opinions usually are made by experience, and most experiences vary somewhat.

So I guess you take all the info out there and explore your options, then make your personal choice and take the consequences...what more can you do???

Unfortunately, I have a fair amount of empirical knowledge about lowsides on my D650 (specifically, twice at turn 5 at Thunderhill). IMO, and aside from the initial impact, the biggest risk of damage being caused by a slider is when it buries itself or catches on something. In other words, when the slider stops sliding, but the bike keeps on moving. The first time this happened, I had Skyking sliders and the slider pulled the engine mounting bolt right out of the engine completely stripping the threads in the engine block. The second time (w/LSL) the slider bolt broke but did no damage to the bike (but didn't protect it either). So, I agree that sliders have little value (and may be a negative) in a hard crash but definitely do offer protection in a slow speed low side (have some experience there as well) or when the bike just gets dropped. Persnally, I prefer to have sliders, but I can see why others feel differently.

 

[rudebwoy85]

..and just to follow up on what billybob said, for what sliders cost compared to the repair and labor bill of a tip over or low slide why wouldnt you do it?

I have sliders on both my bikes and have unfortunately tested the ones on my S3 last summer and they worked superbly, no damage whatever to anything other than a scuffed clutch cover and bent rear brake lever, it's obvious that these pieces were subject to damage as I had no protector to account for the lower engine area.

I think back on that and consider I had trailered my Speed Triple from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and if I didnt have the sliders my week long stay would have been panned and I would be looking at a repair bill of sorts as the bar-end, turn inticator, radiator, clutch cover, right-side rear set region would have certainly be toasted, yet a set of $100 nylon sliders (R&G) saved me from that.

I've also just replaced the skykings I've had on my D675 with a set of WoodCrafts primarily because of the story I heard about the offset bracket bending back and puncturing the engine case, I performed a bit of a hack-job with my woodcraft install because of having to cut the faring and this being the first time I've ever done this but I am more confident in it doing it's job moreso than the no-cut skykings.

I should have given the job to someone more skilled at this than myself as I scuffed up my left side faring around the drill site a tad but whatchagonnadonowitsdone?! Maybe a strategically placed sticker will have to do, now I'm eying the WoodCraft sator and clutch case covers...

 

[SDFOUR]

I've also just replaced the skykings I've had on my D675 with a set of WoodCrafts primarily because of the story I heard about the offset bracket bending back and puncturing the engine case, I performed a bit of a hack-job with my woodcraft install because of having to cut the faring and this being the first time I've ever done this but I am more confident in it doing it's job moreso than the no-cut skykings.

rudebwoy85, haven't decided to replace my Skykings yet.....

I have only heard of that ONE incident of the slider puncturing the engine....I would think we'd hear more if it happened more often...maybe that was a freak thing ? that may never happen again?? Do any of Skykings sliders on other models fit that way??

 

[rudebwoy85]

On 2006-11-10 21:16, SDFOUR wrote:
rudebwoy85, haven't decided to replace my Skykings yet.....

I have only heard of that ONE incident of the slider puncturing the engine....I would think we'd hear more if it happened more often...maybe that was a freak thing ? that may never happen again?? Do any of Skykings sliders on other models fit that way??

I actually happened to have recently met the guy who's case was punctured and you are right in thinking that nobody ought not to go making assumptions.

He tells me he was going very hot into an unfamiliar turn and it was a misjudgement of that turn that had him frantically trying to scrub off speed from his about 100mph to save things but was just too hot and it had to get dumped...I dont suspect anything wouldve saved big damage and at speeds and forces at that level it's kind of unreasonable to expect the sliders to perform miracles.

I would expect that folks with skyikings should feel pretty confident in their capabilities..I can say this much, the skyking offset bracket is twice as thick as the billet brace used in the GSC slider kit so rest assured that you have a pretty chunky piece of alluminium ready for work.

 

[Billybob]

On 2006-11-11 17:59, rudebwoy85 wrote:

I would expect that folks with skyikings should feel pretty confident in their capabilities..I can say this much, the skyking offset bracket is twice as thick as the billet brace used in the GSC slider kit so rest assured that you have a pretty chunky piece of alluminium ready for work.

But isn't the bracket a lever arm that multiplies the load on the engine mount? In other words, other things being equal, the amount of force transmitted to the engine mount will be greater with a offset arm than a straight through mount. Also, rather than a straight impact, won't it be a twisting motion?

Incidentially, great photograph on your signature.