We all want our motorcycle body parts like fairing, engines, tanks, etc to be scratch-free even for some reason it falls. In this case, we use frame sliders, or fairing protectors, or crash bobbin – whatever you call them. But their primary purpose is to protect the fairing and body parts when the bike falls. However, Can frame sliders withstand the impacts and save the body of your bike? Is it worth using a frame slide for your motorcycle? We will dive into this topic and talk everything about frame slides. Here is what you need to know.
Frame sliders are worth buying as they will protect or minimize the damage to your motorcycle fairing and other body parts such as frame, engine, fairing, etc on low slide crashes. But, make sure to buy a branded frame slider that is made to withstand and disperse the impact across the frame.
What are frame sliders?
Frame sliders or fairing protectors are material that is designed to protect the motorcycle fairing and body parts in case your motorcycle falls or tilts off its tires. It is made to prevent the impact of the fall or crash from getting to the fairing and other body parts, thus protecting the physical structure.
In other words, frame sliders are attachments for the motorcycle that prevent the contact of the motorcycle body with the surface in case of accidental fall or low-speed crashes.
Frame sliders are a rigid structure than the bike’s frame that will help to keep the motorcycle frame off the ground and prevent your motorcycle body from getting dented. For this purpose, you can go with longer sliders as they keep more of the motorcycle off the ground.
Frame sliders are positioned on the side of the motorcycle to absorb the impact and save the important component from scratches and dents. Frame sliders also come in many different forms and lengths with the same motive. Let’s talk about the different types of frame sliders and which will be good for you?
Types of Frame Sliders
Frame sliders come in two types cut and no-cut sliders. But before we talk about these two sliders you should know that the important difference is also the varying length of sliders.
Shorter sliders and longer sliders both are used for different purposes and each has its pros and cons.
Shorter frame sliders are best for high-speed fall and offer a great degree of frame and engine protection as these are small in length and possess less threat to flipping off. Also due to their smaller size, they are less likely to bend or snap during the impact.
While longer sliders are going to work fine in slow speed or parking fall. It will keep the motorcycle off the ground to a higher point off the ground in any crash or accidental fall. These longer slides do a better job of preserving the bike’s essential body parts. But, with these sliders, there are also chances for motorcycles to flip off at high speeds.
Now let’s talk about the cut and no-cut frame sliders. You can also get some idea from the name itself that cut sliders require some cut or modification/ tweak on the body/fairing to be mounted. Cut sliders are robust and can be attached directly to the frame or engine. It may require cut a hole to mount these sliders especially on sport motorcycle which consists of fairings. Otherwise, for a naked motorcycle, it’s easy to install because of fewer fairings.
While No-cut frame sliders are standalone designed to mount without any cut or modification to the motorcycle bodywork. These no-cut sliders are mounted to an offset bracket around a bike’s bodywork. These are easier to install on the motorcycle but poses the risk of being bend or broken while crash or fall because of weak points. These sliders may not be able to withstand the impact of fall because of them not being connected to a stronger base as the cut sliders.
So, if you are seriously looking to save your beautiful graphics fairing then you should go with cut sliders as these can withstand the impact of a crash. Otherwise, with No-cut sliders, no one can guarantee you the protection of your motorcycle from crashes or falls.
Do Frame sliders really protect your motorcycle in a crash?
I know that everybody loves their motorcycle and wants to protect it in every possible circumstance. So, we use frame sliders but it has been subject to misconceptions. So I’ll be honest and talk about the protection that you should expect and don’t expect.
Frame sliders can protect your motorcycle bodywork or say fairing from being scratched in low slide crashes and drops. But, frame sliders can’t guarantee to save your motorcycles in high-speed crashes. The frame slider’s protection differs in terms of speed and impact surface.
There is a quote by Rev Zilla’s in-house guru Bobby B, “Tell me how you are gonna crash and I’ll tell you what to buy.”
I totally agree with him, as motorcycle crashes are totally unpredictable and we can’t know how the motorcycle is going to crash. So, you should not rely only on frame sliders; as the protection differs in terms of speed and impact surfaces.
That’s the reason, you should not use frame sliders on an off-road motorcycle like a dirt bike.
Frame sliders usually work best on surfaces where they can slide but as you know, off-road surfaces are usually softer thus the slider may dig in the single contact and things may get worse. So, that’s the reason frame sliders should not be used in every motorcycle. It’ll be best to use frame sliders for street motorcycles.
Conclusion
Frame sliders are worth the investment to protect and prevent damage to your motorcycle parts. If the motorcycle falls at a slow speed then the sliders will easily absorb the impact and defend the bike. But, if the bike falls at a faster speed then things will go unexpectedly. Tell me your experience with the frame sliders in the comment section.
