[adonis27]

Gents,

Been doing a bit of research on frame sliders, and don't know if I should bite the bullet. I have no plans to track the bike ever - so I'm debating if I should install or not.

I currently use a pitbull rear axle stand (the one that goes on the open face of the wheel), so I wouldn't be able to use rear axle sliders...

IF i were to get sliders, I would get the front axle and under-fairing frame sliders... I don't want to cut into my fairings.

If i drop the bike low-side, the fairings are going to get messed up anyway. If I go down on a higher-speed accident, well, the bike would be toast anyways...

So, is it worth spending $200 on under-body frame sliders, as well as the front-axle sliders? I did some searching on this forum, and it seems most people do it for looks (street), and those who vouch for it all track their toys...

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, OFF TOPIC, what are those metal clips that are on each side of the rear wheel... It looks like a metal clip that sits on one of those axle nuts with the teeth/gears on them... The clip has two rings on each end, so I'm contemplating on zip tying them together -- since they look like they can just pop off... Thanks!

updated with pictures, woodcraft frame sliders (fairings cut) on page 4.

 

[Tchase]

The great debate! Sounds like you've done the reading and now it's all up to you. For me it was worth the money, when I drop her I guess I'll find out.

The clip is a safety thing and I'm pretty sure yes you should have a zip tie on it I do on mine.

 

[Tchase]

Read up on this thread

http://www.ducati.org/forums/techni...-sprocket-side-rear-wheel-nut-mid-corner.html

 

[adonis27]

Read up on this thread

http://www.ducati.org/forums/techni...-sprocket-side-rear-wheel-nut-mid-corner.html

Tchase, Thanks for your input man. I've been following a lot of your posts, just for haha's, as i learn a load when I just read your responses, etc. Great to know that there are quite a few phenomenal contributing members on this forum.

That link above is what got me out to the bike this weekend to check out what caused the lost sprocket. There weren't any pictures of that clip, so I wanted to double-check. Looks like i'll be putting a zip tie on that piece asap! Thanks for confirming.

As for the frame sliders - thanks for the advice. Looks like I have some time to decide, so that'll be in the future. Sucks that we're having such crap weather here ... Have my Termigs (slip-ons) that need to be installed, need to finish up my GPR V4 install (installed the stupid tank mount first, so need to start over)... Freaking winter weather, damnit...

 

[adonis27]

The great debate! Sounds like you've done the reading and now it's all up to you. For me it was worth the money, when I drop her I guess I'll find out.

The clip is a safety thing and I'm pretty sure yes you should have a zip tie on it I do on mine.

And, knocking on wood that you'll never have to "try out" those sliders, brother! Safe riding

 

[[email protected]]

The water pumps on our bikes are in a bit of a vulnerable spot should you go down on the left side. Underbody sliders protect that part in particular in even a slow speed down. You can get rear axle sliders that use a long rod through the rear wheel and are easily removed to facilitate the rear stand. I have the Speedymoto and locktite one end and it takes literally 10 seconds to remove them or put them back on when I need to put my rear stand in.

 

[Tchase]

The water pumps on our bikes are in a bit of a vulnerable spot should you go down on the left side. Underbody sliders protect that part in particular in even a slow speed down. You can get rear axle sliders that use a long rod through the rear wheel and are easily removed to facilitate the rear stand. I have the Speedymoto and locktite one end and it takes literally 10 seconds to remove them or put them back on when I need to put my rear stand in.

I just bought a rear stand that works with the spoolers

 

[[email protected]]

Yeah I have one of those as my wife's Gladius uses swingarm spools but you can't rotate the rear wheel when using the spool sliders on the Duc so I gave up trying to use that stand. I tend to put it on the stand to remove a wheel or clean my chain. I actually have an ABBA stand now that lifts from the middle so the sliders can stay in unless I'm removing the wheel.

 

[rubbish]

Question...if your bike is used 100% for street riding, what's the point of using a rear stand??

Personally I'm a big advocate of frame and axle sliders. I've had a crash without sliders and one with front axle and frame sliders. The first one was at a much lower speed and did a lot more damage than the 2nd one which was at higher speed. Crashes are crashes, doesn't really matter if it's on the track or on the street. Obviously sliders won't help if you if you T-bone a car or get ran over by a truck...in cases like that, there are far worse things to worry about. But for most crashes, where nobody else is involved other than the rider, and they occur because of some rider induced error resulting in a low-side, sliders will definitely help out. Their purpose is to save the more important parts from being damaged. I'm an MSF instructor and the bikes we have at the range where I teach are all Ninja 300's. The first thing they do to them before we even get them is put frame sliders on and bar ends. Those bikes have all been dropped a good 20-30 times and the only damage on them is a bent shift lever and some scratches on fairings.

In my view, the only debate remains whether one should get under fairing frame sliders or through fairing sliders. To each their own when it comes to that and there are some pros and cons for each. But I would definitely get frame sliders, front axle sliders, bar ends for the clip-ons. The rear axle sliders are not as important for these bikes...yes you'll scratch your swingarm if you drop it on the left side, but other than that it's not too bad. I track my bike, so I can't use them either, due to the stand. But if I had a bike with a dual sided swingarm, I would use rear axle sliders as well.

 

[adonis27]

Question...if your bike is used 100% for street riding, what's the point of using a rear stand??

Personally I'm a big advocate of frame and axle sliders. I've had a crash without sliders and one with front axle and frame sliders. The first one was at a much lower speed and did a lot more damage than the 2nd one which was at higher speed. Crashes are crashes, doesn't really matter if it's on the track or on the street. Obviously sliders won't help if you if you T-bone a car or get ran over by a truck...in cases like that, there are far worse things to worry about. But for most crashes, where nobody else is involved other than the rider, and they occur because of some rider induced error resulting in a low-side, sliders will definitely help out. Their purpose is to save the more important parts from being damaged. I'm an MSF instructor and the bikes we have at the range where I teach are all Ninja 300's. The first thing they do to them before we even get them is put frame sliders on and bar ends. Those bikes have all been dropped a good 20-30 times and the only damage on them is a bent shift lever and some scratches on fairings.

In my view, the only debate remains whether one should get under fairing frame sliders or through fairing sliders. To each their own when it comes to that and there are some pros and cons for each. But I would definitely get frame sliders, front axle sliders, bar ends for the clip-ons. The rear axle sliders are not as important for these bikes...yes you'll scratch your swingarm if you drop it on the left side, but other than that it's not too bad. I track my bike, so I can't use them either, due to the stand. But if I had a bike with a dual sided swingarm, I would use rear axle sliders as well.

Great info here... I mean, for $200 for the front axle and frame sliders, i guess it's cost-effective insurance. I'll eventually pick up a set. I like woodcraft parts and also speedymoto, so looks like i'll get one of those.

As for rear stands for my 100% street bike, I use them to "winterize" my bike for the winter. I don't ride at all if it's below 40-50-degrees, so I invested in front (triple tree) and rear single-side swingarm stands. I don't want to get any flat spots on my tires for next season, so I invested in some front/rear stands. My riding friends have all warned me about flat spots, so I'm being cautious...

 

[Tchase]

Great info here... I mean, for $200 for the front axle and frame sliders, i guess it's cost-effective insurance. I'll eventually pick up a set. I like woodcraft parts and also speedymoto, so looks like i'll get one of those.

As for rear stands for my 100% street bike, I use them to "winterize" my bike for the winter. I don't ride at all if it's below 40-50-degrees, so I invested in front (triple tree) and rear single-side swingarm stands. I don't want to get any flat spots on my tires for next season, so I invested in some front/rear stands. My riding friends have all warned me about flat spots, so I'm being cautious...

Most flat spots occur from miles of straight riding (commuting on soft tires) and under pressured tires.

But I use my rear stand for cleaning and lubing chain so there is use for it other than track.

 

[adonis27]

Most flat spots occur from miles of straight riding (commuting on soft tires) and under pressured tires.

But I use my rear stand for cleaning and lubing chain so there is use for it other than track.

I'm going to have to have a word with my friend... haha. That bastard was warning me about flat spots like the end of the world... he also tracks often, so I didn't contest it.

But, as far as stands go - no complaints. I'm planning to do a lot of work myself, as well as all mods, so it was a good investment.

 

[Tchase]

I'm sure it's possible to get a flat spot from sitting on a flat surface, but I tell you I've had my share of 360 degree flat spot on 3 sets of tires.

 

[ChrisE]

If a bike is going to be parked for a long time with the wheels in contact withe the ground, it doesn't hurt to rotate the wheels a bit every month or so.

I have an RV that had brand new tires on, sat for 3 years and has terrible flat spots.

 

[182 Racing]

+1 on the woodcraft parts. The owner raced a ducati 848 and has put a lot of r&d into the crash protection for those bikes. Great people to work with customer service wise also. Almost forgot the most important reason...they are made in the USA!

 

[Tchase]

I'm pretty sure SpeedyMoto is made in the USA

 

[rubbish]

adonis, your friend is correct that it's possible to get flat spots on tires if it sits around for too long. this is true for pretty much any vehicle with tires, and the softer the tire (carcass), the worse it is. With that said, it's not the end of the world and he may have exaggerated a bit. I can't tell from personal experience because my bike never sat un-moved for more than a couple of months so there was no significant flat spots, and now that it's a track bike, it might sit for up to 6 months, but it's always on worn out tires that i'm going to replace in the spring anyway, so I don't really care at that point...but I have noticed some flat spots in that situation.

If you're only using the stands for winterizing, you can still use rear wheel axle sliders and just take them off when you're winterizing the bike. I had Speedymoto sliders, and the rear ones take not even a minute to take on or off.

 

[Tuned]

IF i were to get sliders, I would get the front axle and under-fairing frame sliders... I don't want to cut into my fairings.

Under fairing sliders are good because as pointed out above, on the Ducati Superbikes, they protect the cases when you crash. However, they won't protect the plastics, which will get pretty rashed up in a crash. You absolutely don't want through-fairing sliders which would require cutting. I've had very good luck with the speedy moto kit, for sure worth checking out.

So, is it worth spending $200 on under-body frame sliders, as well as the front-axle sliders? I did some searching on this forum, and it seems most people do it for looks (street), and those who vouch for it all track their toys…

From what I've seen, front axel siders don't do too much and it's a debatable subject. The bike is so wide, when on it's side, the axel sliders really don't hit the ground, the tire does. However, there aren't any negatives to buying them. Rear axel sliders help considerably because they keep the swing arm from being damaged. I've seen swing arms on the 848/1098/1198 get bent with simple low sides, so it's absolutely worth thinking about a rear axel slider.

Lastly, OFF TOPIC, what are those metal clips that are on each side of the rear wheel... It looks like a metal clip that sits on one of those axle nuts with the teeth/gears on them... The clip has two rings on each end, so I'm contemplating on zip tying them together -- since they look like they can just pop off... Thanks!

I assume you're referring to the pin which keeps the axel nut from unscrewing, does that make sense? You can bend that pin a bit so it will stay in place. It shouldn't be a problem and some people actually use safety wire instead of that pin because it's a requirement for racing. A zip tie may be too week, though I haven't tried it.

 

[219R]

^^^ "too week" maybe too weak??? Time to edit.:shrug:

 

[rubbish]

From what I've seen, front axel siders don't do too much and it's a debatable subject. The bike is so wide, when on it's side, the axel sliders really don't hit the ground, the tire does.

Is that so? Would you like me to take a picture to show my front wheel axle slider ground off from my left-hand low side? And then maybe a picture from the right side showing the bottom fork, right by where the pinch bolts are get ground off a bit from a previous low side on the right side when I did NOT have the axle sliders? :stickpoke