Call them crash protectors, crash bobbins, fairing protectors or frame sliders, all these products ultimately seek to do one thing - protect your expensive bodywork or the essential and often expensive structural parts of your motorcycle from damage in the even of a fall or tip-over. The frame slider concept is as old as the proverbial 'crash bar' and today there are as many designs and brands as there are models of bikes. The proliferation of these types of products testify to the success of the idea of providing a sacrificial item to absorb some of the damage in the event of a fall.
Sooooo...... after installing my lower fairings this spring I found out my frame sliders barely stuck out past the plastics. I called Vortex to see if they made longer pucks to mount to the base, nope. My next thought was to use a spacer and machine a longer bolt to mount the puck to the base. I was having trouble figuring out the thread with the gauge here in the shop so I called Vortex again and they told me it was a custom thread!!! UGH I did a little research and found some Nylon bar stock at Grainger that would work. I ordered a 12" piece of solid 1 7/8 diameter Nylon for $10 (CHEAP). Next I threw it on the lathe, drilled, drilled, drilled and drilled until I got the exact piece I needed. It turned out much better than I expected and everyone that sees them seems pretty impressed.
Old puck on the left, new (unpolished) puck on the right
No comments:
Post a Comment