Frame slider run down 1st hand

I wanted to post up a bit about Woodcraft frame sliders. Since I hate all the folks who post up random comments with nothing to add credibility other than a blanket statement, Ill start by stating a few things. Been racing for 4 years now and have tried many brands of sliders including: Intuitive, Vortex, Protek, Woodcraft etc... Unfortunately with racing comes crashing and I have crash tested them all.. Some brands I am unable to remember off hand but Ill mention the best and worst of what I have experienced. Off the bat, I will state that no cut sliders IMO are for looks only. These are 9 of 10 times on a weak aluminum off set bracket that ends up snapping right off and usually causing more damage than if you had nothing at all... Now if you had a stronger Steele bracket fab'ed up this might work.. but Ive never bothered. Worst: Hands down worse was Vortex. They have a rather weak aluminum base with a replaceable puck. Good idea for the replaceable puck however, when combined with weak or low quality aluminum bases, you never get to check out the value of that puck anyway. They tend to snap right off. I had one minor crash with them that comes to mind. Went off the track at ~40-45 mph... Track side was mud so even though I was slow and upright, the front tucked in the mud.... Frame slider snapped right off on impact. Luckily I was in mud and damage was minimal.. on a track surface the slider would have been gone and no help... Now for middle ground: Intuitive was a middle of the road slider for me. They are simple in design, must be replaced entirely in a crash (no replaceable puck) cost is ok. In a crash they will cost more than a slider with reusable pucks that are in range of 12-20 bucks to replace. Ive crashed these several times and my only complaint is they ground down easy. The material is good for not hooking up and seems strong enough to have not snapped off on me. However, usually half or more of the length of the slider is ground off and the more that gets ground off, the closer the ground comes to your body work. Over all they get a C+ from me.... Now of the brands I have used Woodcraft is the best. (I have not used them all but of the 3-5 brands I have used these rank #1) The metal used for the base is much stronger than that of other brands. These also use a replaceable puck that ranges around the $12-15 range to replace. Easy to install all though in some applications require a small cut out of fairing. If done properly this will look stock and in the end still look amazing. I have crashed the same set 2 times (Same side) and they are still not in need of replacement. Both crashes were in the 65 mph range on a track. 1 of them on track and 1 off track. Both also lowsides if you are interested. I have pics which I will include as well. Not only have the pucks held up well, but they have managed to keep the damage to body work quite minimal. I am pleased with they quality and crash ability of them. In addition the price is good also. Not cheep but not among the expensive either. I have to say, that I will run Woodcraft from now on. Well worth the money and already saved money on expensive and time consuming body work repairs. 1st pic is of them installed with a minimal and carefully cut out space for them. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w211/bluedevild/DionEads06R6-1.jpg 2nd pic is after a crash mentioned above: http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w211/bluedevild/Woodcraftframesliderdamage-1.jpg If you are considering Woodcraft sliders, Id like to point you in the direction of Rebellion Motorsports @ www.rebellionmotorsports.com. Talk with Joe and tell him that Dion MRA#225 sent ya. He will not only get you a great price, but he is one of the best vendors I have dealt with hands down. Excellent service, fast, reliable, and friendly. (Plus it helps he is local to me in CO) his contact info is on the website....

Nice write up, I have no cut frame sliders on my 07 R1 and when I installed them I started to wonder how the brackets would hold up in a crash. Thanks for the information. The only problem is any local shops wont cut on my plastic to install frame sliders. And I don't want to hack on them my self. Plastic is not cheap...lol

Nice write up, I have no cut frame sliders on my 07 R1 and when I installed them I started to wonder how the brackets would hold up in a crash. Thanks for the information. The only problem is any local shops wont cut on my plastic to install frame sliders. And I don't want to hack on them my self. Plastic is not cheap...lol The cutting of the plastic is not bad if you do it smart and slow.... Also sharpies to mark, pilot holes to verify location, masking tape to protect from the hole saw catching, a nice good quality drill that wont slip or catch... Then a nice little Harborfreight dremmel to smooth out the edges to make it look professional..... If you take your time you would be suprised how well it will come out..... Get in a hurry = new plastics.... or ugly holes anyway.. haha I should have took pics and done a how to when I cut mine.... Ive also done a few local guys for them as well..... Lesson learned...

Cool, yeah I am sure I could do it myself. Just worried a little bit about messing up my plastic. But ill never know unless I try.

Motovation has some cool sliders for the 07. looks like they would hold up pretty good

have yet to see a set of sliders for the 07 R1 that require a cut... all are no cut... bah. I've had good experiance with Graves sliders, can be a little pricey but they hold up well and of the 3 wrecks ( two on track one on street ) I have never had graves fail on me. I hold graves and woodcraft at a equal quality and reliability level. nice write up.

nice write up but have you tried MOTOVATION sliders?? they are no cut and i had a 45 mpg get off and they held up fantastically just wondering if you have experianced anything with them,and im sure that getoff at the track are alot faster but just wondering?

Well I recently lowsided my 05 R6 going around 60 mph with a set of Vortex Sliders and I have to say they functioned perfectly. The compound wasn't too soft or too hard, bike slid along the track till it came to a stop. IVery minimal damge, a small area of my lower bodywork was scuffed and the bend of my mid-pipe to my high mount exhaust was scratched. At the speed I was going they performed very well for how far the bike went. very pleased with their performance, I'll admit they have gotten much better... their quality wasn't always this good.

any experience on an 02 or 03? my 3" sliders didn't protect my lower fairing or my stator in 0 mph drops.

Lowers are tough due to angle.... I had an 03 and the Woodcrafts also were tough on it... Usually only got a small scuff on lower or near headlight area..... There are 2 locations on 03's you can mount a slider..... Perhaps the lpower of the 2 would do better.... ????

My biggest waste of money on the 07-shogun sliders. total junk. Im actually happy that both pucks have fallen off due to vibration.... yes I know that part is my fault, locktite is your friend. From what i've seen in pictures, graves and gytr would be the way to go on the 07. I dont think they make a woodcraft slider yet. :(

Lowers are tough due to angle.... I had an 03 and the Woodcrafts also were tough on it... Usually only got a small scuff on lower or near headlight area..... There are 2 locations on 03's you can mount a slider..... Perhaps the lpower of the 2 would do better.... ???? i thought there was only one clutch and one frame slider location on the right side?

Sorry I was referring to 03 R6.... Frame sliders have 2 locations they can be mounted... Same with 06 R6..... R1's do not.... Sorry about the mix up.... Clutch slider only 1 location both bikes...

bump...

bump... i bought race railz and axle sliders. i plan on testing them out as soon as I get them on. ...i'll let you know how that goes. i'm assuming the rails against my thighs will annoy me regardless and I'll be back on to sell them shortly. I also bought crappy 4" sliders on ebay. i might try them.

I also bought crappy 4" sliders on ebay. i might try them. Put those back on ebay.... I dont mean to bash.. but Ive seen a few bikes with those on and everyone that crashed broke right off and bent the bolt inside the engine mount.... Not fun to drill those out.... The length gives to much leverage on a crash and they snap right off..... On a garage tip over.. they are great cause they wont let yout bike get near the ground.. but if you are moving... Most likely they will break right off.... The rail thing might be awesome... Especially for a stunter I would think...

My biggest waste of money on the 07-shogun sliders. total junk. Here we got suppliers who bring in their products. Heard frm them, their views are gd so far.