[newtogreen]

My 2018 is coming together for the upcoming track day season. The bike has no crash protection what so ever, and I'm deciding on what the best "bang for the buck" would be. Not going to go all out right now, but what would be the first thing to do? Case savers, frame sliders, axle protectors or...? Is it pointless doing anything unless you do it all? I've read that frame sliders can protect the fairings (which would be replaced with race fairings, if required), yet actually transmit damage to the frame (which would be substantially more expensive).... Any thoughts or recommendations appreciated!

 

[mte78]

Axle sliders and case savers. That’s all you need.

I really only use the frame sliders to hold the bike up when I swap out the offset blocks on my tripleclamps.

 

[SkyDork]

The best protection is to keep it upright and not crash it.

Case savers are great things to have, everything else is just mental, feel good fluff. Frame sliders will protect the bodywork somewhat if it falls off the kickstand in the pits. Banging those on the ground at speed with the bike sliding on the pavement won't get any protection from those things sticking out to catch on the edge of the pavement or dig a nice ditch in the grass. And if you highside the bike, those will likely rip right off. Axle sliders are the same nonsense. Case savers can keep you from tearing a hole in the case and dumping oil everywhere. So those can be a difference of a day-ending get-off on a tackday or a quick turn-around for the next session.

IMO, skip the stupid sliders and spend the money on extra levers, clip-ons, and duct tape in your spares kit.

 

[Bloose]

Case savers from Vortex are nice. Made of aluminum and not composite. I can say from experience on my 2019, they work very well.

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk

 

[newtogreen]

The best protection is to keep it upright and not crash it.

Yeah, so far so good with that.....

So going with case savers, I'm looking at the Vortex, Yosh and GB Racing. I'm leaning towards (pun intended) the GB Racing, for ease of mounting. The Yosh ones look cool, but seem a bit "minimalist" and are pricey for what you get.

 

[mattinrsm]

My Kawasaki came with all Woodcraft stuff and I really like it. Lever guards, case covers, rearsets, frame sliders, clip-ons, etc. The lever guards seem to help protect the hand controls in a crash, and it's easy and cheap to replace a bent clip-on handlebar. Rear set foot pegs are designed to break away and still leave enough of a peg to continue riding, and the metal case covers have replacement sliders. In a normal low side you can usually just pick the bike up and keep riding. Anyway, they have good customer service and sell replacement parts for everything.

I would do case covers first, whatever you decide.

 

[newtogreen]

I would do case covers first, whatever you decide.

Yes, that's the plan. In researching, I see that there is an OEM Kawasaki part. They call it a frame slider, but it attaches to the cases, with a protruding nylon slider. Anybody use them?

 

[aze0104]

This is what I have on my 2019 SE. Is this what you were thinking?

 

[SkyDork]

This is what I have on my 2019 SE. Is this what you were thinking?

The OEM Kawi slides on the clutch cover and stator cover - yes. The Oggy knobs attached to the motor mounts on the frame and sticking out of the fairing - no.

 

[newtogreen]

Yes, I guess that's the one. Confirm the nylon piece is replaceable, and that the whole thing can be installed/removed without taking the cases off? From where I can source it, they would be about $50 cheaper than the aftermarket items.

 

[newtogreen]

I'm assuming no loss of lean angle obviously....?

 

[SkyDork]

Yes, I guess that's the one. Confirm the nylon piece is replaceable, and that the whole thing can be installed/removed without taking the cases off? From where I can source it, they would be about $50 cheaper than the aftermarket items.

I'm assuming no loss of lean angle obviously....?

The nylon piece is replaceable. It's an OEM Kawi part. The bracket bolts on over the covers. Unless you are leaning enough to drag the side covers of the motor on the ground under normal conditions, then you shouldn't be worried about these things. They won't have any affect on the lean angle. You'll touch down your toes before these will touch and you'll be crashing then the tires let go from the lean angle on those.

Kawasaki accessory from any dealer.

Ninja® ZX™-10R KRT Edition Frame Slider Set | Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.

Frame Slider Sets are black molded nylon sliders on metal mounting brackets and feature the Kawasaki logo<ul><li>All mounting hardware and instructions included</li><li>Note: Frame Sliders help protect your motorcycle, but will not prevent all types of damage </li></ul><br>

www.kawasaki.com

 

[newtogreen]

Just ordered from my local dealer. Thanks for input guys.

 

[BleB]

GB Racing bits seem to help at Le Mans.... 😖

 

[newtogreen]

Ouch! Looks like pretty high speed, but thankfully no "tumble"?

 

[BleB]

Ouch! Looks like pretty high speed, but thankfully no "tumble"?

My son was in charge at the time - he’s still breathing!

View attachment 447559 View attachment 447559 GB Racing bits seem to help at Le Mans.... 😖

 

[BleB]

 

[2wheelmike]

Any damage to the headstock part of the frame or did you have steering stops installed? I've seen several folks on this forum recommending them to avoid this apparent weakness in the frame design. Seems like they warrant discussion here, even though they are not visible and don't prevent ground contact at all.

 

[scout]

Do not crash. Must learn the course and learn to ride; problem with track racing is that the rider must have the time to waste going back and forth to the track. My point here is that ONCE you dial into the reality of whatever, you sense trouble before it happens. That means EXPERIENCE. And that means commitment to learning. Equates to money; equates to time, the latter is the problem.

 

[Comi]

Go with the oem engine sliders, they are really the best.