FJR Owners Forum banner

Frame sliders vs cages

24K views 53 replies 25 participants last post by  ab8mi 
#1 ·
In spite of the protection offered, I simply cannot stand the look of the front/rear cages on the bike. Before anyone starts lecturing, anybody using simple frame sliders to protect the bike? I've used these on my previous rides (but thankfully never actually 'tested' any of them!) but none have had the plastics or side cases like the FJR.

And three, two, one... go.
Lee
 
#3 ·
R&G Frame Sliders

I've been using the R&G Frame Sliders since I received my '05 FJR (I couldn't find a cage back then). Tested 'em once, at low speed with side cases on. Slid about 5 feet on a downhill.
I am happy to report that there was no damage to the paint, but I did get a few scratches on the mirror casing. The slider got chewed up a bit so I replaced it through an abundance of caution.
 
#5 ·
I use, and prefer, t-Rex bag guards. I’ve tested them twice with zero damage to the guards or the bike.

I tested R&G frame sliders twice as well, with zero damage to the sliders, bolts, or bike.

I now use t-Rex engine guards (which have sliders attached) instead of the R&G. I don’t think they’re any more protective, I just liked the look of the engine guards.
 
#6 ·
Form vs. function, always comes into play....

If you want the sleekest looking almost not noticeable and beautiful sliders, get the OEM's for the Gen3... I'll check with a friend to see if he still has a set for sale and post up an ad.
 
#9 ·
Ditto … and protection! I have the T-Rex guards, and chose them largely because the fairing guard has an integrated frame slider. If I didn't have them, and the FJR tipped over, I'd feel like the World's Biggest Idiot Loser. With them, if the FJR tips over, I'll still feel like an idiot … but one who made at least one good decision, so not quite the WBIL.
 
#11 ·
I just installed the TREX bag protectors and engine guards. Personally I have no problems with their appearance and the added piece of mind is worth it. For the cost of just one tip over and the down time waiting for new plastic I don’t understand why anyone would choose not to have them. My $.02 worth.
 
#12 · (Edited)
In spite of the protection offered, I simply cannot stand the look of the front/rear cages on the bike. Before anyone starts lecturing, anybody using simple frame sliders to protect the bike? I've used these on my previous rides (but thankfully never actually 'tested' any of them!) but none have had the plastics or side cases like the FJR.

And three, two, one... go.
Lee
There was once a guy on this forum called eric_f. He posted a thread where he tested Canyon Cages (CCs) and CCs with sliders. He used a new at the time 2014 FJR and covered one side with blue painters tape. He was evidently brighter than the average one of us and applied some science to the test. He found that CCs alone acted as a fulcrum during a zero speed tip over that resulted in the bike going past 90 degrees and ending up resting on the mirror and nacelle. A supposed significant benefit in mounting crash bars on a FJR is to prevent damage to that fairly fragile area. Even seemingly minor tip overs can result in breaking the stay that runs across in innards of the nacelle and is expensive to repair if done at a shop. So Eric added sliders to the CCs. The results were still unacceptable and the bike still pivoted on the slider and went beyond 90 degrees. He calculated that a somewhat longer slider would do the job and made the sliders himself. He tested his version and concluded that it would take so much force to cause the bike to pivot on the sliders that the bike would be badly damaged in many other ways. He then sold a limited number of his sliders. He was on active duty in the Marine Corps at the time and did not have the time to make many. I bought a set. I dropped my 2013 FJR once. I was pulling out of a parking lot onto a very steeply cambered road and had to stop suddenly. When I put my foot down on the right side my leg was several inches too short to reach the ground and over we went. The bike was loaded for a month long trip, including camping gear. It ended up resting on the slider and CC pannier protector. It was well beyond 90 degrees because the road surface sloped away so steeply. The damge to the bike entailed scuffing on the bottom of the slider and the pannier protector. I believe that because of the weight of the loaded bike, the higher than normal center of gravity and the slope of the road surface that had I not had the longer sliders mounted on the CCs there would have been significant damage and ended our trip in Elkhart Kansas. Unfortunately eric_f left this forum long ago.
 
#13 ·
It sure would be a lot easier and cheaper if people would simply stop dropping their bikes. JS.
 
#14 ·
I can also attest to the tipover past whatever you have is a distinct possibility due to the center of gravity. The longer sliders on Canyon Cages seems to be what works best from all I've heard/seen. T-Rex sliders are higher but don't stick out as far, if they did, they'd likely be better......
But it still boils down to whatever looks the least pretty works the best. Police bars, now they are ugly.... Meanwhile, if you have to tip over, if you can somehow let it down gently........ good luck. Any momentum at all and.... ooops.

That mirror stay replacement is a bear of a job and will take you all day long. Mine broke 3 times in separate tipovers and I epoxied it with success... until the last time, I just bit the bullet and had the bike torn apart for two days. All with T-Rex's if it matters. You will lessen the risk of damage if you have FZ1 mirror that fold up easier and closer to the bodywork.
What I'd really like to find again (found it a couple of years ago but they disappeared), was some self-adhesive sliders for sport bikes that stuck on the upper edge of the side fairing....


Best bars I had were on my '07 supplied by Racing905, but not until I made sliders for them that stuck out 3" more on each side. They worked!
 
#17 ·
I had the Yamaha frame sliders on my '15. Looked great and unobtrusive. Had a zero mph tip over that resulted in about $5k in damages. To be fair, they did the job and saved the motor and frame, allowing me to ride home 700 miles. Plastics, brake lever, bags and the front fairing sub frame that the mirror attaches to got damaged.

Bike now has T-rex cages. It's an FJR not a beautiful classic Triumph.
 
#32 ·
How did you damage both bags, the brake lever, and the front fairing sub frame in a zero speed drop? I dropped mine once and I think I got a little scratch on the bag and the rearview mirror. Cost to repair: $0. (I didn't repair it--can barely see it.) Did you drop yours off the 2nd floor or something??
----------------
I had the Yamaha frame sliders on my '15. Looked great and unobtrusive. Had a zero mph tip over that resulted in about $5k in damages. To be fair, they did the job and saved the motor and frame, allowing me to ride home 700 miles. Plastics, brake lever, bags and the front fairing sub frame that the mirror attaches to got damaged.

Bike now has T-rex cages. It's an FJR not a beautiful classic Triumph.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ab8mi
#20 · (Edited)
If you read my thread about how the R-Gaza cages saved my bike from a pretty dramatic driveway crash you would not think twice. Zero damage except to the bottom of the cages, just scrape marks which I painted over easily. It would have ground down the bags, maybe the engine, and mirrors at a minimum. We picked it up and rode away.
 
#24 ·
You're entitled to your opinion, by all means. But with reevaluation of the original statement, "It sure would be a lot easier and cheaper if people would simply stop dropping their bikes. JS.", I find there is nothing false or valueless. It's a simple process- re-think and re-act differently to save money, sweat and worry. Seriously people, just stop dropping motorcycles!

You have no idea how reserved I actually am with most of the knows-it-alls and pansies on this site. Nearly every day I bite my lip and/or delete something I have typed before hitting the submit button, all in the name of not offending the constantly butt-hurt of the group. I just wanna reach through the screen, like in a cartoon, and smack some of them and tell them to grow up.

I certainly don't expect all people to get along all the time either. I tend to think of this forum like a continuous shoot-the-**** out at the workshop where some drink Pepsi and others drink whiskey, with friends always floating in and out, coming and going; listening & contributing; praising & admonishing. There's folks you like, folks you tolerate to various levels and folks you just don't care for very much. Just like life. And just like life, you cannot dictate who talks about what or who says what in what way to suit you. Choose to stay, choose to leave or choose something in between. But you get to choose only your actions, not those of others.

Perhaps humor or sarcasm isn't your style, I get that. So take your own advice- "I always think you if you don't have anything good to say ......". Your words, not mine. Everyone else is as entitled to express his/her/its opinion just as mightily as you are and if it bothers you then STFU and move on to another thread as I do daily. I reply in less than 50% of the threads I read and many times when I do it's when the thread has basically run its course since, really, the thread "did not apply", I had nothing of value to offer the conversation and because most of the time I disagree with the general sentiment or some specific opinions of the thread. But I still am entitled to express my opinion, however unpopular or incorrect others like you may think I am.
 
#27 ·
You're entitled to your opinion, by all means. But with reevaluation of the original statement, "It sure would be a lot easier and cheaper if people would simply stop dropping their bikes. JS.", I find there is nothing false or valueless. It's a simple process- re-think and re-act differently to save money, sweat and worry. Seriously people, just stop dropping motorcycles!

You have no idea how reserved I actually am with most of the knows-it-alls and pansies on this site. Nearly every day I bite my lip and/or delete something I have typed before hitting the submit button, all in the name of not offending the constantly butt-hurt of the group. I just wanna reach through the screen, like in a cartoon, and smack some of them and tell them to grow up.

I certainly don't expect all people to get along all the time either. I tend to think of this forum like a continuous shoot-the-**** out at the workshop where some drink Pepsi and others drink whiskey, with friends always floating in and out, coming and going; listening & contributing; praising & admonishing. There's folks you like, folks you tolerate to various levels and folks you just don't care for very much. Just like life. And just like life, you cannot dictate who talks about what or who says what in what way to suit you. Choose to stay, choose to leave or choose something in between. But you get to choose only your actions, not those of others.

Perhaps humor or sarcasm isn't your style, I get that. So take your own advice- "I always think you if you don't have anything good to say ......". Your words, not mine. Everyone else is as entitled to express his/her/its opinion just as mightily as you are and if it bothers you then STFU and move on to another thread as I do daily. I reply in less than 50% of the threads I read and many times when I do it's when the thread has basically run its course since, really, the thread "did not apply", I had nothing of value to offer the conversation and because most of the time I disagree with the general sentiment or some specific opinions of the thread. But I still am entitled to express my opinion, however unpopular or incorrect others like you may think I am.
Sounds like it might be healthier for you if you do not come here so much if its raising your blood pressure so much. Man the more I read your response the more I am perplexed at your anger towards people. I guess you just laid out the truth for all to see here of who you are and your attitude.
 
#31 ·
Yeah, I'm not putting a $400 exo-skeleton all the way around my bike to protect the $600 fairings in the event of a fall. Especially since the $400 is a absolutely going to pay the the $600 is a maybe. (And yeah I'm sure both of those numbers are wrong but you get the jist.) I do have some frame sliders put on by the previous owner though.

I've lost my last 2 FJRs by getting hit by cars. Cages would not have mattered--both were totaled. :-(
 
#33 · (Edited)
Even with insurance, the dollar cost and time lost riding from one fall is significant. My deductible alone is more than what I have in front and rear protection. Not to mention allowing me to have my last bike on its side twice without it costing me a single cent or a single minute riding.

Simple decision for me.
 
#34 ·
Glad to hear it. As-is, I've had an FJR since 2006 and have yet to pay $1 towards bodywork repair. (Nor cages or protection.) Note that I've lost 2 of those bikes to cagers but they were totaled. I'd be in for surely >$1k on canyon cages or whatever for the 3 bikes by now. As I mentioned, I dropped one of them at 0 speed with no significant damage that I felt justified repair.

To each his own. Have a nice day.

Even with insurance, the dollar cost and time lost riding from one fall is significant. My deductible alone is less than what I have in front and rear protection. Not to mention allowing me to have my last bike on its side twice without it costing me a single cent or a single minute riding.

Simple decision for me.
 
#39 ·
That hurts just looking at it...... but it will roll right over onto the mirrors. See the third pic of the damage to upper edge of fairing.... at one time I had found some stick-on fairing protectors (bumpers of sorts) for sport bike fairings but now I can't...

And remember, chicks dig scars!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bill Lumberg
#40 · (Edited)
Makes me appreciate what those R&G sliders and t-Rex bag guards did for me- twice. I’d have been out $1,000 in insurance deductibles and mucho riding time for repairs. So conservatively, I am (net) around $700 ahead, not including increased premiums, and perhaps a month of riding time ahead between the two.

Neither of my incidents (in one I was knocked down by an idiot in a van, in the other, I failed to execute a tight 360) had the bike rolling past the protection onto the mirrors.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top