Frame sliders on an adventure bike?
 

Frame sliders on an R bike - I get it.

But on an adventure bike that goes offroad - will they do more harm than good?

I would assume how much or hard one rides offroad vs on smooth surfaces matter, as would riding with or without panniers.

One of the reasons I am asking is that my girlfriend is soon to get into motorcycling and will likely slowly advance into offroad riding. In the beginning, when she is an utter noob, with a high probability of dropping the bike on tarmac - I am thinking frame sliders might be a good idea. As for the long run, I'm wondering if it has a place for bnoth of us?

I've myself dropped a bike three times on tarmac. The first was in my first year making a turn accross some tram rails embedded into the pavement. The second time 15 years later, having been rear ended at a complete stop - by a beginner rider who did not pay attention. The last time was a few years ago, riding in deep snow and having the bike slide out on ice as I came to a stop. All of these were at slow speeds, and except for the occasion I was rear ended, frame sliders would have saved me lots of money. Offroad I drop the bike every now and then. It is also a matter of time before I crash on tarmac again - I can only be lucky for so long, right?

What do you think? When, if ever, do you think frame sliders is a good idea on an adventure motorcycle? Which types would be good, and which would be bd? Please explain your reasoning. Please let us know if you have any practical experience and what that is.

Personally I have never seen your typical frame sliders on an adventure bike (only crash bars and pads).

My thoughts are that your typical frame sliders (pegs that extends from your frame and wheel hubs), wouldn't do you any good on uneven terrain. Instead I think it could very easily snag while riding and cause a crash. In the event of a a crash I think there would be a great chance that the tumble could get much worse. Also, I think they could have an oppsoite effect in protecting the integrity of the bike, as it wouldn't help the bike slide, but the exact opposite - by snagging and transfering energy to a single point of integral value (frame, fork, wheel hub, etc) - causing far more serious damage to the bike than if the bike was allowed to slide on a much larger surface (the frame, engine, fairings, etc). Yes the bike would be scraped and banged up, but could possibly continue. I think these types of sliders only positive potential would be if you dropped the bike at a stand still, or glose to it, and then in such a miraculous way that the slider hit on a high point on the uneven surface. But on the smoother surfaces, I would probably think they could serve a purpose. As such, my assumption that these should only be added in cases where mostly all the riding is done on smooth surfaces, and the tiny bit of rough stuff is taken slow.

Are you talking about frame sliders vs crash bars? In that case, crash bars are much better.

Or are you talking about frame sliders vs nothing? In that case, frame sliders are absolutely necessary.

They need to be directly mounted to a hardpoint - a spot on the frame where multiple spars join, or an engine mounting point, something like that. Basically, the impact of the slider needs to be absorbed by the bike's entire frame. If there are some angled plates in between, or smth like that, then they are bad.

Ideally they would also be multi-part, with replaceable sliders on a fixed carrier. But that's less important.

They need to be of a shape that actually slides, and doesn't get snagged on asphalt/dirt.

They also need to be placed correctly - not too low, or the bike will simply tip over and snag on the upper body.

I have crashed several bikes on the street and on light dirt, with both crash bars and sliders.

In practice, that doesn't happen. If the impact was enough that the bike's frame failed, then you have probably also cracked the oilpan, ripped off the brake cylinders, etc. The frame slider gives you a chance to ride your bike away from the crash site. In my case, I had scratched up the fairings a bunch, but the only thing needed to ride away was a clutch lever change.