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[TheRan]

I dropped my previous bike before I fitted any protection and did quite a bit of damage, snapped clutch lever, bent bars, snapped foot pegs, dislodged shifter (luckily it didn't snap), and some scuffs on the rear axle nut.

Obviously with the Zero there's less stuff to break but I still want to minimise the potential damage. I have hand guards which should help to protect the brake lever and make the bars slide instead of digging in and bending. I ordered some axle sliders (mushrooms, bungs, bobbins, whatever you want to call them) and fitted them today. The seller advertised them as being longer than most other options (48mm) and they certainly look longer than the R&G ones, yet if I lay the bike down they don't touch the ground and would probably need to be another inch longer in the rear and even more than that in front. With the bars turned to full lock, as they would be if the bike was dropped, the pegs and kickstand/brake lever hit the ground first. I would imagine that the R&G frame sliders also aren't longer enough, not that they fit on my bike anyway.

Other than getting crash bars the only other way I can think of to possibly protect the pegs and kickstand/brake lever is to fit some of these peg sliders, hopefully the peg stops folding soon enough that they're still taking some load and they raise the bike up enough for the kickstand and lever to clear: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZERO-FX-FXS-2014-2020-FOOTPEG-REST-SLIDERS-CRASH-PROTECTOR-BLACK-FOOT-PEG-R6D5/264688370533?fits=UKM_Make%3AZero&hash=item3da0a80365:g:ux8AAOSwXsFaXGzh
https://www.nyaparts.co.uk/shop/accessories/crash-protection/foot-peg-sliders-crash-protection-50mm-zero-ds-dsr-fx-fxs/

[valnar]

I bought some axle sliders but haven't put them on yet.  That said, I have dropped my bike on my handlebars and nothing broke, but my handguards were scuffed up and the ground did touch my footpeg.  I think nothing broke simply because it's an FXS so fairly light.  It was also at a standstill.  If I was moving, there is no telling what would break.

[staples]

I think the foot pegs are fairly strong and probably don't need too much or any protection. I got into one accident on my FXS. I was side-swiped by a car that was trying to make a left turn from the right lane and didn't see me. Their wheel was spinning against my foot, foot peg, and rear brake lever. Two things happened. I got a scuff on my boot, and the brake lever got bent down. The peg was unscathed. Granted, "it all happened so fast," so I'm not 100% sure that the foot peg was involved. It is make from a lot stronger metal than the soft brake lever.



On the plus side, I like the new position of the lever and kept it that way.

[TheRan]

That's good to know that the pegs can take a spill, they do look quite stout. I hate the position of the rear brake as it is so I rarely use it, but seeing how much that one bent without snapping I might try bending mine outwards a bit.

[Hans2183]

Good news, you won't bend your clutch lever on this bike .

I had axle sliders like what's used on motocross bikes and then your bike should be able to slide on handlebar end caps and these sliders. I made some myself using threaded rod with plastic hose over it for protecting the bike and then skateboard wheels on the ends. However they were removed on the first service by zero and never bother to put them back on.

I made a topic about it here https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=9554.msg84051#msg84051

On the frame I have still to sliders on the widest points, similar to the skateboard wheels. These are still in place but honestly I'm not sure if they will hold up or damage more then the bike would get damaged without.

My bikes are to be used and I know for sure that sooner or later they will go down. My GS I have some crash bars for offroading but that's about it and that only protects the bike partially. For the plastics I just started buying a replacement everything I broke something while leaving the broken part (if possible) on the bike. If I then have to sell it for whatever reason I can replace everything (or even just give them a box with all the parts). This way the cost is also spread over time.

This obviously won't work with a damaged frame...

[didierm]

Did a left low side two weeks ago with my SR/F.
Non-illuminated roadside works, night & rain : hit an unmarked curbstone in the middle of the road at low speed (10-20 km/h).
Teared pants, jacket and handglove, bloody knee.

To much of my surprise, not a single scratch on the bodyworks of the SR/F !
All damage was taken by :
- the factory bar ends (pavement shaved several millimeters away) ;
- cheap third party fog light (damaged beyond repair) ;
- swingarm spool (damaged beyond repair).

Total damage : < € 50 (I consider myself lucky).


I am now looking into axle sliders (not sure whether it's wise to mount frame sliders, as these may damage the frame beyond repair in case of an accident), and only found references to TS305/TS306 (from jaybeebikerbits) for SR/F or SR/S.

[TheRan]

Jay Bee is who I got my sliders from, and who also makes the peg sliders that I linked above (I also have some fork preload adjusters from them that I bought a while back). They're well made but unfortunately doesn't serve much of a purpose, I'm guessing he either didn't have a bike to lay down and test them on or they were designed on a borrowed bike.

[didierm]

You mean the sliders are not large/high enough to keep the bike/bodyworks from touching ground level ?


I laid down the bike (SR/F) last week to estimate minimal size, and the left front and back sliders appear to need at least 50 mm height.

A frame slider may be more efficient, but I would not dare to guess where it should be mounted : the official/factory drop bars on my previous DSR probably played a role in the total loss of the bike by tearing the frame during a low impact / low speed accident last year.

[TheRan]

Yep, the rear would need to be probably an inch longer and the front even more, at least on flat ground. I suppose if there's a crest in the road or the rear touches down first (so the front wheel is off the ground and pointing up) the rear one may help but I doubt the front would ever touch.

[didierm]

Maybe these (easily and cheaply replaceable) fog lights are a practical low-speed crash protection after all.