The World’s Best Motorcycle Frame Sliders: Woodcraft 4 Inch Puck!

Kay purchased a Ducati Monster 696 ABS last month. First farkle? Frame sliders.

I prefer Woodcraft’s products; Woodcraft engineers its products for motorcycle racers and it shows. The Wood family is a racing family. They are also affiliated with the Penguin Roadracing School, which is the oldest motorcycle racing school in the United States.

My first look at Woodcraft’s Web site did not look promising though. I wrote to Woodcraft: which began an email exchange with company President Eric Wood. Mr. Wood explained that they would be coming out with their standard Woodcraft sliders for Ducati Monsters within a few weeks. He also made an interesting proposition. Woodcraft engineered large four-inch frame sliders for the Penguin School’s rental bikes (Ducati 900s and 969s). They were also tested on a Ducati Monster. Mr. Wood sent images of that bike, so that I would know exactly what I was getting into. He offered to send those. I made a quick-call to the company to order them. They were a little more expensive than the standard Woodcraft sliders on my 2007 Suzuki SV650S ABS, but the price was still reasonable. The person that took my order mentioned that the large four-inch sliders will not be added to the catalog. We may never run across another pair at bike night. That said: if you are interested, then by-all-means contact Woodcraft, and let them know.

Apparently one-pair of these saw 25 crashes, and is still in use at the Penguin school.

Here are some features that all Woodcraft sliders share:

• They have solid plastic pucks that will not bend and should not catch (grab traction) on the track.
• The pucks’ mounting bolt is perpendicular to the post. This allows for easy removal of the pucks. Many other sliders will distort over their mounting bolts in an accident. These will not.
• They are exactly the correct length for each application. The slider posts for my Suzuki SV650S ABS were actually different lengths in order to compensate for the fact that the engine mounting bolts are not equal distances from the bikes centerline.

Here is a picture of the jumbo sliders before installation. The slider on the right shows what the parts look like when they are together. The top section of the puck is solid. It is slightly dished in order to mostly cover the post though.

Woodcraft Jumbo Sliders Before Installation, Image © 2010 Paul Danger Kile http://dangerismymiddlename.com

Here is what they look like on the bike. In the immortal words of Wedge Antilles: “Look at the size of that thing”.

2010 Ducati Monster 696 ABS with Woodcraft Slider, Image © 2010 Paul Danger Kile http://dangerismymiddlename.com

Why are the four-inch sliders (the white ones) so much larger than the two-inch sliders (below)? It has something to do with that 2*pi*r thing that we learned in geometry class.

Here is my 2007 SV650S ABS with the standard Woodcraft sliders. In this case the puck and post, are clearly visible; the post is completely covered by the massive puck on the 4 inch version.

2007 Suzuki SV650S ABS with Woodcraft Sliders, Image © 2009 Paul Danger Kile http://dangerismymiddlename.com

NOS Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke Kit: As Seen On eBay

Jim Stewart is a well-respected expert on all things Suzuki SV650, SV1000, etc.  What is less-well-known is that Jim is also an expert on all things British, and all things two-stroke.  He sent the following email to the SV/DL Riders Google group:

As all longtime owners of British cars and motorcycles know, the so-called “electrical system” actually runs on smoke.

Smoke is sealed into the “electrical” components and passes between them through “wires”.

When the smoke escapes from a component, it stops working. Many of us have watched helplessly as the smoke fills the engine compartment and slowly dissipates, leaving us stranded on the roadside.

Now you can repair such failures:

http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

-js

$3 Motorcycle Shift Lever Repair

Leslie Kian a/k/a Bluepepper has provided the SV650 community with Shift Repair Instructions. We asked him if we could present his instructions here, and he agreed. His instructions are available below, and from this link. www.sv650.org (where we discovered Leslie’s instructions) is a great site for SV650 riders.

This procedure replaces the broken pin with a 5/16″ machine bolt, and reuses the rubber piece, which makes the installation look very professional. If the bolt breaks-off in a future incident, and you are carrying a spare, then you might even be able to do a roadside repair.

Here is a copy of the Leslie’s instructions.  The word “I” below, refers to Leslie Kian, who wrote these words.

A low speed slide brought my SV down hard enough on the pavement to break my shifter. It broke off at the “L” and I figured out a way to save it with some inexpensive hardware from a local store. Here is a picture of what it looked like:

Happy riding!

I drilled out the spot where the original was welded with a 5/16” drill bit. I used a punch to mark the center of the hole so that the drill bit doesn’t wander. I also widened the hole with a 3/8” drill bit, but only at a depth of less than approximately ¼” (you will see why next).

I purchased a stainless 5/16” machine bolt (figuring that this would be least likely to rust) with a tapered head and an acorn nut to match. The bolt fits into the drilled out hole and sits recessed in the hole because of the tapered head. The head is facing the bike and will not have any interference with other moving parts.

Taking the rubber off of the original and reinserted on the threads of the bolt, it is held in place with the acorn nut. The acorn nut is rounded, so I don’t think it would cause too much friction. Here is what the final product looks like:

It is saving me a few bucks (I found one on eBay for $35 plus shipping), but I also know I can do this on the road in a pinch where parts are not readily available for less than $3 and the use of a drill.

Hope this contribution helps a fellow SV rider. This website has made a positive impact on me and has enhanced my SV experience.

Cyclepedia Press: Motorcycle Manual Books Online

Beth S. over at SV\DL Riders let us all know about Cyclepedia Press. I am not currently a subscriber, but I still feel compelled to share this with you. They have (hopefully) all the manuals that you will ever need available as a subscription service.

Carburetor Cleaning

My wife’s V-Star has gummy carburetors. Now, I believe that I have a better-than-average mechanical aptitude. I began studying mechanics as a hobby when I was a pre-teen, and I took night courses in Automotive Mechanics and Auto-body at a BOCES in St. Lawrence County NY. That said, there are 3 things that I cannot imagine how they work in my head: I need to go back to a working model each time:

1. Automatic Transmissions (except the kinds on bicycles and scooters)
2. Carburetors (embarrassing, embarrassing)
3. Differentials (embarrassing, embarrassing)

I don’t like working when I don’t have the right tools, but I have had such bad things happen when I brought my motorcycles in for service, that I am tempted to work on them myself from now on. My point being that I need to get over my fear of carburetors, and just get in there and do it. So, I went to YouTube to find some videos. There are a lot. Here are some of the ones that I saw.

I found this “Tech Tip of the Week” from Everglades Motorcycle Service (http://evergladesmc.com/) on YouTube. It covers the basic assembly of modern Constant Velocity (CV) Carbuerators.

Everglades Motorcycle Service is a Harley Davidson extended warranty facility, so this is most likely one of the Japanese Carbs that you will find on your typical Harley Davidson “American” motorcycle (that was assembled in WI-or-MO USA), instead of say, the Japanese carbs that your would find on your typical Honda Gold Wing “Japanese” motorcycle that was assembled in Ohio USA. …glad I got THAT out of the way.

Here is “Moped Maintenance : How to Clean a Moped Carburetor” by Beemer (if that is your real name!) of Spain.

Warning: these next videos contain four-letter words:

redneckmikey69 has “how to clean a carb (cheap, easy way)”

These are from DIOSpeedDemon ‘s videos:

• Carb Cleaning #1
• Carb Cleaning #2
• Carb Cleaning #3
• Carb Cleaning #4

I believe that DIOSpeedDemon will be putting more up.