16mm hole saw for R&G frame sliders?

[jaimev34]

I ordered some R&G sliders and am preparing for the forthcoming installation by getting the necessary tools. The installation guide calls for a 16mm hole saw, but I can't seem to find one. The closest I can find is 3/4 inch. What did any of you R&G slider owners use to drill the holes?

Thanks.

[DougFromIndy]

Stay away from any holesaws, make many tests and find dead center as best you can, drill a small pilot hole, if is in a good spot, drill a bigger hole, then take a black sharpie and trace around slider, =finish job very slowly with a sanding drum mounted to a dremel tool.

[TimC]

I didn't use a hole saw. I drilled thru the backside of the fairing while it was mounted, repeated the process for the other side, then used a small sanding drum in my Dremel to slowly expand and round out the holes for the sliders. I sanded, checked the slider fit, sanded, checked the slider fit, etc. It took awhile but working slowly and carefully the holes came out perfect.

One quick tip: Once you have the sliders mounted, whenever you need to remove them to remove your fairings, make sure to remove the silver cylindrical spacers, too. More than once I've nearly lost one while moving my bike around the garage when I only removed the sliders!

[Popsrcr]

Dremel as well.

[panamawing]

Just like everyone else has said......drill bit and then the dremmel!

[marid2apterbilt]

I used the hole saw thing, Bought a complete set at HF.

Eyed it up best I could (some people use a laser pointer) and cut the hole. Came out near pefect. I also only cut it big enough for the base of the slider not the whole thing so they must be removed to remove the fairings.

[KanadianKen]

Return the R & G product - buy Radars........ AND use a hole saw. :fing02:

[jaimev34]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll abandon the hole saw method and use the drill and dremel method.

Do you guys have any tricks for marking the slider locations other than what's contained in the instruction manual?

One worry I have about making the holes only large enough for the shaft the slider mounts to is I imagine that in a case where the impact is great enough for the slider shaft to bend, it will push the fairing, which could potentially push on the front fairing, mounting brackets, etc. If the holes are made slightly larger, say the size of the slider itself, then there's some room for the slider shaft to move upon impact (if it were to bend), reducing the risk of fairing damage (other than scraping, of course).

Thoughts?

[Popsrcr]

IMHO, if you hit that hard you'll have other things to worry about.

[Guest]

I marked my drill point by putting a dab of putty on the end of the long bolt and then pushed it up against the installed fairing. The putty stuck to the faring and gave me a precise drill point.

Thanks all for the replies. I'll abandon the hole saw method and use the drill and dremel method.

Do you guys have any tricks for marking the slider locations other than what's contained in the instruction manual?

One worry I have about making the holes only large enough for the shaft the slider mounts to is I imagine that in a case where the impact is great enough for the slider shaft to bend, it will push the fairing, which could potentially push on the front fairing, mounting brackets, etc. If the holes are made slightly larger, say the size of the slider itself, then there's some room for the slider shaft to move upon impact (if it were to bend), reducing the risk of fairing damage (other than scraping, of course).

Thoughts?

[TimC]

Do you guys have any tricks for marking the slider locations other than what's contained in the instruction manual?

There used to be a good how-to install thread w/photos on the forum, but I'm not sure if it still exists. Do a search and it may come up.

IIRC here's how I did it. You can drill either side first, but just for example I'll say drill the left side first.

-Remove both fairings

-Swap out coolant bottle and its contents (see below)

-Remove engine mount bar nuts

-Push engine mount bolt out the left side of bike using long drill bit (R&G instructions should say what size)

-Drill bit takes place of engine mount bolt, so leave a little sticking out

-Reinstall left fairing

-Attach drill to drill bit and carefully drill thru left fairing

-Remove drill from drill bit, leaving drill bit sitting in engine mount hole

-Remove left fairing

-Push drill bit thru engine mount hole using engine mount bolt

-Push engine mount bolt out the right side of bike using drill bit, again leaving tip exposed

-Attach right fairing

-Attach drill to drill bit and carefully drill thru right fairing

-Remove right fairing

-Push drill bit out right side of bike using R&G slider mount bolt, leaving tip showing on right side

-Attach right fairing and use Dremel to slowly expand hole, checking with silver cylindrical spacer for fit as you go

-When right fairing is good, push slider mount bolt further right, leaving tip exposed on left side of bike

-Attach left fairing and use Dremel to slowly expand hole, again using the silver space to check fit as you go

-When left fairing is good, push slider mount bar to left to center it

A few points to remember:

-Use goggles or safety glasses and a dust mask. You don't want the plastic dust from your fairings in your eyes or nose/mouth.

-There will be a decent amount of discarded plastic, so make sure to clean off your fairing inside and out, including the shavings that will drop down from the hole inside your fairings.

-Now is a good time to do a coolant flush since you're replacing the coolant bottle anyway. It's also a good time to do an oil and filter change since the left fairing will be off the bike.

-Go slow if necessary! Neatness counts. No points for how fast you can do this install.

-The mount bolt will be tightly fit. I used a rubber mallet to move it back and forth to prevent damaging the ends and threads.

-When attaching the locking nuts for the sliders, lightly grease the threads. I use a little white lithium grease every time I reinstall the sliders.

Everyone - Please feel free to correct or add to my instructions above.

[Guest]

Return the R & G product - buy Radars........ AND use a hole saw. :warranty:

I've heard a lot about Radars sliders, are they still availiable?

[KanadianKen]

Return the R & G product - buy Radars........ AND use a hole saw. :fing02:

I've heard a lot about Radars sliders, are they still availiable?

Yes - I believe they are. Radar is a member here. PM him for a 100% answer.

[radar]

Return the R & G product - buy Radars........ AND use a hole saw. :rolleyes:

I've heard a lot about Radars sliders, are they still availiable?

Yes - I believe they are. Radar is a member here. PM him for a 100% answer.

Yup, still have them