Radar's Sliders - Condensed How To Install

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Drilling for Sliders

I talked with RADAR tonight, and he asked me if I would mind condensing, and making the "how to install his sliders thread" a little more fluid and updated. The other thread I started is a great mix of what I did, and has a lot of good feedback from many folks here which is much appreciated!!! However, it is 4 pages long, and not as easy of a read as would be appreciated by many.

So, the majority of what is in this thread, is from the original, but with all the updated information. HOpe its helpful to those of you that have ordered a set. fing02.gif


Radars Sliders and Installation

And how to drill your fairings without having a nervous breakdown.



For product availability EMAIL RADAR AT : radar88ster AT gmail.com



I was the test for Radars awesome sliders, and finally I got fed up with the cold and snow, and went into the garage for about an hour today. The results below are very good, and I think Radar (Darren) has hit a home run with the products he makes. Read on.. Its long and photo heavy - but I hope it explains how this was done, and the simple tools that were needed.


1) You will need to acquire the “Basic” goods from Radar (Darren in Saskatoon, Sk., Canada). Get yourself the slider mounts, the bolts, and the sliders themselves.
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The trick to this installation is based on two very simple – yet custom turned centering plugs. These plugs fit snugly into the holes where the front engine bolt goes through. Darren turned these, and sends them with an o-ring installed to snug up the fit.
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2) From your local hardware store, you need to pick up a few things. You will need an 18” long ¼” inch drill bit, a 1 1/8” hole saw, an arbor to hold the hole saw, as well as a length of ¼” “drill rod”.
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3) Ok – first things first. This would be a very easy install with an extra set of hands and eyes helping out, I flew solo on this cold winter day – but it all worked out perfectly. Strip off the side fairings, and remove the coolant bottle. On the bottom of the coolant bottle is the spout that the hose attaches to – cap that with a rubber cap so it doesn’t leak out all over the floor. Put the coolant bottle out of the way for now. Back to this later.

4) Next – remove the front engine bolt. This bolt passes from the left side of the frame, through a “floating” spacer/big ass washer, through the engine, and exits through the frame on the right side. You will need to take this bolt (which on 6th Gen’s is hollow) and get the inside tapped on both ends about an inch deep to fit the bolts that Darren sends. (I’ll edit this after I get the exact specs back from Darren). This is ultimately where the Slider bases mount to the bike – by far the strongest location on the bike. Here’s the bolt – after it is tapped.
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5) Insert the Centering plugs into the holes from the engine bolt. The following picture has the drill bit going through the centering plug, but you get the idea. Spray some aerosol lubricant into the center of the centering plug – it’ll make the drilling go easier.
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6) Now reinstall the right side fairing, and put the Honda securing bolts back in and tighten them up. You need the right side fairing to be held securely, as the first hole that is drilled, originates from the left side, and uses the 18” long ¼” drill bit. The drill bit is slid in through the centering plug on the left side, through the floating spacer/big ass washer – and then carefully through the right side centering plug. Hook up the bit to the drill, and take a deep breath. Get the drill going about half speed, and gently start to push it into the fairing. You may feel the drill “skip” depending on where it’s touching the inside of the fairing. Have your helper gently press against the fairing – in the direction of the drill bit. The drill will pop though, and you should have a clean ¼” inch hole like this.

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7) Now – retract the 18” long drill bit, and get the 1 1/8” hole saw, and the length of drill rod. I had to buy 36 inches of drill rod – so I left it that length. You could cut it down to 18” and be just fine. Install the drill rod onto the arbor for the hole saw. The arbor I used already had a ¼” centre drill bit in it, so I removed the drill bit and installed the drill rod. It is simply used to keep the hole saw cutting in a perfect circle – as it is guided by the centering plugs on both ends.
8) From the RIGHT side of the bike, insert the drill rod through the already drilled ¼” hole, and get it through the engine, and out to the other side of the other centering plug.
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Here’s what it looks like on the other side with the drill rod slipped through.
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Again – get the drill spinning about half speed – and with easy pressure – cut the hole in the side of the fairing. The centering plugs will keep the hole saw from skipping or jumping. It only takes a few seconds, and you’re through. One down, one to go!!
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9) Now take off the right side fairing. You can take some fine sandpaper to the hole on the right fairing and gently clean up any plastic “strings” that didn’t come off clean. (Leave it off for now – engine bolt has to be re-installed.)

10) Before you re-install the left side fairing, prop something under the spacer (I used a pair of pliers).
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11) From the RIGHT side of the bike, you slip the 18” long ¼” drill bit through the centering plug, through the engine and out through the left centering plug on the left side of the bike. Once the drill bit is just through the left side centering plug, re-install the left side fairing. This just makes it easier to guide the drill bit through all the holes, before it gets down to business.

From here – you are going to repeat the same steps as you took to do the right side drilling. Create the pilot ¼” hole on the left side, then using that pilot hole – use the drill rod installed on the hole saw arbor, and make the second 1 1/8” hole. At the end of the drilling you will have two holes in the perfect locations for the sliders to be installed.

After the left side holes are made, take off the left side fairing. I’ll skip ahead and show you the steps to install the slider bases, and the sliders themselves.

Using the magic of time lapse – you have by now had your engine bolt tapped on both ends to accept the thread size of the bolts that come with Darren’s kit. (Again – I will edit this after I confirm with Darren what the exact thread size is – I believe the finished kits have 5/16” Coarse thread bolts.) The machine shop that did the tapping for you, will also have to turn down the shoulder on one end of the engine bolt mounting nuts. I apologize – I will have to edit this also – after I get the correct size from Darren. This allows the slider base to slip over the tightened engine bolt without clearance issues.

12) Re-install the engine bolt.
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13) Reinstall both left and right side fairings.

14) The threaded end of the slider base stays on the outside of the bike.
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Slip the bolt into the slider mounting base from the threaded end – and it screws into the newly tapped and reinstalled engine bolt with a light amount of blue loctite. I’m unsure as to the torque value to apply – I will edit with correct values.
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Then – apply some blue loctite to the slider mounting base threads, and screw on the slider itself.

Due to slight variations in bikes, you may need to install one or two washers on the inside of the plastic slider - before you screw it onto the base, to adjust the distance that the plastic slider is away from the fairing. I have two small washers installed in the right side plastic to make the slider come off the right side plastic the same amount as the left side plastic. Radar is including the washers to use, in each kit.


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Do the same on both sides, and enjoy your finished project!!!

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RADAR will be providing details of his kit, and it fits both 5th and 6th Gen VFR’s.

The coolant bottle needs to be cut and resealed - it needs to end up looking something like this:

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Cool, thanks Ken, that should make it easier for all the people that had sliders shipped out today

Thanks, Ken for that nice tidy-up. I'll be installing a set on a pal's silver bike very soon.

Oh, and a word of advice: Don't EVEN bother to try and answer the 100 posts asking about the coolant bottle. I'll do it for you here--

"Hey folks, the bottle is not mission critical. It's not under pressure and the water level is well away from the area you have to cut away (butcher ohmy.gif ). So get creative, get a plastic milk jug or some tupperware or something from the hardware store that's about the right shape to close your cut (and after all, it's YOUR cut, so just consider what you'll be using to close the cut before you make the cut!) and goop it together with some clear silicone gasket goop. OR....use two flat pieces of plastic that you goop into place, and goop the joint where they meet. No matter how bad of an ugly hack job you do, it will probably be fine. If you really botch it up, add a piece of hose to the existing overflow line and run it out the back of the bike somewhere while you're waiting on a new one to come in from Service Honda/Ayers/etc. laugh.gif "

THanks Trace.

THe bottle isn't as tough to fix up as it appears at first. After cutting said notch in the bottle, I used a piece of scrap Polyethylene, and some Crazy Glue from Loctite designed for polyethylene - and it worked great.

fing02.gif

Helped Banshee install Radars Sliders on the 99 Yellow beauty today. Things went really well. Radars product is amazing... Super easy to do on a 5th gen.

Banshee will post up photos of the results.....

Good stuff Darren! fing02.gif