T-Rex Frame Sliders

Rexbo

Member
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Of note: the t-rex case protectors WILL DRAG on the left side when you crank the bike over in turns. Fear not, they clearance themselves pretty quickly :)
 

Flippn

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Of note: the t-rex case protectors WILL DRAG on the left side when you crank the bike over in turns. Fear not, they clearance themselves pretty quickly :)

Thanks for the heads up. Though I'm pretty far from leaning that low :D
 

Seth

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Awesome slider. Will be ordering and installing this winter. Gotta make upgrades during the winter, that way in late spring you have a new ride!
 

frider

New Member
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I started on the installation of my T-Rex sliders last night. They are really nice - heavy, well-machined, great fitment.

The instructions had me reroute the clutch cable to the inside of the silver Y-shaped engine bracket. I don't know if this factors into the clearance issue some people are having with the tab on the inside of the right fairing. I didn't get to reinstalling the fairings last night, but I can follow-up when I do if anyone is interested.

I'm not finding a reliable figure for the engine bolt torque specs. Does anyone know what the specs are? I've got a repair manual on order, which might have the answers, but I will probably want to have her buttoned back up before that arrives. Thanks.
 

octaneguy

New Member
Rerouting the clutch cable was a huge PIA. It was the longest part of the slider install for me. I didn't have any issues with clearance, but trying to remove the cable and route it was very challenging.

I started on the installation of my T-Rex sliders last night. They are really nice - heavy, well-machined, great fitment.

The instructions had me reroute the clutch cable to the inside of the silver Y-shaped engine bracket. I don't know if this factors into the clearance issue some people are having with the tab on the inside of the right fairing. I didn't get to reinstalling the fairings last night, but I can follow-up when I do if anyone is interested.

I'm not finding a reliable figure for the engine bolt torque specs. Does anyone know what the specs are? I've got a repair manual on order, which might have the answers, but I will probably want to have her buttoned back up before that arrives. Thanks.
 

frider

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I actually didn't undo the clutch cable at all. I unbolted both top bolts on the Y engine bracket and was pretty easily able to slide the cable over it to the inside. (You have to take the one bolt out anyway to install the slider bracket.)

I actually debated which would be easier - to remove the clutch cable or unbolt the bracket. I had thought I would have to unbolt additional radiator bolts trying the latter option, but I didn't have to do that either. Unbolting the bracket seems to be the way to go. You do have to clip one zip-tie that goes around that little foam pad thingy.
 

reenmachine

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Huh. It's been a while but I don't recall having much of an issue rerouting the clutch cable. I did have to trim a bit of plastic on the inside of the fairing though, as I think I described earlier in this thread.

I have the torque specs but not on this computer and I'm on travel for the week. If nobody posts them by the time I get home I'll take a look.
 

octaneguy

New Member
Its part of the instructions now to reroute the clutch cable. It's been months since I did the install.
Huh. It's been a while but I don't recall having much of an issue rerouting the clutch cable. I did have to trim a bit of plastic on the inside of the fairing though, as I think I described earlier in this thread.

I have the torque specs but not on this computer and I'm on travel for the week. If nobody posts them by the time I get home I'll take a look.
 

Treachery

Moderator
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As to the torque specs, I didn't use them. That sounds stupid, as I'm a stickler on that, but the figure seemed high, and while I was doing the install, it felt too tight. I corresponded with T-Rex, and they were stunned at the figure. I used blue Loctite, and went (by my calibrated hands) to pretty snug. I didn't trust that spec going into the engine case or with the different bolts used. That's a long discussion, I know, and I have the specs somewhere at the house, so if you want them as a starting point, PM me and I'll try to look them up for you tonight. Somebody else will probably chime in by then.
 

SneakyOwl

New Member
As to the torque specs, I didn't use them. That sounds stupid, as I'm a stickler on that, but the figure seemed high, and while I was doing the install, it felt too tight. I corresponded with T-Rex, and they were stunned at the figure. I used blue Loctite, and went (by my calibrated hands) to pretty snug. I didn't trust that spec going into the engine case or with the different bolts used. That's a long discussion, I know, and I have the specs somewhere at the house, so if you want them as a starting point, PM me and I'll try to look them up for you tonight. Somebody else will probably chime in by then.

Not that it is relevant to your case, but this really reminds of me of this legendary thread on the VFR forums:
Destroyed my Swingarm, take my advice.
Sadly, it looks like he edited out all his posts...

Long story short: Guy doesn't believe in torque wrenches, uses sledge instead. Totally wrecks his swingarm.

I believe the paint thickness was the real problem here.


The threads in the hub are in perfect shape. I even cleaned the aluminum out of the threads on the stud. All fine now.
 

Diploman

New Member
Treachery, I'm with you! My method for torquing fasteners on the 390 is similar to yours. No one can argue with torque wrenches as the correct, contentional way to set fasteners. But using a torque wrench relies on certain assumptions: That both the threaded part and the bolt are known qualities, standard. consistent metallurgy, tested hardness. With a budget bike built in a developing industry, with maximum cost-cutting (eg, lowest-bidder fasteners, fan, etc), I don't think the conventional assumptions about part/thread strength can uniformly apply, any more than assumptions about consistency of strength/hardness. I think that in the 390's manufacturing environment there is considerably more variability in quality/strength/hardness/finish than in more evolved/advanced/experienced industrial countries. Therefore, I distrust the KTM manual's torque specs. Probably like you, it has taken me years of wrenching and stripping fasteners to develop a fine feel for torque setting. On the 390 I torque fasteners to "snug", not torque spec. I have yet to strip a single fastener. My watchword is: "Less torque, more Loctite."
 

frider

New Member
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A couple of additional thoughts after installing my T-Rex sliders, in case anyone is interested:

- From the KTM repair manual, the engine mounting torque specs for the RC390 are 47 Nm for the Y-bracket ("carrier," as they call it) and 50 Nm for the thru-bolt. Based on the previous input from this thread, I decided to turn it down a bit--about 38 for the Y-bracket and 42 on the thru-bolt--and used some medium loctite. 38 Nm on the Y-bracket was enough to round out the walls of the 5mm hex socket on the bolts from T-Rex. Now I have a stripped out cap on the left side bolt. I recommend using less than 38 Nm or buying better fasteners.

- Despite rerouting the clutch cable to the inside of the Y-bracket, I still ended up trimming the black tab on the inside of the right fairing as AirRsq described above. You don't necessarily have to, but it'll put a lot of pressure on the plastic if you don't.

- The left side slider actually makes contact with the exhaust pipe. It's the c-shaped holder just under the puck post where it cradles the frame. It's hopefully a minor issue but nonetheless unfortunate.

- I'm finding the CD-ROM repair manual mostly as described above. While I don't have any issues opening it on my work computer (Windows 7 Enterprise), I can't open it on my Mac at home or print it or save it otherwise. I guess I will just leave it open on my work computer when I know I'm going to be doing some work and remote in from my laptop when I get home. This is also unfortunate.
 

Biker

Member
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Treachery, I'm with you! My method for torquing fasteners on the 390 is similar to yours. No one can argue with torque wrenches as the correct, contentional way to set fasteners. But using a torque wrench relies on certain assumptions: That both the threaded part and the bolt are known qualities, standard. consistent metallurgy, tested hardness. With a budget bike built in a developing industry, with maximum cost-cutting (eg, lowest-bidder fasteners, fan, etc), I don't think the conventional assumptions about part/thread strength can uniformly apply, any more than assumptions about consistency of strength/hardness. I think that in the 390's manufacturing environment there is considerably more variability in quality/strength/hardness/finish than in more evolved/advanced/experienced industrial countries. Therefore, I distrust the KTM manual's torque specs. Probably like you, it has taken me years of wrenching and stripping fasteners to develop a fine feel for torque setting. On the 390 I torque fasteners to "snug", not torque spec. I have yet to strip a single fastener. My watchword is: "Less torque, more Loctite."

Totally agree with this. Works for me too. Unless I am doing the really important/safety first stuff eg flywheel bolts, brake calipers, head bolts etc etc I prefer to use my inbuilt torque sensor for everything else. Loctite, spring washers, nylock nuts are always a good safety backup.
 
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- I'm finding the CD-ROM repair manual mostly as described above. While I don't have any issues opening it on my work computer (Windows 7 Enterprise), I can't open it on my Mac at home or print it or save it otherwise. I guess I will just leave it open on my work computer when I know I'm going to be doing some work and remote in from my laptop when I get home. This is also unfortunate.
About the repair manual, I bought the CD from KTM, and in order to have a fast and easy acess to the file, I open in on one computer ans "print to PDF" the file in my language.
Then I can use the PDF in any device, including the ipod I have in the workshop, in order to have everything available anytime, and without using the CD anymore.
 

zaster

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Just received mine and read through the instructions. Did any of you find it necessary to remove the belly pan in order to support the engine while installing the sliders?
 

Treachery

Moderator
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^^^^^
I believe that I did, just to make sure that nothing got out of line, leading to potential binding or cross-threading.
 
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