T-Rex Racing Quick-Release Axle Sliders Tested

Axle and frame sliders are cheap, effective tip-over protection. They provide alternative impact and friction points in a crash, so instead of buying new fairing panels and footpegs, you might get away with only replacing the slider pucks. Once mounted, frame sliders stay put until you replace or remove them, but it's a different story with axle sliders. Since most setups pass through the axles, they need to come off any time you want to remove your wheels. And that can be a hassle for trackday riders or anyone who burns through tires, especially if your bike has a single-sided swingarm.

"We got the idea for these sliders from a customer with a Ducati," says T-Rex Racing Owner Tom Chu, reminiscing about the parts' provenance via phone from his shop in Dallas. "He likes to do trackdays, but he was tired of taking two stands. He needed one standard, double-sided paddock stand to support the bike on tire warmers with the rear axle slider in place and then a second single-sided stand for when he removed the wheel."

Chu decided there was a better way, so he began experimenting with quick-release options. “We tested many configurations, from an expanding mandrel to O-rings, but magnets worked best,” Chu says. So, instead of being screwed together, the two halves stick together with the help of a pair of very powerful magnets. The aluminum shafts, which pass through the hollow front and rear axles and are machined to a close fit, are equipped with O-rings that take any remaining play.

When the time comes to remove the sliders, you literally just yank them off, one side at a time. You might think that the pucks won’t stay put in a crash, but, barring a dramatic cartwheeling disaster that’s bound to destroy your bike anyway, I don’t see these things popping off unintentionally. “And once the bike is sliding, the pressure of the slide will hold the puck in place,” Chu says. After several thousand miles on my long-term Aprilia Tuono, the parts haven’t budged, and they certainly are easy to use.

T-Rex currently offers quick-release axle sliders for all single-sided-swingarm Ducatis, Aprilia’s Tuono V4 1100, and the KTM 1290 Super Duke R. Chu says designs for more models are in the works.