Sidi Ceramic Sliders

Sidi Ceramic Sliders,

CW EVALUATION

Kneed for speed

EVER SINCE THREE-TIME 500CC WORLD Champion Kenny Roberts popularized the knee-out riding style back in the 1970s, sportbike riders have been wearing through knee pucks left and right. Besides being fun, touching your knee to the tarmac allows you to gauge the lean angle of the bike and can even provide a safety net against j front-end slides. Knee sliders have come a long way from the days when racers would duct-tape slabs of leather or blocks of wood to their knees. Developed with the help of former 125 and 250cc World Champion Loris Capirossi, Sidi Ceramic Knee Sliders feature replaceable pucks with wear-resistant inserts similar to those used in the toe guards of the Italian company’s top-of-the-line boots. About the same size and shape as other sliders, the molded plastic puck faces attach to their respective base plates with deeply recessed Phillips-head screws, three per side. The pucks are contoured for a precise fit and labeled left or right. Hook-and-loop backing provides secure

DETAILS

Motonation

1100 N. Magnolia Ave. #A El Cajon, CA 92020 877/789-4940 www. motonation. com Price:...$50 per set

^Jps

Replace puck faces for just $25 No aroma of burned leather

Downs

Sounds like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard

Colors no longer available; pucks now only in clear

attachment to your leathers. In use, the sliders glide smoothly along the track surface and showed only moderate wear after a full day of mackin’ the tarmac. The downside is noise. The inserts make a terrific scraping sound that’s sure to raise the hair on the neck of any rider just ahead of you. Also, the ceramic is brittle, to the point that some of the material even chipped away. Sidi has since updated the sliders, adding two more inserts in a more protective, enclosed design. It’s a good thing, too, as knee dragging can be addictive. □