Hi
Does anyone know where I can find crash knobs for a 1995 ZX6R? I did find one place in the UK but theryre really expensive...
crash knobs
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Jonno
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Re: crash knobs
My suggestion:Ryder wrote:Hi
Does anyone know where I can find crash knobs for a 1995 ZX6R? I did find one place in the UK but theryre really expensive...
Goto any engineering turning shop and they should easily make you a set possibly far cheaper and using better material. Nylon, neoprene, HDPE polyethylene, and teflon are materials that come to mind and I am sure the color can be close to a match. Aluminium or brass might be the go for some bling.
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RG
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Re: crash knobs
scotty37, I like that idea and I think I wanna make a set for my lil red bike. Anymore details? Where should I start?scotty37 wrote:My suggestion:
Goto any engineering turning shop and they should easily make you a set possibly far cheaper and using better material. Nylon, neoprene, HDPE polyethylene, and teflon are materials that come to mind and I am sure the color can be close to a match. Aluminium or brass might be the go for some bling.
I'm not a mechanical engineer, so I'm not familiar wif materials n their strength.
"...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." - Theodore Roosevelt
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Jonno
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re: crash knobs
Mina's link may be the go and they are priced in USD I think?
They are still pretty cheap if your model is listed.
Sorry folks for the long post below!
I am not a full diploma engineer but my experience is vast.
All those materials are bearing materials used in different environmental applications, soft is better but too soft will grab too much, bend and rip off in my thinking for what we are after. All have different characteristics in density and lubrication properties (sliding/rotational) amongst other things and I have not made up my mind which would be a better material to use in this application. All would grind well down the road and be soft enough for the initial impact except brass and aluminium;
Neoprene- may be too soft and bend too much.
Nylon would slide very well and has good rigidity and may be the material of choice as it may have a braking effect thus slowing the slide quicker.
Teflon is slightly softer.
High Density PE or Medium Density PE is ok.
Brass or alloy' are fine for bling but will not absorb a big impact as such and transfer the shock to the mounting point which can be an issue.
Anyway a really big impact the crash knobs are not going to help.
There are many types and mixes of plastics available for engineering these days and the list grows all the time, the ones I have listed are what I have used, machined and seen in operation. A plastics supplier may be a good place to start and they can even sell you round bar stock of the type and size you want, it also comes in hollow section and may be close to your bolt size. All you need to do then is drill or bore a larger hole down the centre 80% of the distance to insert the bolt and washer, not having a washer will allow the bolt to pull through easier but leave at least 15-20 mm at the end for the bolt to get a decent hold. These materials grab and bite hard at cutting tools so be careful if you do it yourself in fact blunting the leading edge of the drill bit if you do attempt this. But I reckon it’s a ten minute job on a lathe and the result will be better over all and look just the same as the expensive ones. Engineering shops will charge you time to setup and to do the job at $60 per hour, don't ask for them to be done today say you want them when they can do it as I said you will be charged by the clock and quite often when they finish the current job they can squeeze yours in.
Material cost is another factor, some plastic bar stock is more expensive than others, still should be cheaper than buying a name brand.
If I still had my old school lathe I would start making them.
could even make them on a wood lathe 
Gives me an idea...
These are just my thoughts and your thoughts may be different, sorry for the longwinded explanation.
RG, I can do the research for you if you like (yellow pages and a phone), and I might even start getting a few sets made up if you give me bolt diameter sizes, the length you need, and a photo of the mounting point. You might have to alter the fairing a bit to get a good mounting position.
They are still pretty cheap if your model is listed.
Sorry folks for the long post below!
I am not a full diploma engineer but my experience is vast.
All those materials are bearing materials used in different environmental applications, soft is better but too soft will grab too much, bend and rip off in my thinking for what we are after. All have different characteristics in density and lubrication properties (sliding/rotational) amongst other things and I have not made up my mind which would be a better material to use in this application. All would grind well down the road and be soft enough for the initial impact except brass and aluminium;
Neoprene- may be too soft and bend too much.
Nylon would slide very well and has good rigidity and may be the material of choice as it may have a braking effect thus slowing the slide quicker.
Teflon is slightly softer.
High Density PE or Medium Density PE is ok.
Brass or alloy' are fine for bling but will not absorb a big impact as such and transfer the shock to the mounting point which can be an issue.
Anyway a really big impact the crash knobs are not going to help.
There are many types and mixes of plastics available for engineering these days and the list grows all the time, the ones I have listed are what I have used, machined and seen in operation. A plastics supplier may be a good place to start and they can even sell you round bar stock of the type and size you want, it also comes in hollow section and may be close to your bolt size. All you need to do then is drill or bore a larger hole down the centre 80% of the distance to insert the bolt and washer, not having a washer will allow the bolt to pull through easier but leave at least 15-20 mm at the end for the bolt to get a decent hold. These materials grab and bite hard at cutting tools so be careful if you do it yourself in fact blunting the leading edge of the drill bit if you do attempt this. But I reckon it’s a ten minute job on a lathe and the result will be better over all and look just the same as the expensive ones. Engineering shops will charge you time to setup and to do the job at $60 per hour, don't ask for them to be done today say you want them when they can do it as I said you will be charged by the clock and quite often when they finish the current job they can squeeze yours in.
Material cost is another factor, some plastic bar stock is more expensive than others, still should be cheaper than buying a name brand.
If I still had my old school lathe I would start making them.
could even make them on a wood lathe Gives me an idea...
These are just my thoughts and your thoughts may be different, sorry for the longwinded explanation.
RG, I can do the research for you if you like (yellow pages and a phone), and I might even start getting a few sets made up if you give me bolt diameter sizes, the length you need, and a photo of the mounting point. You might have to alter the fairing a bit to get a good mounting position.
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RG
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Re: re: crash knobs
That is a definate YES.scotty37 wrote: RG, I can do the research for you if you like (yellow pages and a phone), and I might even start getting a few sets made up if you give me bolt diameter sizes, the length you need, and a photo of the mounting point. You might have to alter the fairing a bit to get a good mounting position.
But let me sort out my exams(end 25th) first, and I'll start doing measurements.
"...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." - Theodore Roosevelt