Niken frame slider install

[maximNikenGT]

Installed Yamaha frame sliders this past weekend. Supposedly they help reduce  damage to the bike in the event of a drop - which I hope to never test. The Yamaha Niken frame sliders appear to cover a larger portion of the front suspension than the ones I see from other makers e.g. SW Motech. 

This being my first set of frame sliders is it normal for the frame sliders to utilize rods that go through the front wheel axles?

Only installation note is that the way the factory frame sliders are packaged from Yamaha is NOT in the correct the order of installation nor direction as specified in the installation instructions. Be sure to double check installation order details. 

Easy install otherwise and only required a 14 mm wrench and 14 mm bit for my torque wrench to tighten the bolts down to 20nm. 

[maximNikenGT]

Took the bike out for a test run after installing the frame sliders and noticed a strange sound while under throttle that sounded like something was rotating funny and brushing up against something. My first thought was somehow the frame slider rods were rubbing against the metal collars and that was causing the rubbing sound.

Double checked the instructions and while the instructions didn't mention anything about adding any kind of lubrication to the metal collars themselves, I took them out to check, and rechecked my torque settings to 20 Nm for the bolts.

Also, I made sure that the 2mm space that is mentioned on the installation diagrams was observed between the leading edge of the suspension forks and the front edge of the frame sliders. I'll admit that I was NOT at 2 mm of spacing - more like 0 mm of spacing. Not sure if that was the cause of the sound. Will test the bike again tomorrow for the sound. 

[maximNikenGT]

Note - once these are installed they cover the compression camping adjustment screws at the bottom of the suspension tubes.  You will have to remove these to adjust compression damping in the future.