Free FE Kit, you provide the labor.

[Cobalt]

Inspired by SoCalFZRider over at FZ1OA, I decided to chop up the rear fender much like he did. I'm still working on it but I didn't want to do part two last night as it was getting late and I wanted the bike back together in case I could ride today. (Not! Damned rain!)

I started by removing the rear fender then separating the plastic from the metal bracket. I mounted just the metal back on the bike and eyed where I wanted to cut. Since I do not have a welder, I knew I had to cut and overlap the metal so I could drill and bolt it. I chose my spot and marked it, removed the bracket then cut it into the three pieces. Drilled two holes per side and bolted them overlapped. This knocked almost 4" off the length. After I bolted it. I put the metal and plastic back together as best I could and marked the new "TOP" for the plastic. I took the hacksaw to it and cut on the line. I had to get creative and cut in and around the top to fit the bracket with the welded on cap nuts. Here are the before and after shots along with a underside shot so you can see the overlap and bolts.

femodbefore.jpg femod3.jpg

femod4.jpg femod2.jpg

[Cobalt]

Based on what I've learned from SoCalFZRider, I am going to remove the rear reflector under the plate light, take off the plate bracket and turn it upside down then mount it where the reflector was directly under the plate light. While there, I'll cut off nearly all the plastic around that area and shorten the tail of the metal bracket by another 4" or so, right up where it bends to create the tab behind the existing plate.

[Cobalt]

It's not as clean as an actual FE Kit but it will suffice until I've finished getting my own created and cut over at the CNC shop. Besides, it was FREE!

[Steve F]

Nice work. definitely improved the looks.

[Cobalt]

Here is what I removed from the bottom. Yeah, that is 8.5 inches!

removed1.jpg removed2.jpg

[Cobalt]

Here's the finished product and how it will stay until I either design my own or buy something down the road.




done1.jpg done2.jpg done3.jpg

done4.jpg done5.jpg

[YZFRiderNY]

Me likey too! Very nice job. I commend you on doing it that way. It just goes to show that you don't have to go crazy spending all that loot to get the same effect. It's nice and clean back there. Just as good as an expensive FE kit, IMHO.

[Cobalt]

Originally Posted by FZ1riderNY

Me likey too! Very nice job. I commend you on doing it that way. It just goes to show that you don't have to go crazy spending all that loot to get the same effect. It's nice and clean back there. Just as good as an expensive FE kit, IMHO.

Thanks! He did such a great job that I just had to try it, especially since I really can't do a lot of modding on it this year. I figured that if it came out that bad, it wasn't much money to buy the stock metal and plastic brackets at Ron Ayer to put it back. Overall, I am almost happy enough to not want to do any other kit... maybe just a couple sets of Watsen flushies and call it complete!

BTW, I ended up not turning the license plate bracket upside down. I found that it reversed the angle of the plate to almost vertical, so I mounted it as high as possible where the stock reflector used to be and it gives the plate the proper angle. I was a bit worried about the proximity of the plate to the wheel at full compression of the shock in a deep corner.

[BroHay]

Doesn't the rear have 5" of travel? You appear to have a bit more than that from the license. The mod looks great and I think that Yamaha makes such an hidieous rear on purpose to force one to become creative or spend more money.

Keep up the good work!

Adam

[Cobalt]

Originally Posted by BroHay

Doesn't the rear have 5\\" of travel? You appear to have a bit more than that from the license. The mod looks great and I think that Yamaha makes such an hidieous rear on purpose.

Keep up the good work!

Adam

Yes, it does and after toying with different arrangements of all the parts to come up with the final one, a couple configs were curiously close (in my opinion, in relation to the tire travel) or the angles came out all wrong. In order to keep the LEOs happy, I wanted some tilt to the plate but not enough to raise their hackles and stop me. Technically, I can say it is an all stock fender at this point.... until they ask me if it was modified anyway!

Yamaha makes them "functional" and for what they are designed to do, they do it very well. They just happen to be 100% ugly. I think that is why they put so little into the design of them, because they know it's the 1st thing to hit the landfill.

BTW, her FZ6R is next. Same procedure as it is almost the same tail. But, I'm going to buy a small welder first to do mine right, then do hers properly the first time. This took three separate mod times but I only removed it twice. Today, it remained mounted while I made the final mods.

The best part? After making it shorter and twice as thick, it is so much more sturdy with less wobble and vibration. BONUS!