Fender Eliminator, how to get rid of an eyesore for under $10

to start out with, I'll specify that this thread targets the first gen VFR bikes (86 - 89 VFR 700's and 750's).

the back fender where the license plate mounts is a true eyesore, and has just GOT to go. its big, gaudy, and lets face it kids, just plain ugly. after plenty of research, i finally came to the conclusion that the laws of supply and demand have yet again bitten our beloved viffers in the butt, and the sportbike aftermarket world just doesnt produce a viable solution for this, so I set out to find something that would work. I ran across this generic license plate bracket at cycle gear, and i ended up paying $7.00 + tax (even though the website lists it for $9.99+tax). you cant beat 8 bucks and change!

http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=&L2=&L3=&L4=&item=MRX_NPBK&tier2=14

and now, the nifty howto for your new ADJUSTABLE fender eliminator for a 1st gen VFR (sorry guys, no pics yet).

(1) buy cheap bracket assembly from cycle gear.

(2) note 3 pieces. the big bracket that the license plate is SUPPOSED to bolt to, and the other 2 that are there to hold your turn signal stems.

(3) you see that big piece of metal bigger than the other 2? good. toss it in the trash, or use some other method of making it go away. you dont need it.

(4) your slide pieces are essentially the same, except that one has 2 long pieces sticking out for the other to kinda slide into. trim those 2 longer pieces off so that the 2 slides are the same.

(5) remove the tail section, exposing that little tray-like section just in front of the computer/black box/whatever its called.

(6) note that the 2 slides are bent at a 90 degree angle. increase the angle of the bend by probably 30 degrees (open the bend up, do not bend the fold closer together).

(7) with the tail off, remove that gaudy piece of plastic that is holding your license plate and light, and unplug the wiring for the license plate light. (ok this is probably where i should tell you that this howto does not include a means of putting light on the plate...im probably going to mount a few LED's there later).

(8) back to that little tray-like thingy. youll know its the right spot cause youll be compelled to use it as a tray for nuts and bolts every time you work on the bike. about an inch from the rear of the tray (rear being the side toward the rear of the bike of course), cut a couple of straight grooves in the plastic about 1-1.5 inches long. one on the left side, and one on the right.

(9) with the bent-out tab facing the front of the bike, insert the 2 slide thingys into the grooves youve just cut in the tray-thing.

(10) locate a small nut and bolt for each side. since the slides are down in the fender pointing at your tire now, all you should be able to see is the small, bent-out tab. put a bolt through the hole in each of your newly inserted slides, and secure each one with a nut on the bottom of the fender.

(11) youll find that the slides are already at the perfect width for your license plate, so go ahead and bolt the plate onto each of the slides. note the looooooong hole cut in each of the slides now. this is where you get your adjustability.

if you have one of those brackets that sticks out below the license plate that your inspection sticker goes on, you will want to continue. otherwise, adjust your plate to where it wont interfere with the tire.

(12) install the license plate as high up in the slide tabs as it will go.

(13) bend the inspection sticker plate upward (toward the back of the tire) until it can safely clear the tire.

note: it LOOKS like you have lots of room as the bike sits now, but when you sit on the bike, that sticker plate gets VERY close to the tire....the only way i was able to clear this issue was to slide the license plate assembly all the way up.

how youre done. step back and admire your handywork, as well as the fact that you dont have that awful piece of plastic sticking down around your back tire.

 

Sounds great! I gotta see a pic soon!:hail:

 

Pics!!!!!!!! Pics!!!!!!!! Pics!!!!!!!! Pics!!!!!!!!

 

ok, yall asked for pics of this, so here we go. they arent the best pics in the world. but they at least get the point across. also, bear with me as i've never posted pics on this forum, so im hoping this doesnt turn out badly....

first, we have a pic of the top of the fender, where the new license plate mounting brackets/slides are bolted down. youll notice the tabs are pointing toward the front of the bike, so the slides went down toward the back. i used a drill and jigsaw to cut the slits for the slides just in front of those tabs that you see in the pic...

this next pic is just looking toward the back of the bike from the gas tank...

this next pic is taken down from underneath the fender, from the left side of the bike. you can clearly see the slide thats on the right side of the plate, and on the right side of the pic, you can still kinda see the left slide (just not quite as clearly)

the slides themselves dont come anywhere near the tire, and really, if not for my inspection sticker plate, i could have mounted the license plate far lower than it is. right now, you see it mounted as high up as it can go.

the next image may not look like what other 1st gen's do, as the rear of the fender has been modified (ok, cut and hacked) to accomodate the Cobalt Racing tail section there. the tail is off in this pic to show more of what it looks like when mounted from the back of the bike.

this last pic didnt come out quite as well as i wanted it to, as it started to get dark outside, but this is the bike with the tail section back on. note how the plate is all nice and tucked up underneath the bike and out of the way, and how that gaudy piece of plastic isnt there anymore making the rear of the bike look like 20 year old eyesore

 

Nice, from what I could see. I think in MD it might be illegal because you can't see the state. Plus, MD plates are larger than most states. I had to drill 2 holes to mount it in the Honda bracket.

I just saw a universal sportbike swingarm plate bracket that mounts plate vertical I was thinking about.