Do it yourself rear fender elimination.

[Micah]

Has anyone out there removed there own rear fender without buying one of those expensive kits? What solution did you use for the turn signals? Where did you cut the fender @?

FYI: 06 XB12S:D

[His_and_Her_Buells]

Plan on doing mine this winter. Have seen several and no two are exactly the same.

[Micah]

Thanks His and Hers'! What Im looking for is someone that has done it and maybe some "Make sure you dont..."'s and "I wish I would have...."s. Just mainly to learn what people did to end up with a good result and maybe some things to watch out for--Do you have any freinds that might have done this? Could they offer any experiences?:)

[His_and_Her_Buells]

Wish I could offer some more specific advice. None of my freinds even own a Buell. I will probably pick up a spare on ebay just in case I screw up. They usually go for around $75-100 when they are on there.

[LeFox]

I will probably pick up a spare on ebay just in case I screw up. They usually go for around $75-100 when they are on there.
if you mess it up, i'll send you mine for 75$ + transport ;)

[Micah]

Thanks everyone! I just took my lightning to the HD dealership to have the front brake switch replaced (under Warranty) and I talked to the guy @ the service desk who is an absolute Buell fanatic. He had the first one in Nebraska (Omaha is where I live) and has since totaled 2 of them and keeps buying them-- He has done about 5 or 6 of these Do it yourself tail mods and he said that anyone with even just a little bit of technical aptitude could do one of these easily. Ive seen 1 of the XB9S's he did and it looks very clean! What they did was use a hack saw to get the shape right (aluminum cuts easy with one) and then used a grinding wheel to finish the edges. Then the guy took the side rails and tail light housing down and had them powder coated--It looks sick! I love how it was blacked out in the back like that! I think I have enough confidence now to give it a shot on my own--If worse comes to worse, I have a guy in town that I could talk to-- The best part about it was the whole thing ran him $50 for the powder coating! [up]

[BuellPastor]

Take pictures and share!! [cool]

[Micah]

Fo Sho! The one thing I ponder... When I talked to the guy he did say that if I ever get caught in the rain it will spray my wife pretty good in the back with the absence of the cheese grater.. This will take some thought:)

[zombieBUELLer]

thats exactly why i decided not to hack my tail off. even with it and riding on wet roads my back gets muddy and wet. i can only imagine how bad it would be without it.

however .. i still love the way it looks!

[His_and_Her_Buells]

Ok, it looks like I will have to get busy inventing a snap on cheese grater replacement that can be put on when the roads are wet. I'm sure I'd be able to sell more than a few.;)

[mrdozer2you]

If your riding when its wet/raining all yor worried about is your back getting wet? Im more worried about the rain drops hitting me at 60+ mph, they feel like a million BB's hitting me all at once ( kinda annoying ) Then im pissed about the time its gonna take me to go and detail my bike. I guess a little water on my backside is probably the last thing on my mind.

[LeFox]

I guess a little water on my backside is probably the last thing on my mind.
hehe...not all people have or want the luxury of a "bidet" :p

[Roccodart440]

Has anyone out there removed there own rear fender without buying one of those expensive kits? What solution did you use for the turn signals? Where did you cut the fender @?

FYI: 06 XB12S

In process

http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/2039_20081019204321_L.jpg

http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/2039_20081104142245_L.jpg

[tredhed367]

For an even better look purchase a TAIL TIDY off E-BAY it is worth the 14.00 dollars!

[liloldchevyvan]

hey guys, thanks for all the info post after post. so about hacking off your tail. i recently picked up the new icon moto catalog...bout halfway through there is a pic of a girl on an xb....without the tail.

studied the pic, and sunday we got to work on it. with the right tools, and patience, its not too bad. it looks like a small pair of bull horns extending just below tail light. drilled holes under taillight to illuminate lisc plate. sealed the holes. you can leave the stock turns in place, but take them off so that they dont get jacked up. i will get pics up tomm or saturday...just give me time.

[Trill]

I just finished my rough draft tonight. I had to use quite a few different tools to get it done but its pretty much there. I will get some pics as soon as i find my f%%%ing cable for the camera [mad]

[liloldchevyvan]

HERES THE FINAL PRODUCT. DID GET A LITTLE CARELESS WITH THE HACKSAW, AND BOUNCED OFF THE PAINT, SO I WILL GET IT SPRAYED, BUT MUCH BETTER THAN THE GRATER!! THANKS!

http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/1812_20081114093335_L.jpghttp://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/1812_20081114093209_L.jpg

[climberfreak]

ahhh the horns
grr [mad] lol

[speedkills]

Hey that looks familiar!! :)

Mess with Buell get the horns!!

http://sickboy.org/XB/images/horny2.JPG
http://sickboy.org/XB/images/horny3.JPG

[liloldchevyvan]

YUP THE HORNS!!!!!

[mad]

i went as short as possible on mine, any shorter and it would have looked like a button horn buck....not so cool!!!

[Trill]

yeah i hope you dont try stoppies with the horns.. the back of the bike will topple onto you if you go over the bars.. probably stabbing you fataly.. just a thought. :)

[liloldchevyvan]

no stoppies here. i dont ride with a red cape!!! its south carolina, not spain!!! :D

[Roccodart440]

liloldchevyman, what color paint did you use? Did you paint the rails too?


http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/2039_20081106195656_L.jpg

[liloldchevyvan]

nah, if you are super-uper careful you can actually make the horns, and by cutting away at the metal from underneath so to speak, you wont have to paint a thing. after we measured and cut our lengths, we used a high speed dremel and polishing bit(we just call them purple disks) and away we went. the luminum under the horns is gorgous and shiny. give me a day and i will get a pic of the underside.

[oxygen151]

Thats exactly what i did with mine. Cuts from the underside, then polished with a dremel look good and you cant even notice mine.

[Roccodart440]

liloldchevyman, what color paint did you use? Did you paint the rails too?

[liloldchevyvan]

rocco..yeah man, oxygen and i did what sounds like the same mod, and as long as you dont get into the metal, and work from the under side...no painting required, my tail and rails are still the factory silvers.

[oxygen151]

Exactly liloldchevyvan. Id post a pic but my bike is up at school right now under the cover for the winter months [sad]. I didnt even polish the underside of the cuts, i just smoothed them out and it almost looks the exact same color of the paint. Its hard to explain but you can definitely chop your tail without having to repaint. I also took the stock license plate light and mounted under the tail and then attatched my plate on the underside into the plastic. I have been surprised to not see anyone else that has done this. It worked out great and looks really good. I will get pics as soon as i get back to school.

[wardamneagle]

PO did mine on my bike. Painted the rails and the tail black too. Came out pretty good

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd314/boxbenj/IMG_0966.jpg

[oxygen151]

Well nevermind wardamneagle, you id the same thing with the license plate light. Good work, it looks good.

[Buellboy10]

How long does it take to do the mod?

[CoastieRider]

about 45 min if you want to do the bull horn mod..

[stopie20]

Speedkills, Are those the dunlop D616's on your bike? If they are how do you like em?...

[PorcelainRabbit]

holy cow wardamneagle, that looks almost identacle to my bike....and house lol. i thought it was at first and i was like,...heyyy i didnt put that on there lol.

[kc7zrb]

does the plate have to be lit on motorcycles? or depends on the state?

[Abs]

This is my one..http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/4969_20091008041144_L.jpghttp://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/4969_20091008041246_L.jpg