Custom fabricated fender eliminatior - my design :-)

[philosopheriam]

Well, after having one poly fender eliminator crack at the bend, fall off, get stuck between my tire hugger and the tire, and rub-off half the letters on my license plate, I figured it was time for something better.

Most of the units on the market (Ebay, etc) look cheap and are overpriced. I don't like the way they mount, either. So, what is a guy to do...? Build my own!!!

Quick history:
I'm an auto mechanic and a shade-tree fabricator...

Materials used:
16ga sheet steel (16"x24"): $17.00
Front LED turn signals for an FZ6 from Ebay, x2, $13.00
Generic LED license plate light pod from Ebay (not shown, in transit), x1, $4.00

TOTAL MATERIALS: $34.00

This unit mounts to the rearmost bracket underneath the exhaust cans - the front bracket that goes between the two mufflers will not be needed.

1. To begin, I made all of my measurements and transferred them to a computerized template. I traced the template on the 16ga sheet steel and then made my cuts. All cuts were done with a jigsaw, 24tpi bi-metal blade.

2. After the initial rough cutting, I used my angle grinder to smooth the jaggies and grind-out some of the contour cuts.

3. To place all of the holes, I MEASURED MEASURED MEASURED!!! An ultra-fine tip Sharpie is the fabricator's friend! I removed the rear bracket from my FZ6 to make the mounting points as accurate as possible. I used a drill press to make all of the holes.

4. Once I insterted the turn signal lights, I traced around them, removed the lights, and went to work with my angle grinder to get the "outlines" around the lights more consistent. Because of space constraints, I had to use hand files on some areas.

5. I lined the jaws of my vise with some aluminum angle (to make them smooth), and I clamped the fender eliminator at various points to make the proper bends. All bends are 45 degrees.

6. With the bends complete, I was able to use hand files to do the final touch-up work.

7. After deburring all of the holes and dehorning the entire piece, I sanded everything with some 150 grit, and then I did the final "finish" with a 3M pad. I'm not worried about making this mirror smooth, as I am not painting a gas tank.

The entire piece will be primed with a self-etching primer and then painted with Krylon satin black. I am waiting for the license plate LED pod to show up before I begin painting. I temporarily installed the turn signal LED's for some of the photos.

I will post more pictures when it's all complete!

 

[philosopheriam]

One more photo with turn signals installed...

 

[philosopheriam]

Let's try the photo upload again...

 

[Acsmith02]

Nice!! Thats some amazing work How long did it take you to fab it too this point?

 

[philosopheriam]

Well, I started at around 5:30pm and cleaned up around 8:30pm, so, 3 hours...

There was a trip to Home Depot and Office Max in there too (jigsaw blades and a fresh sharpie)

I forgot to add to the original list of costs:
Jigsaw blades: $4.00
Paint: $5.00
Sharpie: $1.50

NEW GRAND TOTAL: $44.50

I still have a bunch of steel leftover, though...

 

[Acsmith02]

Definitely looking forward too seeing pictures of this installed

 

[philosopheriam]

Here's what the LED license plate pod light looks like...

This will mount on the fender eliminator just above the license plate. I'll probably scuff it up and paint it black.

 

[nextfriday]

i really like what you've done here. Nice and tidy. xtremecycles or something puts one of these out for about 90 bones, though its done up in abs plastic. I like the use of the pendant led's. I've thought about building one of these myself and reproducing the template in cad and making it available to who ever wants it here. Just trace, cut, bend, assemble. Maybe i'll get around to it sometime.

 

[philosopheriam]

Yeah, I had one made out of the ABS - after I installed my new Leo Vince exhaust, the additional vibration caused the plastic FE to fatigue at the bend and crack.

My FE is a similar design, yet it is made of 16ga sheet metal - strong enough to not be flimsy, yet not too thick to be extremely heavy.

 

[Motogiro]

Nice Job! :rockon:

 

[SANGER_A2]

Smooth. I like the clever use of flush mounts there! :thumbup: Hope the indicator mounts hold up though! Maybe something like these could be used for strength if it starts bending etc.

 

[The Toecutter]

Very nice work!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :rockon:

 

[Hoshiko]

Thanks, don't forget to post a picture mounted on the bike.

 

[philosopheriam]

Update:

I painted it Saturday afternoon, and now all I'm waiting for is the license plate pod light to show up. Once I mount this light and the turn signals, I'll do all the wiring and bolt it up to the bike.

Pics will be here soon!

 

[philosopheriam]

Bastards shipped me the wrong license plate light and I'm still waiting for the replacement.

However, the FE is painted and it looks awesome. I decided to drill x5 1.125" holes in the lower portion of the FE to lighten it up. It worked great and didn't compromise the ridgidity of the entire piece.

I will post pics shortly...

 

[philosopheriam]

Done - finally!!!

After having emergency surgery because of complications from my original tonsil surgery AND waiting for my LED license plate light for what seems like forever, this project is finally done!

I drilled some 1 1/8" holes in the FE to reduce its weight yet not compromise its rigidity. Also, it received a couple coats of primer and several coats of satin black. All wiring was spliced/soldered to the original harness and covered with heat-shrink tubing.

 

[discgolfdude]

Done - finally!!!

After having emergency surgery because of complications from my original tonsil surgery AND waiting for my LED license plate light for what seems like forever, this project is finally done!

I drilled some 1 1/8" holes in the FE to reduce its weight yet not compromise its rigidity. Also, it received a couple coats of primer and several coats of satin black. All wiring was spliced/soldered to the original harness and covered with heat-shrink tubing.

I love it! What was the cost of making it, and would you make some for us?

 

[philosopheriam]

I love it! What was the cost of making it, and would you make some for us?

Well, my hole-saw was a bit dull, so I had to go out and purchase a new one - if you factor that into the cost, the total is around: $44.50 + $11.00 (for hole saw) = $55.50

However, I still have paint and a good hole saw left-over from the job, so in my mind, they really don't factor into the total cost of the piece.

To replicate these in quantity, I'd probably make a CAD drawing of the piece and investigate how much it would cost to have them cut on a water-jet.

 

[discgolfdude]

Well, my hole-saw was a bit dull, so I had to go out and purchase a new one - if you factor that into the cost, the total is around: $44.50 + $11.00 (for hole saw) = $55.50

However, I still have paint and a good hole saw left-over from the job, so in my mind, they really don't factor into the total cost of the piece.

To replicate these in quantity, I'd probably make a CAD drawing of the piece and investigate how much it would cost to have them cut on a water-jet.

Nice, using a water jet, would that save on cost if you did multiple copies?

 

[philosopheriam]

I beleive the up-front cost of the water jet is cheaper than a laser, and it's not to difficult to set up. Also, it can cut 16ga stupid fast....