Suzuki SV1000 DIY Rear Fender Replacements
Removing the rear mudguard, fender or whatever you want to call it (snow shovel!!:-) has to be pretty high up your list of mods for the SV1000! Here’s my DIY fender eliminator kit instructions and you can find other options here:
www.suzukisv1000.info/faq/fender/rear_fender.htm
Suzuki SV1000 Rear Fender Eliminator
Author: AndyW 04/2003
April 2003, that was a while ago!…..probably the worlds first SV1000 rear fender eliminator!!. Meanwhile, Dec 2007:
“Hey, I just used your template for the undertail mod for my ’06 S, it worked great, and I wanted to just drop a line and say thanks for posting.
The only changes I made (if you’re interested), is that I used the original liscence plate bracket, and bolted it to the tab on your template, and I needed to trim a bit off for the plate to clear the tail light lens. Maybe it got wider over the years.
Anyway, thanks again for making the job real easy” Adrian
For removal of the original fender see “Removing the Seat Tail Cover, Undertray and Rear Fender” and Jimbo77 has some useful tips as well “Jimbo’s DIY Rear Fender Replacement“
The object of my ‘Eliminator’ apart from the obvious need for a mounting for the number plate and indicators was to cover the gap/slots left at the top of the undertray, below the lights, on removing the original fender.
After spending hours playing around with bits of carboard making trial ‘brackets’ I used the final design as a template to cut a piece of aluminium sheet (1.5 thickness). The aluminium already had a pretty good finish which I just gave a bit of a polish. I used the Motrax ‘Rrsend’ bracket which is bolted to the plate I made up and the plate in turn is bolted through to the two rearmost original fender mounting points on the frame without having to make any holes in the undertray. I used stainless steel button head Allen bolts bought from the local hardware store.
The smart bullet style led number plate lights bought from reality-hotrods.co.uk (website no longer exists Mar2010)
If you want to make up this bracket, make the template in card first so that you can try it against your bike and adjust it if necessary – I’ve marked the 20mm scale on the template so you can check that the image is printed to scale. (click the image below to open the template full size in a new Window or Right click, Save Target As…)
NB: Update: The template displays larger than life on screen!!! but prints at the right size, the image should be 28.11cm x 12.26cm which is very slightly larger than the actual template. I’ve tested printing and strangely it depends what application you use to view the image!? …Jimbo77 “those dimensions work out to be 11.0669″ by 4.827″, or 47.78 % the size of the original. I’m using Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 to view and print. This works much better….”
The bracket is made from aluminium sheet but the finish is beginning to suffer already so if you know a metal worker get it made from stainless steel sheet (not easy to work with for DIYers like me, hence I chose aluminium) however a regular polishing gets it back to a decent finish. I lined the bracket/plate with very thin foam just to make a better fit to the underside of the bike.
I drilled three holes for the indicator and number plate light wires but the middle one became obsolete as the number plate wires fitted with the indicator wires in the end – rubber grommets to stop the wires chaffing. (Note the two plugs just above the bracket mounting holes in the pictures below…where I got my first measurements wrong! (measure twice or more, cut/drill once!!) – which reminds me..I said I did not have to drill through the undertray…slipped my mind, I did! (see images) but these holes would not be visible if the original fender were to be reinstalled (as if!!??)
The picture above also shows the gaps/slots referred to above.
The braces are made of plastic and glued on…not sure if they are even necessary, just a precaution.
AndyW Update 05/2003
WARNING!!
I think the finished item looks great but….out for a decent run recently, 140 miles down to Minehead, Lynton, Porlock and up to and around Exmore…survived the diesel spill on the hair pin (it was wet) at the bottom of Porlock Hill and the suicidal sheep on Exmore that tried to wipe me out!
Anyway to the point, the weather was showery and the roads obviously wet at times as a result…with the rear fender gone, sooo much dirt and crap all over the rear of the bike, number plate and light/led unit. So if you are a regular wet weather rider think carefully before removing the fender.
I have to admit that when I took the fender off I’d not consider how vulnerable this would make the light unit to stones and crud flicked up from the tyre…
AndyW Update 04/2004
Although I’ve thought of either buying a Hamicad Fender Eliminator or making a cut down version from the original fender, my ‘bracket’ is still in place!……….the bike is in general a fair weather toy and I just like the way the job I’ve done looks so much, I can’t bring myself to replace it!
AndyW Update 02/2005
Still going strong! …………..being made from Aluminium the finish is not as smart as it was but pretty good 11,000 miles in. Stainless steel recommended or buy Norms excellent eliminator from: hamicad.co.uk