DIY 08+ Custom Fender Eliminator! Sticky plz!!

Alright guys this is a job in progress so bare with me please. After only owning the bike for 3 days i just finally got completely fed up with waiting for more funding to purchase a fender eliminator kit. So i had alot of extra time and some curiosity to kill today haha and i managed to come up with the following thus far. I was quite adventurous and a lil impatient so I know I could of done a much better job sanding it. But anyone whos on a budget or just likes to save money and do things themselves this would be a great way to start a good cheap fender eliminator kit yourself for around 60 bucks. I do plan on doing a full kit with blinkers and an illuminated tag. I will keep updating it over the next few days as i progress. If you guys like it enough hopefully we can make it a sticky!! Thx and enjoy!!!!

Here are the products will need at a minimum to at least get the undertail filled in and looking good: Pictured is Rust-Oleum Fabric and Vinyl Die, VersaChem Plastic Welder x2 and 3M Assorted Emery Cloth (sandpaper) non pictured: Rubbing Alcohol (needed to clean surfaces for the plastic weld to do its job and to get the paint to stick), electrical tape (not needed but very helpful)


Ok well everyone knows what the stock fender looks like on a new cbr1000 so im gonna cut to the chase. But to get this removed you must remove the seat and the rear fairing to get it off. Feel free to search the forums for threads on how to do that.

Here's a pic of the undertail after i removed it and hacked off the fender with a sawzaw. Watch out when you cut the fender off, there are wires for your turn signals going through the larger tube (make sure you disconnect these wires and the brake light wire), also the undertail will fall apart (its held together using clips), just simply clip it back together and is SHOULD stay together. Use tape if you have trouble.



Now heres a pic of the same peice after i was done sanding down the outsides of the holes that you can see. I used the most coarse sand paper in the pack and sanded it down as smooth as i could. I then continued to use a medium grit paper to lightly roughen the surfaces i knew that I would be applying the Plastic Welder to help it adhere. Make sure to wipe down the entire peice with some rubbing alcohol to make sure the bondo will stick!



Now its time to use the Plastic Welder. I recommend buying 2 packs. I could have done this all with 1 pack but i felt like playing it safe, I did end up using more than 1 tube. Follow the instructions on the back of the packages to mix the compounds together. As soon as it mixes into one color start applying it quickly! This stuff toughens up within a few minutes. Now the easy part is filling in the small hole you see to the right on the picture above, its simple. Just fill it in, let it harden (approx 15 mins) and then sand it down smooth to the touch. Now the hard part was figuring out a way to fill the large hole. What i tried to do the first time was put a piece of cardboard on the inside and just spread the compound over the cardboard and undertail piece :th_down:. Anyways it ended up turning up to thick and hard to sand down so i cut it out.I ended up taping a peice of the sandpaper (cloth side facing compound, the cloth will peel off and wont stick to compound) to the outside of the the undertail and filled in the compound from the inside. After it hardened i pulled the sandpaper off to reveal a nice smooth surface that required MUCH less sanding to get a smooth surface.
Here it is with the compound hardened



I was very impatient at this point and could have done a much much better job sanding it down. Im am an impatient person so i was willing to settle with this bc i wanted to ride this day and just get it done. !!!WARNING!!! make sure you use the finest sandpaper in the kit and lightly scuff every surface of the undertail peice that is going to be painted. THIS WILL HELP ENSURE THE PAINT WILL STICK MUCH GOODER!!! After you do that make sure you THOROUGHLY wipe down the undertail peice with a CLEAN washcloth and RUBBING ALCOHOL. The paint will have a very hard time sticking to a surface covered in little peices of sand and plastic.. !!CLEAN IT THOROUGHLY!!
Here it is sanded down, cleaned and ready to paint! :thumbsup:



Here are some pics after i painted it. Use multiple coats!!! Spray one coat in light bursts while shaking it constantly so you dont get globs. Then let dry for 10 mins. Rinse and repeat for at least the next 30-40 mins. The more coats you apply the better and tougher it will be. :shoot:



I put it in direct sunlight so you can see the imperfection here caused by my impatience. The tail will look much cleaner underneath and installed where its in the shad and not easily noticed. Someone with much more patience could make this thing look nearly OEM!!
I assure you the finished product is and will be much cleaner :stirpot:



Now the undertail installed on the bike. :hail:


You cant even notice the imperfections while the piece is installed!



BAM LOOKING GOOD! wned:


I think it looks great so far and i received many compliments today! Overall took me about 2-3 hours to do including running out to autozone and what not.
Luckily i live in georgia and the cops dont give a rats ass bout blinkers or tag lights. As for the tag light and blinkers i plan on buying some LED's and splicing the wires. They will be tucked deep and up in the undertail out of direct eyesight, but easily seen from a fellow motorist. for now i ziptied the tag to the rear pegs. As for the Tag bracket i still need to fabricate and powdercoat a peice of metal here in the next few days. Make sure to check back in and see my progress. If anybody gets in a jam or needs help feel free to PM me with any questions!! Thx guys have fun!! AND GOOD LUCK!! :th_salute: