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When The Fender Eliminator Fails You

We showed you what happens when the disk-lock fails you; now it’s time to see what happens when you tamper with the bike’s bodywork, and you don’t give your best in the process.
Motorcycle tail-tidy fail 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from YouTube
One of the first things bikers try to change about the looks of their machines is that huge rear fender that also holds the number plate and turn signals. Numerous aftermarket tail-tidy kits can solve the ‘problem’, but extra care is advised when choosing such an option.

Some might be too flimsy to hold at higher speeds while others could involve some re-wiring and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you might end up in failure.

Not all fender eliminators are bike-specific, forcing riders to improvise and end up with a poor set up that might fall off, case where you either lose your number plate, or the darn thing will hang on the rear tire damaging it. Or it can get caught between the tire and the swingarm and suddenly lock up the wheel and take you by surprise.

Luckily, it wasn’t the case in the video below as a fellow rider waved this biker and told him to stop and check his bike. His plate holder was hanging on the signal wires and was touching the rubber, giving it some damage in the process. The signals were also busted.

It reminds me of when I first swapped the rear fender with a tail-tidy kit. Although I went for a sturdy metal one specially designed for my bike model, the thing wasn’t coming with an actual frame to hold the number plate, and I didn’t want to put some screws through the actual plate to keep it secure.

‘Naturally,' I went for some double-sided sticky tape, which held for about two days until I hit a pothole and heard something metallic hitting the asphalt behind. I fixed that eventually only to discover the lack of a rear fender was getting me sprinkled with water from behind when raining...

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