To fender or not to fender

[manuel]

I am debating as to whether replace or not the fender. Here are some quick options:
1. Original sport license plate holder (here) - looking very good and being an original Yamaha accessory, I assume the fitment is great. Price - not so much. Here in Canada it listed for $193. Hmmm. From what I hear, the mid section can be removed.
2. R&G tail tidy (here).
3. Rizoma tail tidy (here). This seems to be very nice but I am not sure how the fitment is. This probably involves getting the turn signals from Rizoma as well.
 
Opinions? Other options?
 
Thanks!

[Cruizin]

I still haven't replaced the ugly tail on my FZ-09. I will though. I'm waiting for cheaper options to emerge. Both of these bikes are so new that it takes a couple of years for the options to multiply and for the prices to come down on aftermarket parts. It really is a ugly tail.
 
Hell, I might just cut it out with a Sawz all and tack weld something back up there.

[manuel]

I still haven't replaced the ugly tail on my FZ-09. I will though. I'm waiting for cheaper options to emerge. Both of these bikes are so new that it takes a couple of years for the options to multiply and for the prices to come down on aftermarket parts. It really is a ugly tail.  
Hell, I might just cut it out with a Sawz all and tack weld something back up there.

That is exactly what I was told, that the bike is very new and the accessories are (naturally) slow to come. I think FZ-09 is doing a bit better since it's been around for a bit longer. BTW, what a nice bike that is! I sat on an orange one at the dealer, it felt great! That aluminum frame, that orange!!
 
Hopefully, if the early signs are right, both these bikes will have a solid following and that will only boost the accessories market for them.

[Guru]

I've ordered the Yamaha tail tidy. Yes it is expensive but like you said, if it is anything Yamaha, fitment will be great and it will look awesome. Yes, as far as I know, the mid section can be deleted so it mounts flush.
I wonder how much you would actually save going after market. The R&G is 75 pounds which is $135 Canadian, then there is shipping and brokerage fees if sent via UPS or Fedex. So you might end up close to the Yamaha one. There are cheaper options but you won't save hundreds of $.
And it will be on the bike for a long time, so I will probably forget what I paid anyway.
 
I am assuming that is in back order but I will post my experiences when I have mine. I will try it will my stock orange blinkers. If it looks goofy I will probably order some led ones.

[manuel]

Yes, not available yet around here as well. I am leaning towards the original Yamaha as well, with the Rizoma being also a strong contender, depending on availability up here.
Both will probably look best with the LEDs, question is, would you leave the front stock if you change them in the back?
That's the problem with modding, once you start you can't stop! And it's not cheap.Oh, the R&G seems to be available here. Not sure if in stock though. Hmm!

[Guru]

Yes, I found that one too at Vicious Cycle, the price difference is negligible though and I prefer the Yamaha one.
You're right, modding never stops. If I were to replace the rabbit ears, I'd go for front and back. But then blinkers will blink faster so you will probably want a fast blink delete relais.
That's why I mod in small steps: too expensive.

[Guest montana07]

For those in the US considering the R&G Tail Tidy I'd give Twisted Throttle a call. Their actually the sister company of Vicious Cycle, and when I ordered R&G Frame Sliders from Vicious Cycle, they were out of stock and noticed I was in the US so suggested I contact Twisted Throttle instead. Despite not being listed on their website Twisted Throttle had a set incoming which I received yesterday.

[Guest ybcheese]

For those in the US considering the R&G Tail Tidy I'd give Twisted Throttle a call. Their actually the sister company of Vicious Cycle, and when I ordered R&G Frame Sliders from Vicious Cycle, they were out of stock and noticed I was in the US so suggested I contact Twisted Throttle instead. Despite not being listed on their website Twisted Throttle had a set incoming which I received yesterday.

 
 
Thats great information Montana. Thanks for sharing.

[Kipawa]

 

I've ordered the Yamaha tail tidy. Yes it is expensive but like you said, if it is anything Yamaha, fitment will be great and it will look awesome. Yes, as far as I know, the mid section can be deleted so it mounts flush. I wonder how much you would actually save going after market. The R&G is 75 pounds which is $135 Canadian, then there is shipping and brokerage fees if sent via UPS or Fedex. So you might end up close to the Yamaha one. There are cheaper options but you won't save hundreds of $.
And it will be on the bike for a long time, so I will probably forget what I paid anyway.
 
I am assuming that is in back order but I will post my experiences when I have mine. I will try it will my stock orange blinkers. If it looks goofy I will probably order some led ones.

 
Pictures please especially with the orange blinkers! I like the Yamaha one the best too and I agree prices can be deceiving if you don't factor everything in correctly. Those orange blinkers I don't mind for some reason and I think they gotta help a bit with visibility and seem bright enough.

[Guru]

Pictures please especially with the orange blinkers! I like the Yamaha one the best too and I agree prices can be deceiving if you don't factor everything in correctly. Those orange blinkers I don't mind for some reason and I think they gotta help a bit with visibility and seem bright enough.

No problem. I will post some pictures as soon as I get it.
I have to say I am getting used to the orange ones and I am not looking forward spending money on two sets of led blinkers and a fast blink delete. It all adds up.
I am afraid that because the tail tidy is a lot smaller the blinkers will look out of proportion. 
 
 

[manuel]

Ok, I have ordered the Yamaha original too. Just received notification that it's ready for pickup. My dealer moves fast!
And because I am a sucker for this kind of things, I have also ordered the LED flashers - front and back. I have no idea how to install any of them, I am hoping for good included instructions or I will pester you guys
Exciting!!

[Guru]

Dang! You beat me to it. My TT has an ETA of today but the dealer did not call me yet.
 
Mounting the flashers is pretty straight forward but you will probably have to be creative with the wiring, I don't think it's plug and play.
The front ones have one wire missing, so you will lose you DRL. And it will flash twice as fast because they are LED

[manuel]

Ok guys. They are all here. Original plate holder and LED flashers for front an back. Could not help last night and started the install...quite the process, especially if you are not that technically inclined.
1. The plate holder - as per pictures, the Euro model (bike designation MT-07). Made in Netherlands (Guru will approve, I am sure). Lots of parts. Very light weight, at the beginning I had to do a double take to make sure it's not plastic . Easy to assemble and leave the "stick" part out. Had to strip the bike from all the plastic panels (heck, I wanted a naked bike, but this is taking it to the extreme). Not hard, just tedious. Found that the plastic rivets holding the body panels in place are easier to remove if you push their pins down with a pen from inside. Our license plates are a bit on the small side, even with the bottom reflector mount out, there is still a part of the plate mount visible at the bottom. Not a deal breaker, just saying.
2. LED flashers. As noted by people who have done it before, the connectors are different. You need to strip and crimp the bike cables to match the flasher connectors - additional crimp connectors come with the flashers. 2 wires in the back for each side. Easy. Since I don't have a crimping tool, I hacked the job a bit, but they work. Will redo tonight, with the proper tools. Must learn patience. In front, there are 3 wires, one is for DRL. That needs to be put aside.
My biggest challenge is with the flashing frequency - it's fast. Flashers come with resistors included - to (excuse the language, please) create the additional load needed by the LED flashers. They are separate, you can chose to not install them. My issue is that I installed them, just for testing on the left side on both front and back and they don't make any difference. Do I need to install all four in order for them to work as intended? Will try tonight, anyway.
I know that there is another option - a LED flasher relay, but I am not sure what to buy and where to install it
 

 

[GAZ]

I emailed Graves Motorsports at the end of June and they are in production of a fender eliminator kit for the FZ07. The approximate time I got was at least a month. Just a FYI if anyone was interested.

[Cruizin]

Cool, I like Graves.

[GAZ]

From what I've read, is that if you install those front LED blinkers as is, your front DRL (turn signals) will not function. They will be used as blinkers only. Also, in EU they have a different requirement for the amount of flashes that a blinker must do that's why its faster. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I fairly confident this is the case. Let us know how it turns out.
 
 

Ok guys. They are all here. Original plate holder and LED flashers for front an back. Could not help last night and started the install...quite the process, especially if you are not that technically inclined. 1. The plate holder - as per pictures, the Euro model (bike designation MT-07). Made in Netherlands (Guru will approve, I am sure). Lots of parts. Very light weight, at the beginning I had to do a double take to make sure it's not plastic . Easy to assemble and leave the "stick" part out. Had to strip the bike from all the plastic panels (heck, I wanted a naked bike, but this is taking it to the extreme). Not hard, just tedious. Found that the plastic rivets holding the body panels in place are easier to remove if you push their pins down with a pen from inside. Our license plates are a bit on the small side, even with the bottom reflector mount out, there is still a part of the plate mount visible at the bottom. Not a deal breaker, just saying.
2. LED flashers. As noted by people who have done it before, the connectors are different. You need to strip and crimp the bike cables to match the flasher connectors - additional crimp connectors come with the flashers. 2 wires in the back for each side. Easy. Since I don't have a crimping tool, I hacked the job a bit, but they work. Will redo tonight, with the proper tools. Must learn patience. In front, there are 3 wires, one is for DRL. That needs to be put aside.
My biggest challenge is with the flashing frequency - it's fast. Flashers come with resistors included - to (excuse the language, please) create the additional load needed by the LED flashers. They are separate, you can chose to not install them. My issue is that I installed them, just for testing on the left side on both front and back and they don't make any difference. Do I need to install all four in order for them to work as intended? Will try tonight, anyway.
I know that there is another option - a LED flasher relay, but I am not sure what to buy and where to install it

 

[manuel]

Finally, all tied together and all hacks repaired (bought new bullet connectors and installed using the correct tools). The fender made by Yamaha is one solid quality piece. Finish is top notch, fitment is precise (as expected) and it is extremely light weight. The fact that you have the flexibility to go LED or the standard flasher is also nice. Also, being modular, you can install as many parts as you want - I was thinking to leave the bottom reflector out, but I ended up installing it. Extra safety, I guess.
 
Yes, it is correct. DRL (meaning turn signals solid on) is gone. Will not be missed, since lights are always on anyway.
 
Also, the resistors included with the LED flashers did not help. Probably not enough load to compensate. From what I've been reading is not the preferred method anyway, so good riddance. Will have to find a good relay and then locate the factory one (apparently it lives somewhere on the left side of the tank)
 

 

 

 

[Guest montana07]

Looks much better, but can you take a pic of her tail with the full bike showing? I think it will put it into perspective better.  And the LEDs are a huge improvement.
 

[Incognito]

Thanks for posting the pics. I have the LEDs, front cowl and engine sliders on order from Yamaha but hesitated on the tail tidy since I didn't find the stock assembly that hideous. Now I think I might have to add this to the tab. As mentioned earlier these mods slowly but surely suck you in...
 
Our bikes will look like twins once I finish all the installs!Wait, they are already twins...
Never mind, I'm sure it's obvious to all what I just did there
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Incognito]

You might want to check with your dealer for a kit that adds the proper load for the flashers to slow down to a proper rate. The salesman I dealt with pointed one out to me once I told him I was getting the LEDs.
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guru]

Thanks for the write-up, looks good. My kit came in yesterday. The plan is to mount it today.
 
I didn't get the LED flashers (yet). I will try and use the originals for now and see how it looks. If it looks stupid, I will get them too. I love the look.
As for the fast flashing. I was looking into that. I did the same with my previous bike and I ended up replacing the relais with one from DRC, the company that made the flashers. (DRC Moto led IC relay for DC D45-69-830)
 
I googled some and people have had success with a 3 pong relais from Autozone (and others)
It might be an idea to locate the relais first and see if it can be done.
 

 
 

[manuel]

Thanks guys! I will have full size pictures today (tried last night but car was in the way and did not feel like doing the ballet on the hood). I really like the way the plate fits. No gaps, no workarounds. For the people considering it, don't hesitate (the original looking like USS Enterprise is bang-on, Guru)!
 
I will probably get some heat wrap sleeves to dress the cables and the signals connectors that are behind the plate
 
Thanks for the relay info Guru. I was reading on the Euro forum about the process of changing it - looks like it is located behind the left tank panel.
 
Took the bike for a test ride after finishing. Yep, it's faster .

[Kipawa]

Thanks for the write-up, looks good. My kit came in yesterday. The plan is to mount it today.  
I didn't get the LED flashers (yet). I will try and use the originals for now and see how it looks. If it looks stupid, I will get them too. I love the look.
 
 
 
 

OK so really need to see with the standard signals. Honestly guys the LED ones are sweet but I just keep looking at the ones on the front and thinking they are too small for the look of the bike and the orange ones go well with the grey bike I have. I just wish they were an angular shape instead of the tear-drop and I think it would be a no brainer for me NOT to replace. I will wait for more pictures and see what other signals come out this year and leave till next spring. Tail tidy I will decide after Guru posts pictures. Honestly the front ones make me think of the thalidomide baby joke we make scrunching our arms up they are too small for the bike. IMHO

[manuel]

For the license plate, my opinion is that the standard flashers look way too big for the setup. All the arms and pieces are so much thinner that the flashers look bulky and out of place. I tried and quickly dismissed them...again, just my opinion. It's like having 2 big melons hanging on a stem.
 
As far as the front goes, to each his own. The LED one are not that tiny. They are wide, but not as thick as the standard ones...more in line with the lightweight theme that the bike is after, I believe.
 
Well, diversity is good I think

[Guru]

I just installed the Tail Tidy. Like manuel says, it's more work then I thought. There are a lot of parts. It take quite a bit of time, but it's not too hard.
 
I made a lot of pictures for you to enjoy. I still have the original orange water melons  (rofl) 
 
They are in a gallery  HERE
 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33459059/IMG_0961.jpg