Well, I finally got rid of the monstrosity hanging off the back end.

I had originally planned to ditch it completely and not hack it up. However, upon further review, it is pretty integral to both the cosmetics of the rear and it takes up space between the subframe and that top black piece. So, we trimmed it way down with a drimmel, even further than most people on here, all the way above the plate mounting points. We drilled new plate mounting holes and ditched the heavy stock bracket in favor of the stock bracket from my dad's DRZ-400, which is smaller and lighter.

I also wanted to tuck in the turn signals since I've already bent the lefthand's mount, and I do tend to, uh, crash. So we removed the rubber mounts from the fender and stuck the signals through, mounted them to alluminum plates, which are connected to the taillight bolts via L-Brackets. Much sturdier than stock, but still with the flex stalks.

I didn't even use the sheet of alluminum I bought, but hey, it'll get utlized eventually.

Here's the pics, and I'll try to explain them. I doubt I make a full write-up, since there is some fab-work and intricate Drimmel work involved, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

I'll assume if you're diving in to this, you can remove the rear fender. Basically its two bolts/nuts in the tool bag, two bolts that hold on the top green (or red?) plastic piece/black piece, then underneath that top piece are two more bolts that go down.

Subframe:



(My bike tire is toast, BTW)

A big reason I decided to keep the stock plastic is that without it, the taillight is exposed. There is no back on the taillight, so it would just be dangling in the wind, getting pummeled by mud and rocks, and plus, the turn signals would also be kinda isolated. Basically, without using that stock piece, everything isn't brought together.



Comparison between the heavy, ugly stock KLX bracket on top, and the bracket from my dad's DRZ-400, which is significantly lighter.



Here's the end result:


We trimmed the fender pretty high up. If you look at yours (the pics aren't great) you can see the plastic is pretty stout right in the curve, you can see that it is rather thick and sturdy, so we feel confident it will hold up. We cut out a piece of alluminum to bolt the plate bracket to, and we used locking nuts. For the signals, we used pieces of alluminum to mount the signals and connected them to the tailight bolts via L-brackets. The whole assembly feels much sturdier and solid than stock. The taillight doesn't just flop around anymore, either.



And here's the end result.





The taillight lights the plate much better, I think the bike looks 1000 times better now.

Gotta give MAJOR props to my dad (Danoman over at ThumperTalk) he's a master of fabricatin' and tweakin'.

 

Good job and props to Pops! Looks great! I think that's the cleanest looking dork flap elimination I've seen so far.

 

Nice work!!

 

yep, that's the best one I've seen so far. That's what I have planned on doing since the gitgo. That sweet line is becoming very distinct and the DRZ plate hanger is perfect. Are you getting money from all those companies you advertise for? Now, to get my hands on a dremel next spring.
The mod is a catch 22 situation. The fender looks bad, but if you look under it, it does catch alot of mud, so that's kind of the reason I've let it be. Plus, when I'm on the bike I can't see it back there.

 

HAHA see, that's why people give you grief, you always gotta slide that cheap shot in. And just so you know, those beloved FOX stickers that you have dreams (nightmares) about are coming undone, so I forsee them going away soon. Damn things cost like 8 bucks.

Well the angle of the plate should keep the mud mostly off my taillight at least, and I definately think it is worth getting muddy once a week to get rid of that bastardization of a rear fender.

 

Nice work and a great Dad & Son project. You two make for good teamwork. Finished project looks super!

Regards,

 

I could see a really neat look if there was somehow a way to remove the black piece altogether, and was left was that small green fender. Different, but I also think it'll give the illusion of the bike having more travel.

 

It's a thought.. I kinda like it. A long KX fender would be neat to try out
Oh, noticed you're bracket from the DRZ, it looks pretty identical to the 06/07 klx

 

Well the only problem with that is the subframe extends beyond the green plastic to underneath that top black plastic piece. You'd have to hack up the subframe, and you would most definately need a different taillight than stock, maybe an Edge taillight. Not to mention it would be that much more mud and dirt slinging up into your business.

ninja-edit:

Nice photo-chop! You'd also have to get some of those stick-on slim turn signals. I could see it if you rode very little street; those turn signals and a small taillight like an Edge are difficult to see. Its a PITA following my dad in the evening sometimes, with the sun in my eyes its hard to make out his lights.

 

Same with the maier fender. Not NECESSARY, but maier designed their rear fender for the 06/07 (Or klx 300), for the subframe to be cut off.
If some sort of lisence plate holder could be figured out, maby the ufo one could be placec on there with the subframe partially gone.