GenII Rear Fender Replacement, PITA?

[SCB]

The rear fender on my '08 was cracked in my brother's recent low-side (in fairness, it was his '08 when he low-sided it). The bike is totally functional as is but in the interest of aesthetics I was thinking I might replace it. Unfortunately, when I checked the FSM it lists step 1 as Remove 'Air filter case'.

I'm hoping they just mean remove that black plastic shroud that covers the ECU connector on the lefthand side of the bike, not the actual air box that houses the air filter as that looks like a major PITA. The rest of the procedure looks pretty straightforward.

Anybody know for sure?

 

[JSaul]

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[HotRodZilla]

i bought a new fender a year or so back to replace mine that the previous owner had chopped but have not taken the time to remove it. I would be be willing to sell it for $25 plus shipping as I need to clean out my garage as we are trying to move.

And that answered the question how? There's a classified section. This isn't it.

To the OP, only a few have done what you're doing. The FSM loves to remove stuff that doesn't necessarily need to come off. However, you may need to look at how the fender attaches. If there are connecter at the front, those may be between the fender and the air box, requiring removal.

Are you talking about the rear plastic that carries the license plate? I'd swear that connects under the rear seat. A picture would probably help.

 

[bluesdog]

Although I've not had occasion to remove the rear fender, as AJ noted, the FSM is fond of tacking on extraneous tasks to various procedures. For example: According to the manual official procedure, when one wishes to remove the radiator, one must also remove the throttle bodies. When one wishes to remove the forks, the entire fairing must come off.

Best practice is to carefully examine the part(s) you need to remove, and see just what is connected to what, and what bits really need to come apart/off in order to get the job done.

In the examples I gave, the radiator can be removed and re-installed quite easily without going anywhere near the throttle bodies, and the forks come off, and go back on, w/o fairing removal

BTW, any time I work on the rear areas of the bike, (eg rear wheel removal), I protect the mufflers from inadvertent scuffs or tool drops by sliding the sleeves cut from an old, thick sweat shirt over 'em.

I see AJ corrected his amusing spelling errors. They were funny, and AJ is a spoilsport

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Thanks for posting this topic SCB. I need to perform the same operation on my 08. The previous owner chopped the rear fender to expose more of the tire. Now the whole back end of my bike gets exposed to water and dirt from rear tire spray. I'll look at my FSM and also see if anyone else here posts their experience with a rear fender replacement.

 

[gixxerjasen]

If you are trying to remove that black plastic thing, it's a LOOOOOONG piece. In fact, replacing the subframe around it was easier than getting it out. Best of luck my friend.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Interesting. Thanks Jasen. I may end up putting a mud flap on my short rear fender instead. Anything to stop the rear tire spray. I'm sure I can come up with something semi-professional looking. Semi-professional is something better than stock.

 

[Brodie]

Gentlemen

I had replaced the rear fender last January for the very same reason, the previous owner thought it would look cool to chop the thing just below the license plate mount. That owner was a seasonal rider, and I ride all year round and need the protection that an intact fender affords. The replacement fender cost just over $100 purchased online at Boats.net.

No, the air box did not need to be removed, however the cover over the intake snorkel beneath the left side cover does need removing in order to get to all the fasteners, and components attached to it. The rear wheel needs to be removed also, as with the top tray and metal cross pieces, and various electronic black boxes. You will also be removing the tail body work - including the tail light module. When I did it, the tail sub frame was stripped bare - although it did not require removal.

It's not a pain in the @ss, but it is rather involved. My suggestion would be to take your cell phone or digital camera and document the whole process of digging it out, that way you can refer back to the pictures for proper reassembly - especially if you are forced to take a week or two break before completing the job.

All you need is a few wrenches, a screw driver, and some patience; the FSM is not essential, however it is a good resource if you have one. Bare in mind that the part number is different from the 2nd Gen.'06-'07 and the 2nd Gen.'08-'12 bikes. The differences are not apparent until you get deep within the bowels of the bike. Be sure you have the proper one before disassembly.

Pictured below is my '06 bike with the fender stripped out. I was going to use it for the '08 that I had just purchased, but found out it was a different piece of plastic. As you can see, the air box is undisturbed.

Don't be intimidated, by the nakedness, it will go back together just fine.

All that said, the job can be done successfully in a day, just be patient, observant, take lots of pictures, and enjoy it; after all these things are supposed to be fun!

Brodie

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Thanks Brodie. I guess it could be a nice Winter project. Thanks for sharing your experience. You're an AE guy, so I know you're OK. What a sweet bike. The A folks don't know what they're missing. I hope Yamaha allows us to have an upgrade soon.

 

[Brodie]

One more thing while you're playing with the rear fender...

There is an un used space beneath the tail light module just big enough for the electronic module for the MortorCycle Cruise. The wiring harness supplied allows this placement just fine.

All that needs to be done is to cut 2 ribs and smooth them down a bit to accommodate it.

Brodie

 

[lnewlf]

huh-would those be Clearwater Glenda's facing rearward?? those should back off gators...

 

[SCB]

The FSM loves to remove stuff that doesn't necessarily need to come off. .

We have a friend who had a dentist like that. He was always a little touchy/feely with her but the final straw was when he told her she needed to take her sweater off so he could monitor her breathing while he worked on her teeth. True story.

Brodie, thanks for the very complete response. The pics of all that nakedness are a bit intimidating but I have done this kind of thing before. I had to change out a tweaked rear subframe on my GSXR. Just took my time and kept everything organized and it wasn't too bad.

If I do get the motivation to tackle this I'll try to take pics and do a little write-up so we'll have it here on the forum. Stay tuned!

 

[Brodie]

Looking forward to it.

Brodie

 

[billp]

I changed mine 2 years ago.

Bear in mind that a new fender doesn't come with any straps, clips, nut plates or stickers.

You can switch most things over with a pop rivet gun and double sided tape.

Bill

 

[Harald]

For anyone not inclined to do all that work to replace the whole assembly, I've seen pictures on this forum of fender extensions made out of a black plastic rectangular office waste can that look pretty good.

 

[SCB]

For anyone not inclined to do all that work to replace the whole assembly, I've seen pictures on this forum of fender extensions made out of a black plastic rectangular office waste can that look pretty good.

Problem is the side as well as the lower part that holds the reflector are what was broken off, not just the back

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

Ouch. You need a specialized office waste can for that. You may want to try an office supply place that specializes in things like that.

 

[SCB]

Update - Got this done yesterday. Went pretty much as I expected, no ugly surprises halfway through. I did take pics all along the way and hope to post a pictorial but I am slow typing and haven't done much picture editing so not sure if or when I'll get that done.

In the mean time here's the executive summary...

Contrary to what the FSM says I did not have to remove the 'Air Filter Case' or drain the brake fluid, saving a great deal of time and aggravation. I did have to remove the tool tray to get to some of the wiring etc. but that was easier than I expected. I did not have to remove the rear wheel. Total time was exactly 3 hours start to finish.

As with any memorable repair, I ended up with a couple 'extra' parts...

Wow, that's a big picture! Anybody want to tell me how to shrink it a bit?

(Nevermind...I resized it in my P-Bucket and hit 'replace original' and it automatically got downsized here.)

Anyway...It's a rubber grommet and plastic peg that had been inserted into it. Fell on the floor when I pulled the fender out. I assume it was broken off in the accident that damaged the fender. Interestingly I had found an identical grommet but without the peg on the garage floor soon after picking up the bike. Couldn't figure out where that one went either. Anybody have any ideas?

That's it for now...

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

I always have an extra part or 2. I believe those spare parts of yours are from the transmission. You won't be able to ride, but I'll bet the fender looks great!