Designing a new rear fender - winter project

[Jagster]

Hi, this has inspired me to create a similar rack for my R as well. Thanks a lot.
I'm quite late to this thread, but I want to ask what did you do about the space underneath the rack. After removing the infills, looks like there is a wide gap. Did you put something there to keep water out for ride in the rains ?

That's a good point. The long and short of it is.....so far i've done nothing.
Right from the beginning I had intended to make a trim piece that masked the gap, but because the bike functions fine without any covering I lowered my priority for making something.
The reason why it's still not been done is mainly that I couldn't make my mind up as to how to do it.
For example, I could do a 3d printed trim, but it would be tricky to fix and be robust. It might take a few trys to get something that I both like and stays put when the going gets rough, so to say.
I could make something out of thin stainless sheet, but i'd have to make a 90degree bend in it and overlap the sides of the rack and fix it with self-tapping screws, but to do a complete job of it, i'd need to do it on both sides of the rack frame so that's x4 pieces.
So apathy set in over time and I got used to how it looks......well.....kinda. I would still like to do something aesthetically nice.

It doesn't matter about water getting in, as it just drains away anyway, so it's purely aesthetic requirement/preference.

One thing that I would like to do when I have time, is to make a side feature that enables a more versatile hooking function for straps/bungees etc...
I'm therefore thinking that I could make something that does both things in one part. That makes more of an incentive to make something.
Might do something next winter, but not now.....now it's time to ride.

 

[Renigma]

That's a good point. The long and short of it is.....so far i've done nothing.
Right from the beginning I had intended to make a trim piece that masked the gap, but because the bike functions fine without any covering I lowered my priority for making something.
The reason why it's still not been done is mainly that I couldn't make my mind up as to how to do it.
For example, I could do a 3d printed trim, but it would be tricky to fix and be robust. It might take a few trys to get something that I both like and stays put when the going gets rough, so to say.
I could make something out of thin stainless sheet, but i'd have to make a 90degree bend in it and overlap the sides of the rack and fix it with self-tapping screws, but to do a complete job of it, i'd need to do it on both sides of the rack frame so that's x4 pieces.
So apathy set in over time and I got used to how it looks......well.....kinda. I would still like to do something aesthetically nice.

It doesn't matter about water getting in, as it just drains away anyway, so it's purely aesthetic requirement/preference.

One thing that I would like to do when I have time, is to make a side feature that enables a more versatile hooking function for straps/bungees etc...
I'm therefore thinking that I could make something that does both things in one part. That makes more of an incentive to make something.
Might do something next winter, but not now.....now it's time to ride.

Thanks for the reply.
Water going inside won't cause any damage ?
So there's no wiring underneath and is there a partition that keeps water from reaching the area where battery ?

 

[Renigma]

That's a good point. The long and short of it is.....so far i've done nothing.
Right from the beginning I had intended to make a trim piece that masked the gap, but because the bike functions fine without any covering I lowered my priority for making something.
The reason why it's still not been done is mainly that I couldn't make my mind up as to how to do it.
For example, I could do a 3d printed trim, but it would be tricky to fix and be robust. It might take a few trys to get something that I both like and stays put when the going gets rough, so to say.
I could make something out of thin stainless sheet, but i'd have to make a 90degree bend in it and overlap the sides of the rack and fix it with self-tapping screws, but to do a complete job of it, i'd need to do it on both sides of the rack frame so that's x4 pieces.
So apathy set in over time and I got used to how it looks......well.....kinda. I would still like to do something aesthetically nice.

It doesn't matter about water getting in, as it just drains away anyway, so it's purely aesthetic requirement/preference.

One thing that I would like to do when I have time, is to make a side feature that enables a more versatile hooking function for straps/bungees etc...
I'm therefore thinking that I could make something that does both things in one part. That makes more of an incentive to make something.
Might do something next winter, but not now.....now it's time to ride.

also, where does the water drain out of ? Is there an opening ?

 

[Jagster]

also, where does the water drain out of ? Is there an opening ?

Gravity. The water goes downward. Runs down the inside surface of the fender inner fender and out between the joints.
The same thing happens on all the Rocket 3s. It's just that the gap at the top is bigger, so a bit more gets in.
There is a wire to the tail light running inside there but the water isn't affecting any connection points.
The battery isn't near the gaps. It's more forward and under the seat.

 

[rick danger]

@Jagster , nice job on the rack. I just joined this forum, but don't have a bike yet. I hope to go look at some this week. Not that I need a third bike. But I've done all the mods I can do to my KTM 1290's. I need a new project. I was planning to make a rack in place of the pillion seat like you did. But I was going to try it a bit different. Not having the bike yet, I'll see how it looks. But I was going to try to make spacers out of 3/4 black delrin rod with holes drilled in it. 4 of them from the backrest mounts in the fender/tail slot. Then a flat piece of 1/8" aluminum on top of them the shape of my tail bag. I've done it before, and if you make it for a specific bag you can make the rack about a half inch smaller than the bag so you don't see the rack, and don't have to be to concerned with the looks. Just rattle can it black. Might get a Russel day long solo seat made for it over the winter so I don't have to worry about the seat infill. Cheers.

 

[Jagster]

@Jagster , nice job on the rack. I just joined this forum, but don't have a bike yet. I hope to go look at some this week. Not that I need a third bike. But I've done all the mods I can do to my KTM 1290's. I need a new project. I was planning to make a rack in place of the pillion seat like you did. But I was going to try it a bit different. Not having the bike yet, I'll see how it looks. But I was going to try to make spacers out of 3/4 black delrin rod with holes drilled in it. 4 of them from the backrest mounts in the fender/tail slot. Then a flat piece of 1/8" aluminum on top of them the shape of my tail bag. I've done it before, and if you make it for a specific bag you can make the rack about a half inch smaller than the bag so you don't see the rack, and don't have to be to concerned with the looks. Just rattle can it black. Might get a Russel day long solo seat made for it over the winter so I don't have to worry about the seat infill. Cheers.

Yep.... the basic geometry and hardware needed to structurally connect a base-plate or rack to the rear subframe is pretty straightforward.

If you do it, then please post it up and add to the ideas and solutions.

This bike needs more solutions for practical use such as touring etc....