Nearly everyone who has owned a CS has thought about doing something to the stock tail / rear fender. There are various approaches one can take ranging from conservative to overly aggressive. Here is a run down of some of the basic options:
To read all the discussion and ideas on this topic, visit the original thread on F650.com here: Official F650CS Custom Modifications Thread
xxaarraa's tail mod evolution:
Some ideas that were toyed with and their photoshops before any modding was done:
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:36 pm
I toyed with the idea of cutting off the rear fender completely, but I prefer to mod the bike in a way that makes it possible to put it back in stock form in case I need to sell. Also, do you think that cutting off the fender would make the tail chop even more pronounced (maybe a good thing)?
I know exactly what you are talking about re: filling in the back body panel. Take a look at the attached photo, I dont like the holes when the grab bar is off, but I wont do anything that would keep me from putting the grab bar back on when I need it. If you come up with a solution, Ill be very interested to hear.
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 2:20 am
In between fixing my fuel pump, I got around to completing the tail mod we have been talking about. Came out quiet clean and to my liking.
Completely reversible. All stock parts used and can be put back to stock if necessary.
Mounted the license plate to look like the Wunderlich "reverse beak" - thanks to Caroan Bill for the idea.
Had to fabricate two mounting clips out of fiberglass to mount the turn signals.
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:25 pm
While dismounting the bike, I broke the right turn signal (mounting clip I had fabricated out of fiberglass) the other day with my right leg that was swinging around. This made me realize the original position where I mounted the turn signals would not work, especially if I have someone riding pillion. I remounted the signals today farther back and closer to the tail light and its now recessed as well. I think this would keep it from getting in the way of mounting/dismounting or passengers.
Tail grab bars
**Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:43 am **
Some recent backseat passengers complained that it was inconvenient to reach and grab the stuff bay rails. This, combined with the ugly holes from removing the rear luggage rack made me go look for a grab bar for the back. I found split grab bars from a local Indian bike and mounted them on the CS. I am not too sure if it belongs.
I am looking for yay or nay from fellow blackbelters.
Signal's tail mod evolution:
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:03 am
SOrry for the delay, somehow the gf managed to lose the SD card and data cable to the camera. Took these with my phone so sorry for the quality:
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I couldn't find a way to get them to sit flush with the side panel so I took the panels off, put a rectangle of mesh on the backside (about an inch overlapping on all sides because the forward rack mount juts out of the panel a bit and the screen will stretch over it, plus youll want to push the screen out of the rear hole a little bit for it to look right). I really didn't secure it to the inside of the panel any since it gets pinched into place by the forward rack mount. Like I said, I think its an improvement although its not hard to improve on an ugly hole and mouting plate When I took the panels off there was some debris piled up in there since I've had the holes oncovered for a while so I guess these do serve some non-aesthetic purpose by keeping larger stuff out of the panel/underseat area when the rack is off.
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:29 pm
I really wasn't trying to get them to blend in, otherwise I would have went with the black screening they had, although the fiberglass screen is much more pliable. As for the signals/fender I came out of the store one day and the turn signal was hanging by the wires, instead of the stalk snapping the mounting tab on the rear carrier snapped off completely. I've got aftermarket short stalks rigged on there for now - should be doing the tail mod this weekend and will be replacing with LED's, just have to find a new flasher that will work with them. Anyone know off-hand how many prongs the stock flasher has before I tear my plastics off for the 3rd time this month to get to it?
I test fit my Lockhart Phillips Flushmount I's:
They cover the holes almost perfectly, you would just have to fab up a 45* angled bracket or something to get them to sit flush with the fender, they only run about $20 or less. As for filler or bondo, its going to be hard to make that look right as the front rack mount protrudes from the panel. As for the R1100 panels, they don't look like they'd work - the CS ones come off in 2 pieces, the one on the 1100 looks to be one whole piece and even goes around the top of the tail light which ours doesn't.
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:42 pm
Got my tail mod mostly done over the weekend, still need to get a new flasher to get the hyperlites and LED flushmounts to work but otherwise finished. I wasn't able to use the Targa bracket as I wasn't able to tilt it enough for the plate to clear the rear wheel so I ended up using a generic bracket I got off ebay:
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Anyhow, here it is:
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:40 am
A little follow-up on mine. Rode it through the rain the other day and had a nice mud trail down my back which was to be expected
Last night hit a monster bump in the road at 75mph and the tire tread must have bit the plate a little and bent it back and mangled it some. Had to increase the angle so it doesn't hit again.
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:47 pm
You aren't lying when you say its hard to believe how far the rear tire travels….I had the plate angled to where I thought it'd be impossible for the tire to hit it and it was fine for a good while but I hit a nice bump at a high rate of speed yesterday and again the tire went up far enough to hit the plate….only this time it bent the bracket back and completely tore off the plate… Between the clearance issues and my back getting wet from splatter in rain/puddles I'm fed up. I like the way it looks but I'd need a bracket that stretches rearward a little more or something to avoid the tire. Got a new plate and put the mudguard back on and mounted it pretty much the way xxaarraa did his.
So to anyone planning on doing this in the future….go with xxaarraa's setup, you'll avoid alot of wasted time and money on brackets/plates/etc.
