mike here, picked up my new super glide in January this year after i got back from Korea. Put forwards, slammer kit, samson ripsaws, heavy breather & a supertuner. I dont have any pictures yet, no camera because i spent all my money on mods. I really want to chop or scrap the rear fender and completely remove the front one. The fronts easy but on the back......well im out of ideas. Does that ridiculous Dyna chopped fender kit come painted in my bikes color(two-tone vivid black & blue). Did i mention the only tool i have is a Gerber and i don't have a garage? Any old heads near the Ft. Lewis area know any fab shops that can help me? Any Backyard ideas? Thx.

 

Something else.........i think i want to completely scrap the rear fender. I think this involves grinding down the struts and moving the lighting and the plate to the axle bolt area. I cant find any info on laws in Washington state but ive heard that the plate has to be horizontal and in the "centermost position on the vehicle". Does anyone know the laws here? Can anyone recommend a shop to help me? Any opinions to be given on this project? Criticism welcome. I only ride on sunny days so im not worried about what your thinking due to the fact i live in Washington. thx.

 

I'm thinking there is a cool zen quote out there for this stuff but I'm fresh out right now.... Harley's got a bastardized quote though that goes something like this....... "Just ride"

 

If you want to completely get rid of your back fender, check out the pin tail by rocket bobs. It's pricey, but will do what you want. They also have a nice fender that you use after you chop off your struts it that's what you want. I have the HD chopped fender kit. I like it, but it only comes in vivid black or primer so you'd have to have it painted to match your paint scheme.

http://www.rocketbobs.biz/products.htm
Scroll down this page and look at the Voodoo fender and the Pintail seat unit.

 

Unless you want to pulled over by the law, leave the front fender in place. In fact, since you are out of money, put all of your proposed mods on hold.

As mentioned above, just ride your bike. Take your time with the mods. Meanwhile, check into the WA laws regarding your desired changes. I think you will find that WA is pretty strict in these regards, the cool bikes you've been drooling over in the mags will not make it past the first trooper here in WA.

By all means don't start hacking up a perfectly good bike! If you change your mind, you've got a nearly unsellable motorcycle, but a valuable lesson. Best to take the conservative route and slow down!

 

I don't know if this is what you're thinking, but I whacked 2" inches off of my "perfectly good" rear fender, and it turned out great. (to my eye, anyway)

All I used was a Dremel tool, a 30" flexible extension shaft, some automotive masking tape (the flexible 1/4" tape), some black automotive touch-up paint, and a steady hand. (I didn't crack a beer until I was almost done)

I used the cheapo license plate bracket that came on the bike - just bent it out flat, and bolted it under the fender. I didn't want to mount it on the swingarm... to me it looks funny, and I'm not sure about the laws around here. (North Carolina)





After the pyramid cover was installed over the bolts:

 

I thought about doing the same thing with trimming the rear of the fender, but instead of mounting the license plate below the tail light, leaving it above it. Mounting it to extend beneath the trimmed fender defeats the whole purpose of giving the fender a shortened look.

At any rate, what you did would be legal in WA state as long as the tail light was changed from having the license plate illumination window moved from the top side to the bottom, which your new layed back tail light probably did. However, I think that smoked lenses are also illegal in WA.

Yeah, WA isn't the most lenient state, but I like to keep my bikes and rigs as legal looking as possible, so as not to give an officer any obvious reason to pull me over, including the always popular LOUD pipes. I'm sure that once I am pulled over, my other mods could be reason to impound my bike, especially if I were registered in a county with stricter emission laws.

 

Not to mention all the rain WA gets on the westside. Chances are you will ride in the rain and want a fender.

 

Here's a link to the revised code WA provisions on motor vehicle lighting requirements ....

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37

The following is from the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program guide (Motorcycle Operator Manual at dol.wa.gov):
I've looked it up before, but it has been a while ... as I recall (and a quick perusal of the sources) WA law doesn't say anything about the license plate orientation ... only that it must be illuminated and visible from 50 ft.

Also, RCW 46.37.070 makes electric turn signals mandatory for motor vehicles ... which includes motorcycles ....

Hope this helps ....

R/
'Chop

 

NC is pretty lenient on the license plate location. I see side mounted, vertical and horizontal, plates all the time