Shield against water spray under the seat

[elus1ve]

Hello. Unfortunately, i got caught in the rain a few times already this spring and with a tail tidy, the tail and the section below it (exhaust & underneath the storage area) just gets sprayed all over. Other than making the bike dirty, it isn't much of a problem.

However, I was wondering if anyone has put some sort of shield underneath the tail. I was thinking of cutting a piece of high resistant plastic sheet to cover the section under the tail. Metal would be harder to work with + it will add weight. Plastic could be affected by the exhaust heat but i'm thinking high resistant plastic could have a melting point just high enough to resist the heat.

Let me know what you did.

 

[agf]

Know the prob with dirt and grime, flicks up onto the tail light too.
I just wash the bike every two weeks as a minimum or if its bad every weekend over winter.

 

[FinalImpact]

Your bike has a hugger and your saying the under seat tray is full of chunks?

Dirt wise, mine stays fairly clean (under seat tray) but I admit, rain rides are not my thing. Sounds like you need more fender, but some formed aluminum could go a long ways towards helping. Do mount it in rubber grommets so it doesn't crack!

 

[elus1ve]

Your bike has a hugger and your saying the under seat tray is full of chunks?

Yep, even with the hugger the under seat gets sprayed. Oh and rain riding ain't my thing either but when you get caught in it there ain't much you can do other than grumble and clean afterwards.

Thanks for grommet tips. I will use those if I go with aluminium. Right now plastic is my preference though.

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

The corrugated plastic that's used for small signs may be useable. Don't know how heat-resistant it is but you should be able to find some old stuff for free and paint it how you want.I would look for a printing place or newspaper to get a piece of aluminum sheet that's used for printing. very stiff, not good for compound-curves without annealing . Cherry rivets,not cheap,Aerospace quality,for atachment, Cherry Aerospace , if hardware store Pop rivets concern you. A little overkill but mighty strong if your concerned about strength. Make a card-stock template and when you get it right go to the material of your choice. Just a thought.
My 3 cents,you know how that inflation is! :rockon: Rich

 

[Carlos840]

Please, let us know how things work out!

I also have a tail tidy and get utterly sprayed when i ride in the rain...
It doesn't really bother me but if you have a quick fix that is invisible i am up for it.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

With the Scorps on my bike, I was getting some more debris than with the stock muffler.

My solution:

Aluminum foil folded in several layers and then taped together with the thin, shiney, actual A/C duct tape (for some sturdyness). I then taped it above the the mufflers, after cleaning the underneath of the fender spotless, again with the A/C duct tape.

You can probably get by without the aluminum foil, just make sure its nice and clean BEFORE TAPING. Get the tape attached good and re-inforcement with more layers if necessary.

You can't see it with the exhaust in place but it does keep all the crap/water out, especially the seat lock assembly.

Should your particular muffler be very close to plastic, "header wrap" works very well too.

:thumbup:

 

[elus1ve]

The corrugated plastic that's used for small signs may be useable. Don't know how heat-resistant it is but you should be able to find some old stuff for free and paint it how you want.I would look for a printing place or newspaper to get a piece of aluminum sheet that's used for printing. very stiff, not good for compound-curves without annealing . Cherry rivets,not cheap,Aerospace quality,for atachment, Cherry Aerospace , if hardware store Pop rivets concern you. A little overkill but mighty strong if your concerned about strength. Make a card-stock template and when you get it right go to the material of your choice. Just a thought.
My 3 cents,you know how that inflation is! :rockon: Rich

Thanks for your inflated 2 cents Thinking of using Kydex plastic sheets which can be ordered on eBay. They are tough and I believe fairly heat resistant. Corrugated plastic and other plastic that can be found in art and paper supplies seem to be too weak imo.

 

[elus1ve]

With the Scorps on my bike, I was getting some more debris than with the stock muffler.

My solution:

Aluminum foil folded in several layers and then taped together with the thin, shiney, actual A/C duct tape (for some sturdyness). I then taped it above the the mufflers, after cleaning the underneath of the fender spotless, again with the A/C duct tape.

You can probably get by without the aluminum foil, just make sure its nice and clean BEFORE TAPING. Get the tape attached good and re-inforcement with more layers if necessary.

You can't see it with the exhaust in place but it does keep all the crap/water out, especially the seat lock assembly.

Should your particular muffler be very close to plastic, "header wrap" works very well too.

:thumbup:

If I understand correctly, you protect the tail but not the muffler? I'm having a hard time visualizing how you taped from above the muffler area to the seat lock assembly. I'm actually thinking of putting a shield below the muffler so that whole area would be protected, hence making cleaning a breeze.

 

[elus1ve]

Please, let us know how things work out!

I also have a tail tidy and get utterly sprayed when i ride in the rain...
It doesn't really bother me but if you have a quick fix that is invisible i am up for it.

Sure. I decided to order the Kydex plastic. Will let you know how it comes out.

 

[mxgolf]

Anyone have pictures of what they have done? Thanks

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If I understand correctly, you protect the tail but not the muffler? I'm having a hard time visualizing how you taped from above the muffler area to the seat lock assembly. I'm actually thinking of putting a shield below the muffler so that whole area would be protected, hence making cleaning a breeze.

That's correct!.

I didn't want any heat buildup (like the stock muffler) and wanted air flow inbetween the two mufflers.

I forgot if I put the tape on before the mufflers or after, its been there at least 4 years..

Also, what got me to do this was reading a thread of the seat release mechanism getting gooed up and stuck (once the stock muffler was removed and that area NOW exposed). (preventive modification..?)

 

[greg]

I was actually thinking about something like this the other week

underneath the back gets really mucky, this is one thing I like about some of the tails on the supersport bikes

 

[bdevries]

I'm not sure I understand the purpose in doing this.. Somethings going to get dirty if you're riding in the rain - either the "shield" you create, or whats already there. Either way it has to be cleaned.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'm not sure I understand the purpose in doing this.. Somethings going to get dirty if you're riding in the rain - either the "shield" you create, or whats already there. Either way it has to be cleaned.

The shield gets dirty, who cares, that's what its there for....

It does keep the seat latch assembly clean as NO water/road debris makes it to the latch. Its been on the bike for at least 4 years and I have yet to clean the assembly.

It keeps road debris out and potentially jambiing up the assembly. (and that has happened here on the forum, a member couldn't open his seat as that assembly jamped up)

Same as the shield I made for the radiator / fan. It bolts up at the base of the radiator and keeps rocks/pebbles from flying up, jamping up the fan and potentially frying the fan (a known issue). Will it get chipped by any rocks/ road debris flying up, sure. BUT, it protects my fan and I will NEVER have a pebble vs fan issue with it.. A preventive farkle...

Fan shield:

 

[bdevries]

The shield gets dirty, who cares, that's what its there for....

It does keep the seat latch assembly clean as NO water/road debris makes it to the latch. Its been on the bike for at least 4 years and I have yet to clean the assembly.

It keeps road debris out and potentially jambiing up the assembly. (and that has happened here on the forum, a member couldn't open his seat as that assembly jamped up)

Interesting... that part of my bike still looks brand new even though it's been ridden in the rain and never cleaned. Maybe I'm thinking of a different spot?

 

[elus1ve]

I'm not sure I understand the purpose in doing this.. Somethings going to get dirty if you're riding in the rain - either the "shield" you create, or whats already there. Either way it has to be cleaned.

I don't know how yours stays clean but mine gets plastered with mud in every nook and crannies under the tail. I did say roads in my city are pretty dirty, specially in spring when the snow's melting and all the dirt surfacing. On one occasion when I got caught in torrential rain, even my stuff in the storage compartment got wet (not badly). There's also the seat mechanism as Scott mentioned. A shield imo protects all that and I can just leave it dirty or can clean it with a single wipe. As I said, it's not a important but if I can find an easy way to do that then why not.

So I should have my kydex plastic in about a week and will let you guys know if it's worth doing.

 

[elus1ve]

What do you know, the undertail shield is far from a new idea.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/38040-custom-undertail-fe-chain-guard-lots-images.html

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Interesting... that part of my bike still looks brand new even though it's been ridden in the rain and never cleaned. Maybe I'm thinking of a different spot?

Yepper, I think we're on two different pages,

Those pic's are of the radiator protector, NOT the above muffler tape/gaurd. Pic is shot shooting up, from the floor. The ruler pic is should someone want to copy the fan / radiator gaurd (for reference). (Just a FYI)

Under the rear "fender" has a nice coating of road road debris
as does the inside of the mufflers (any part not really showing).
I don't wash the underneath of the mufflers (unless I rode thru a mud hole, etc)

Just to be clear, the aluminum foil/ tape is ABOVE THE MUFFLER. It's not covering the muffler, just keeping road crap
from getting up there and specifically trying to keep the seat release mechanism clean.

If you have the stock muffler still on the bike, its likely NOT even an issue as the stock muffler will block road crap from getting up there...

 

[2wheelieadv]

This only partially will solve the problem. My cans and the topcase are all getting covered in water and mud and it goes all the way over the topcase. Maybe a rear huger like on a GS would help, but I'm not sure how it would look on the FZ...