2014 inner / outer fender design

dANbOT

dANbOT

New member
This is one thing that has me worried about my new bike.
I snap a couple rear fenders a year on my previous bikes, and the rigid two piece design of the gasser kinda scares me lol. I searched and didn't find much talk about fenders at all. Is it pretty fragile when you loop out?

The second part of my question is if its possible to convert to a more traditional mx stye fender? an earlier fender, or cutting away some of the inner fender? If not I may have to stock up on fender parts ;)
 
My 13 spends more time rubber side up than I care to admit:D. Hasn't broken yet! There is a aluminum sub frame kit for about $250.
 
Well that's good to hear... maybe it won't be an issue for me after all.
Yup, my 14 has an aluminum subframe.
Thanks
 
You only need the inner fender if you want/need the tail-light. Otherwise, disconnect the connectors for the light and simply remove the inner fender.

The outer fender runs down over the airbox incorporating a portion of the side panel and then ties into the triangle shaped side cover forming part of the airbox. Given the design, I don't think there is any easy conversion to an MX type fender.
 
Cool thanks... that explains the pic I saw of an ec450 that didn't seem to have a tail light or inner fender. Looked good.
I do like the idea of the tail light, so I'll give it a shot.... If I start breaking it off regularly I will ditch it and the inner fender.
 
I was told by someone that the inner fender is part of the airbox, and if I want to ditch it I would have to cut/modify it to retain the part covering the airbox.
There's no fresh snow to go snowmobiling in, so I'll probably be in the shed working on my bikes... I will take a look at it.
 
Ok I dove into this project this weekend, here's the deets.
While the inner fender is not a part of the airbox, I did have to retain the front portion of the inner fender to close off what would be a massive hole under the outer fender that would let tire spray fly right into the airbox area.
More importantly, the seat bolt screws into the inner fender... can't lose that!
The airbox also bolts to the inner fender, and looks like it all provides support / strength to the subframe assembly.

Here is what the stock arrangement looks like from above and below




Here is what it looks like with the outer fender in place, but the inner fender removed :eek:



I decided on where I was going to cut the inner fender off, you can see the obvious line comparing the before and after photos, I pretty much just cut behind the end of the subframe. The plastic is very hard, so I resorted to using a cut-off saw with a steel blade then cleaned it up with a dremel.

The three rear mounting tabs on the underside of the outer fender should be removed too to make it look clean, they were easy to cut off with a utility knife and I used the dremel again to clean up.

The wiring tucked away nicely behind the seat bolt, I filled the plugs with grease to avoid corrosion / shorts.

After all the work, there is still a very small gap under the fender leading to the seat bolt area. I doubt anything substantial is going to get up there, but I will watch it. If I'm not completely happy I will put a rubber flap or some closed cell foam in there. I'm sure it is fine though.







Done, and ready for rider error lol. I think it looks great! Glad I did it now, instead of having it break at the wrong spot. I'll report back after my first couple crashes :cool: As you can see, there's some snow that has to melt first but I had fun riding the bike from the garage to the shed haha.

 
I did what you did but riveted an alum plate to fill the hole. Cutting the three tabs off the fender that are exposed on the underside is a must or they will rip out a hole in the fender if they ever hit the rear tire.
 
Good idea with the aluminum plate, I can picture it I think.
I have lots of plastic and aluminum scraps I can use to fab something up if I decide to.
 
dANbOT said:
Good idea with the aluminum plate, I can picture it I think.
I have lots of plastic and aluminum scraps I can use to fab something up if I decide to.
Click to expand...

I just did this to mine since I looped it and broke everything anyway. dANbOT, how are you lifting your bike? Mine doesn't seem like the fender will support the bikes weight if I lift from it.
 
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