Fender eliminator enforcement? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Fender eliminator enforcement?

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bombshelter13

Well-known member
Everyone seems to agree that the stock fenders on most sportbike tails look bad and want to chop theirs down, but it always gets mentioned that the safest option legally is to leave it stock so you don't get ticketed for not having a proper mud-guard.

But... I don't think I've actually heard anyone say they personally actually got ticketed for this. Is this actually enforced well, or does it tend to get overlooked in practice? If you've gotten a ticket for it, I'd like to hear about it.

To be clear... I'm not talking about some of the jobs that put the license plate at an angle or location where it's hard to see - those are obviously asking for trouble, and if you've done it and gotten a ticket for it I'm not really surprised. I'm interested mostly in hearing from people who did it in a way that left the plate clearly visible.

If there aren't many responses then I guess it's probably fairly safe to go try out.
 
The ticket isn't generally for the mud guard, though it's a valid ticket for a chop-job. It's usually a plate ticket, which several posters have mentioned they've received in the past.

And no, everyone doesn't agree that they look bad.
 
I saw a black daytona 675 with one that had a mud guard + plate relocation at burrito boyz on thursday, looked great :)
 
I imagine that it is the safest option because it is easier to see that you are turning/stoping, rather than safer because you won't get tickets.

I imagine fighting tickets/charges from running over someone who has a tail tidy would be much easier. While he is being loaded into the ambulance you snap pictures of the tail tidy.
You can then claim that there were no lights or signals visible at all. IF the bike is written off no one would ever check.
 
Most bikes have the signals on the fenders. The distance between the left and right lights is wide enough that it makes it obvious which direction you want to go to the people behind you. This is a huge safety thing!

So when it comes to fender eliminators, there's 2 major things that happen:
- Your stock signals are removed
- You need somewhere to mount the plate where it's clearly visible, AND lit for night time.

A lot of the fender eliminator kits out there offer "integrated signals". Personally, i think they're cool, my bike has them. But some kits are so compact/tiny that it makes it hard to tell whether you are signaling left or right when I am 100ft behind you, all I see is a flashing light inside your tail light.
This is where it's important to find a GOOD fender eliminator kit, or find a way to add signals to your bike.

In this picture you will see MY personal bike.
I have highlighted how my fender eliminator setup still provides all the essential elements of a stock fender (except for the mud guard aspect).

exampleeeee.JPG



Your license plate MUST be clearly visible to any law enforcement agency or else you're giving them a reason to hassle you.
This applies to cars and trucks too!

Just be smart about it and stay visible!
It's important to let people all around you know where you want to go and signals are the most common type of communication between drivers.
 
Had an OPP officer give me a 'talking to' for an entirely stock un-cut fender, missing the red reflector below the plate. He'd mentioned at least two tickets with ~100$ fines, and said 'and I could tow it too'.

Just depends how bored they are.
 
jeero said:
Most bikes have the signals on the fenders. The distance between the left and right lights is wide enough that it makes it obvious which direction you want to go to the people behind you. This is a huge safety thing!

So when it comes to fender eliminators, there's 2 major things that happen:
- Your stock signals are removed
- You need somewhere to mount the plate where it's clearly visible, AND lit for night time.

A lot of the fender eliminator kits out there offer "integrated signals". Personally, i think they're cool, my bike has them. But some kits are so compact/tiny that it makes it hard to tell whether you are signaling left or right when I am 100ft behind you, all I see is a flashing light inside your tail light.
This is where it's important to find a GOOD fender eliminator kit, or find a way to add signals to your bike.

In this picture you will see MY personal bike.
I have highlighted how my fender eliminator setup still provides all the essential elements of a stock fender (except for the mud guard aspect).

exampleeeee.JPG



Your license plate MUST be clearly visible to any law enforcement agency or else you're giving them a reason to hassle you.
This applies to cars and trucks too!

Just be smart about it and stay visible!
It's important to let people all around you know where you want to go and signals are the most common type of communication between drivers.
Click to expand...

What about the brake light? I imagine that an 18 wheeler would lose sight of your's before mine.
Some of the bike's I've seen with eliminators you can't really see the brakes too well, I'm sure that many are because of the owner's poor wiring job, but other times the brake lights are not adequate for the need.
 
What ABOUT the brake light? They are the two vertical stripes. The stock SV650S' come the same way except they aren't clear and they only do one job: brake lights.
Mine does both (solid red for brakes and flashing yellow for signals). Since they are too close together there are secondary LED's on the passenger pegs, super bright too.

*edit* Found a gif of what my eliminator does

sv650.gif
 
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LEDs are almost impossible to see when its sunny out...
 
frekeyguy said:
LEDs are almost impossible to see when its sunny out...
Click to expand...

Not all types of LEDs. You can see police flashers miles away.
The ones on my pegs are brighter/more powerful than the ones in my tail.
 
I've never heard of an officer pulling you over this, however if they pull you over for another reason they can slap this charge on you as well to make it worth the while.
 
We installed that particular kit on my wife's SV. She was nearly hit 30 minutes into her first ride. The car took the time to turn around, found us in a gas station and say 'i'm really sorry, but both your brake light and signal are totally invisible, when you turned I was totally taken by surprise'. Nice guy and really nice of him to let us know just how tough it was to see.

Re-installed the stock shovel later that day. The LED's they're using are very poor compared to the OE ones suzuki put in that tail light assembly. They're far more directional and probably half the lumens. If your going to use that kit, consider some auxiliary brake lights somewhere.



jeero said:
What ABOUT the brake light? They are the two vertical stripes. The stock SV650S' come the same way except they aren't clear and they only do one job: brake lights.
Mine does both (solid red for brakes and flashing yellow for signals). Since they are too close together there are secondary LED's on the passenger pegs, super bright too.

*edit* Found a gif of what my eliminator does

sv650.gif
Click to expand...
 
Are there any insurance implications to having these on a bike?
 
I just took the plate off, grabbed a circular saw.. hacked off the mud guard below the plate area, and put the plate back on in the stock location.. retains all the stock lights and safety features short of the little reflector..it may not be quite a fender eliminator, but it looks better, and most important to me it dosent get caught when putting it on the spool stands anymore.

Barrie-20110406-00063.jpg


Barrie-20110406-00062.jpg
 
Gnu said:
I guess that is why automakers are using LED brake lights...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

LEDs generally incorporate a lens, into the body of the unit. It that lens isn't pointing in the direction of the following vehicle, then the light from the LED is virtually impossible to see. In most cases, units like the one posted by jeero are actually pointed toward the ground, at an angle, because it's the easiest way to manufacture them; using a flat circuit board.
 
frekeyguy said:
LEDs are almost impossible to see when its sunny out...
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Most new vehicles and motorcycles come with LED tails now. They are brighter and come on faster then regular bulbs. They even come as DRL on some cars... and soon you will see them as headlights.
 
Great story blackrx7. I have found most bikes with fender eliminators to have almost invisible lights. I pay attention o bikes around me and still have trouble picking out what those stupid lights are trying to do. I like jeeros comments, he thought things through. Personally I have left the ugly fender alone on every bike I owned a I was never willin to trade the increased risk of being a hood ornament for a better looking bike.
 
when you get pulled over just as i did a few years back, never mention it as a "fender" eliminator
what you say can be used against you.

got pulled over for not having a license plate light, when all it was was like a broken wire on the butt connector. still got a ticket for it tho.. bastards..
 
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reese said:
when you get pulled over just as i did a few years back, never mention it as a "fender" eliminator
what you say can be used against you.

got pulled over for not having a license plate light, when all it was was like a broken wire on the butt connector. still got a ticket for it tho.. basterds..
Click to expand...

You would get the same ticket if the wiring was all correct, but the bulb was burnt out. If it isn't working, it isn't working.
 
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