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Cleaning up the Racer's Tail

timothy st.john

Cruisin' Guzzisti
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
134
Location
Vancouver
Hello everyone,

Last night I removed the bulky obtrusive rear fender from my brand new V7 Racer, and replaced it with the MAS Chrome Racing Fender. I was going to use a fender eliminator kit as some of you did, and likely would have if it had proposed a convenient solution. None of the available kits make provisions for accommodating lighting while leaving the seat cowl on; which is something I'm committed to doing. So, I thought I would try something that no one else has posted about, in order to get that information out into the community. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else. That's what makes a hobby a hobby: its something you can throw an endless amount of money at, and never complete your discovery of, or defeat your enthusiasm for it.

Although this is a fare weather bike, I feel that you need something to keep the underside of the bike clean. Yes I know, its adding more chrome, but it is actually almost invisible now, in terms of adding visual mass to the Racer's back end. The fender all but disappears now, or recedes into the background; just so, it was originally in my mind that a wall does the same thing when you put mirror on it in your home.

Now the black seat cowl stands out beautifully (yes I know, many of you also removed you seat cowls too to avoid having to find the courage and confidence to suffer the disdainful stairs of hardcore bobbers, who themselves are too insecure to escort a beauty in public, for fear of challenge by other men who might lust after her).

MAMGVPPA

I only completed the surgery a few hours ago, so I don't have an actual picture of it on the Racer (sorry), but the image below from the manufacturer will give you a sense of how much smaller it is. The proportions are completely different. Remember as you ponder this, that the seat cowl extends back further than the solo seat, and the number plates drop down to further obscure what little there is of the new fender in profile. There is just enough tail showing to handle the sighting of a legal lighting array.

MAMGVPPA d

This fender makes no provisions for lights, so I will have to drill no matter what option I pursue. That being the case, anything goes; as it is just as easy to attach one light as might be any other. What do you suggest? Originally, I thought I might just transfer the lighting assembly from the Racer to keep it more Guzzi, but its far too architecturally expansive; more so even than the Motor Vehicle Act in my area requires. It occupies too much space in absolutely every plane; including metaphysical ones.

The obvious place (though not the necessary place) to start is with a Lucas style tail light and turn signals. Has anyone else adapted these lights to a V7 of any kind? The picture below is the one that New Bonneville sells but there are lots of them available in various incarnations and subtle variations. They also come in gloss black, which might tie in nicely with the Racer's tale section.

Signals bike rear2

Whatever light I decide on (hopefully as you direct me to others ideas), it needs to have a small base plate, preferably hollow, so that the rubber flange can more easily accomodate the rounded contour of this particular fender. Most tail lights are designed for fenders that have a flat plane of some width at what would otherwise be the apex of the contours curve. In my region, the lights (all of them) must be between 38 mm and 1.83 m from the ground, and there must be a single rear facing red reflector. The plate must be horizontally mounted, and lit. No individual light can serve two functions (running and brake), unless it has the necessary element/filaments do stand full service in both functions at the same time (i.e. a running light or a brake light can not abstain from that service to become a yellow turn signal, as sometimes happens with the minimalist LED setups).

I'll take a picture of the raw fender on the bike to better advise your consideration. Thank you in advance for any suggestions that might facilitate productive discourse on this forum.

Timothy St. John
 
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I love the lighter look the chromed fender gives the rear of the bike. What would be cool (IMO) is to fair in the tail light assembly to the cafe seat. Pictures below of what I'm thinking:
Thrux+seats.JPG


img_8_1390926448_111fd6d561f365020b65bf9b16efa585.JPG


Fully faired in with the curve of the seat would be excellent. I couldn't find the exact photo I wanted to show, but this gives you the idea:
Honda-DCB750-tobygrubb-2.jpg
 
I love the lighter look the chromed fender gives the rear of the bike. What would be cool (IMO) is to fair in the tail light assembly to the cafe seat. Pictures below of what I'm thinking:
Thrux+seats.JPG


img_8_1390926448_111fd6d561f365020b65bf9b16efa585.JPG


Fully faired in with the curve of the seat would be excellent. I couldn't find the exact photo I wanted to show, but this gives you the idea:
Honda-DCB750-tobygrubb-2.jpg
Thanks for posting! That's an excellent idea too. My mind runs to those stylish solutions as well, but I'm concerned that the cooler it looks, the more likely I am to be harassed by cops who are determined to make their ticket quota.

In Canada, every relevant section in the Motor Vehicle Act includes the catch-all phrase "...functionally equivalent to original equipment supplied by the vehicle manufacturer, or of a type or make approved by the director." Apparently the only ones approved by the director are original equipment.

Additionally, the term 'function' is applied arbitrarily to the subjective elements of the placement and style also. That is to say, they can claim that the sighting aesthetic too much obscures its service, by simply saying, "If the manufacturer had wanted it there, he would have put it there." Or, "If the manufacturer wanted to use that type of light he would have." Then they just claim that you have failed equivalency.

It can get expensive quickly for me, because I live in the urban core, where we are up to our eyeballs in motor cops. It would be very expensive to return a custom install/fabrication to stock in order to return it legally to the road.

Thanks again though. You've excited my consideration of this option.

Timothy St. John
 
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Sounds like you got the same wankers running the show as we have in Qld. If I can't have a modern bike that looks old as per my avatar, I will get a T3 frame, cut the head stem off and have it welded to my frame. Then when I register my bike as a 1973 model, they can go get stuffed with all their legislation.
 
I put this chrome fender from 850 t3 on my V7 Classic. Made it look a little old school, probably not what your looking for, but the taillight is very similar to the one in your post. Image
 
Sounds like you got the same wankers running the show as we have in Qld. If I can't have a modern bike that looks old as per my avatar, I will get a T3 frame, cut the head stem off and have it welded to my frame. Then when I register my bike as a 1973 model, they can go get stuffed with all their legislation.
Testify! Thanks for posting. I'm going to search foreign climbs with a different cultural aesthetic for new ideas and post back if I find any interesting ideas.

I'll try to resist losing what the Racer 'is' in pursuit of what it 'isn't', so that something is gained rather than just substituted. I have a Panigale that scratches a different itch, and I think that Guzzi got most of this design's appearance package correct. Most personal mods I've seen have lost too much in compromise of the original statement in pursuit of personal style, but that rear fender is just too much, and the oversized light array simply suited it in mass and gravity of purpose. When one goes, so must the other.
I put this chrome fender from 850 t3 on my V7 Classic. Made it look a little old school, probably not what your looking for, but the taillight is very similar to the one in your post.View attachment 7771

Hi,

Actually thats exactly where I'm starting from. That's a hooded Lucas in chrome. It demonstrates how the chrome seems to disappear aesthetically. I'm not altogether sure, but I think that I may end up doing just that. It has a stock look, which will not challenge the interest of the cops, it looks Moto Guzzi solid, and old school all at once. It also has the advantage of taking an in candescent bulb, which can be replaced by one of the new Safelite adaptive LED bulbs.

http://safelightstore.com/motorcycle-flashing-led-brake-lights.html

Regulars to this forum are likely far ahead of me on such new technology, but these replacement bulbs have accelerometers in them so that the strobe in alarm of hard breaking conditions, but not under gentle stopping. Check them out. Thanks for posting; especially the picture.

Timothy St. John
 
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from the link safelightstore.com/motorcycle-flashing-led-brake-lights.html

  • Help prevent 80.7% of rear end collisions
  • Reduce the severity of collisions by 96.5%
Makes you marvel at the precision of their data!!

I smell a rodent.
 
Ah, found the photo of the integrated taillight that I was originally after (couple posts above). For this particular treatment, the builder used a R1150R taillight assembly with integrated signals:

14_02_2015_bmw_K100RS_05.jpg

( from Pipeburn)
 
Hello,

Those are neat fabrications. I wanted my Racer to be undetectably modified, to honour the intent of the original build, but I'm inspired to start a build of my own now that I've started fabricating again; thanks to your posts. But thats a different thread. Mine looks stock, though it's not. Actually...

It has only just occurred to me that I haven't actually posted a picture of my finished tail section. It is simply the chrome fender, with a modified 'euro' tail light assembly; in which the running light/brake light serves to illuminate the plate. I'll take a picture and add it when I've got it.

Timothy St. John
 
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I'm not sure on your guys preference on cleaning up but I built a few things to sleek it out some
 

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Hello,

Those are neat fabrications. I wanted my Racer to be undetectably modified, to honour the intent of the original build, but I'm inspired to start a build of my own now that I've started fabricating again; thanks to your posts. But thats a different thread. Mine looks stock, though it's not. Actually...

It has only just occurred to me that I haven't actually posted a picture of my finished tail section. It is simply the chrome fender, with a modified 'euro' tail light assembly; in which the running light/brake light serves to illuminate the plate. I'll take a picture and add it when I've got it.

Timothy St. John
Just wondering if you have that photo yet, and how the changes went? I have a V7II Racer that I am wishing to modify the rear on, but can't work out the best way to go about it?
 
Here's mine. I used an LED strip that has brake, tail, and turn built into a single strip. Got it from Revival Cycles.

IMG-4009.jpg
 
That looks good. Did you cut the factory fender? I would replace the light cluster with something with less bulk.
 
That looks good. Did you cut the factory fender? I would replace the light cluster with something with less bulk.

Thanks. Yes, it was like a fat reduction surgery (LOL) I trimmed the original rear fender and removed the turn signal spacers for both the rear and front of the bike. I figured, if I didn't like it I can always get a used rear fender in good condition for less than $100 and put the spacers back on. So far the mod has attracted a lot of attention and I like the overall less fat while still not the radical tailless look. I may change the rear brake light, but so far have not found a "Cat Eye" with a bracket that fits. Not a fan of the Lucas taillights, but may go that way if can't find a nice "Cat Eye". Cheers
 
Does the wheel have to be removed to get at the fender fasteners? I haven’t yet looked at removing it but I may do a fender trim similar to yours. I also don’t care for the tail-less look.
 
Rear fender can be easily removed without taking off the wheel. All fasteners are under the seat and simply unplug the rear light assembly. For cutting the fender I used a dremel and then sanded for imperfections.
 
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