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Mud flap: Protect Rear Shock from Road Grim


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Installed Mud Flap:
ON4VAZF.jpg
 
A few weeks ago, I did a ride to the coast and had to do 2 miles on muddy gravel road.  After words I noticed the grim build up on the rear shock.  Now the FZ has 5500 miles on it and at no time did I ever have this much dirt on the rear shock.  In fact the FZ is cleaner and newer looking than the FJ at only 400 miles.  Most bikes have a mud flap to protect the rear shock, also they don't have a tire hugger either, but the hugger on the FJ is kind of lame, really not long enough to do any good.  There is lots of grim making its way back to the rear shock.  It needs a mud flap.  So I took one off the FJR and positioned it and saw that it would work, only I took off on the bike to p/u my heated grips and it fell off.  Checking the internet, I found universal mud flaps for around $15.  I headed over to a MC shop and on the way stopped at the local plumbing supply store.  I picked up a package of red sheet rubber that looked about the right size.  $3.65.  I positioned it and it fit almost perfectly.  I tappered the bottom and notched out for the brake line.
 
looking at shock from rear.  Note the dirt on the fender and around other parts.  I cleaned the shock.
 
YJkwPD7.jpgAlso note that this FJ has the saddle bag lower brackets installed and there is a cross member, to which I am going to attached the mud flap.  Here is the red rubber piece that has be trimmed to fit in the swing arm behind the shock and for the brake line.  I cut the holes using a 22LR shell as a punch to make the holes.
 
 
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After making the holes in the rubber, I maked the cross member and used a punch to set the location to drill.  I was going to do this with it on the bike, but then decided to remove the cross member and drill and tap the holes for the 6mm fairing bolts i had left over from my FJR.  I also painted the rubber flap with a flexible black bumper paint.
 
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Put a couple lock nuts on the back.
 
jgzxh1M.jpgBolted it back to the Side Bag brackets and tucked the bottom down between the shock and the swing arm.
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Final job complete.  Should keep the shock cleaner.  Since I do 2K-6K trips all summer, a gritty grim laying on the shock for days could cause an issue and cause the failure of the seal.  Since it is hard to get to to clean, I felt this was a necessity for a touring bike.  

Ken, Candy Ass L.D.R. Sleeps 8 hours
(2)2005 FJR1300abs:  230,000 m
2015 FJ-09:  114,000 m (Replaced engine at 106K)

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Love when people find practical fixes using creativity and life experience. It may not be exotic, but it serves its purpose. Thanks for sharing.
2015 Matte Grey
Modded stock exhaust, modded stock screen, modded stock seat, OEM heated grips, LED indicators, FlashTuned ECU, ZX10R shock
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The swing arm is powder coated on my FJR (and the FJ) and the rubber mud flap has be rubbing for 10 years and over 140,000 miles and I have never noticed because you can't see it anyway. Same here on the FJ. Should not be a problem.  Of course the FJR's swing arm is silver over alum.  while the FJ is black over alum.  Still don't think it will be a problem.  Will let you know next year after I put 25K on the bike.
 

Ken, Candy Ass L.D.R. Sleeps 8 hours
(2)2005 FJR1300abs:  230,000 m
2015 FJ-09:  114,000 m (Replaced engine at 106K)

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Sweet fix.  Better than mine, which was to cut a 7x7 inch square of black rubber impregnated gasket material, trim around the brake line and use the preexisting holes in the small cross member with 5/16 inch long rivets and backer plates.  No where near as pretty as yours.
2015 Grey FJ09 with a few tweaks, 2007 HD Street Glide - Good Bike + Good Friends = Good Day.
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  • 10 months later...
Great job, that's using the old noggin! I did something very similar for one of my Bandits on the front fender, a home made Fenda Extenda, if you will. I found a piece of black, semi-rigid plastic in the garage - I think my wife used the stuff for landscaping, probably cost all of $2.00 - trimmed it to fit and then glued it to the fender using some Gorilla Glue. I put over 4 years and 30,000 mi. on it and it's still on there according to the bike's new owner .
 
I'm going to copy your great idea and ward off any nastiness from getting all over the FJ's clean and shiny rear suspension. Thanks for the idea, ya done good, son!!
-CD-
 
2015 Yamaha FJ-09: RaceTech Gold Valves, RaceTech Rear Spring, Arrow Full Exhaust - black with w/Carbon Fibre endcap, ECU Flash, Lowered 20mm front, 15 mm rear, Denali driving lights, Fenda Extenda, Tail Tidy, Corbin Seat, Madstad 22" Windshield, OEM heated grips, Woodcraft frame sliders, Grip Puppies, BadAss Cover (Large)....
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  • 1 year later...
I replaced the red rubber with a black rubber. It eventually cracked and I taped it together with Gorilla tape. It has been work just fine and pretty much for 40,000 miles.

Ken, Candy Ass L.D.R. Sleeps 8 hours
(2)2005 FJR1300abs:  230,000 m
2015 FJ-09:  114,000 m (Replaced engine at 106K)

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  • 5 weeks later...
Here's the mud guard, splash guard for the rear shock that I made for my FJ. (I have the Yamaha saddlebags so I attached it like Redfjniner-to the crossbrace for the saddlebag brackets.)
 
Found a black rubber stair tread at a Lowe's store for $3. The rubber is about 1/16" thick so it's flexible if it contacts the swingarm but should work well to keep the shock clean of road grime.
 
The rigid white template is cut out on the right side so I could fit it in better for test-fitting but I didn't trim the rubber piece as shown.
 
Dimensions are 7-1/8"w x 5-3/4"l.
 
As I used the holes already in the crossbrace to mount it, the left mounting hole is 3/4" from the left edge, and 2-1/2" from the bottom of the flap. Distance between the mounting holes is 5-7/8".
 
I used a couple plastic automotive "dart" fasteners and M5 stainless washers to secure the flap.
 
FJ09_Splash-flap_sm_1.jpg
 
FJ09_Splash-flap_sm_2.jpg
 
FJ09_Splash-flap_sm_3.jpg
 
 
 
FJ09_Splash-flap_sm_8.jpg
 
 
FJ09_Splash-flap_sm_10.jpg
 
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Like most good ideas - simply brilliant and brilliantly simple. I shall copy this as an early 'farkle' on my new Tracer! :)

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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