Tire Hugger idea

[qnoisx]

I'd really like a tire hugger, but none of them seem big enough. Also not a fan of the fender eliminators. So I did a bit of work with Gimp and came up with a new idea. Not that I could make it, but maybe someone else could. Anyways, here's my idea. The original pic was borrowed from the Puig tire hugger thread since I don't own one.

The idea is to get rid of the fender completely. No need for a license plate bracket just hanging there. No chance of the license plate getting bent. The extended tire hugger would also be covering the area where all the water is thrown when you pass through a puddle or it's raining. Dunno if it would need support from the other side of the tire or not. Hopefully not.

 

[JSP]

Nice...

Ducati does something like that on the Diavel:

 

[qnoisx]

That does look cool. Don't think it would help with the water kick up as much since it's pretty much just a license plate holder. It doesn't look like it is part of the tire hugger on that bike. More of an additional chain guard, mounted to the swing arm maybe. Can't really tell. Does look nice though. Mine could use more work. I had a version without the stupid off center license plate, but it wasn't blended well and I didn't have mounts for the plate. It could be either an X bracket that attaches to the center or molded in the plastic.

 

[owldaddy]

BMW does something similar with the GS series. I followed a GS a few days ago, it seemed to work well.

 

[qnoisx]

Yeah, that's a problem with removing the stock fender. You shoot a stream of water behind you whenever it's wet outside. That's going fast. Going slow like my dirt and gravel driveway and it all ends up on my back and rear seat. That's why the back of my jacket is all muddy now.

Hmm...need to go clean my jacket I guess.

I wonder if Puig would consider making a run of these? It's way more practical than their current hugger since it's more than just for looks. A few things would need to be worked out. If would be nice if they could run a couple wires from the front of the chain guard to the license plate mount on the underside. That way a plate light could be wired up. Probably screw lights.

The lower part could curve around the tire like I have it or just have a lip on it just under the plate. Less weight with just a lip, but I like it going around the tire. Also dunno if it would require more support. I'm not sure how study their current chain guard is. Maybe a metal plate could be added to make it hold the weight. The wires could be sandwiched in between to protect them.

Anyways, just some random thoughts.

 

[staindlegend]

Looks like a batman logo should be thrown on there :justkidding:

Honestly I think it looks pretty cool. If a more practical tire hugger like this were released, I would most definitely jump on it. If it's raining hard enough, I try not to ride anyways, but the dirt on my jacket is a better compromise then that ugly shovel of a fender imo. FEs don't look bad to me, so the license plate bracket wouldn't be all that necessary in my case. Just a more practical hugger that will stop dirt and mud getting kicked up would be nice.

 

[qnoisx]

Fiddled around with it more. Here we go with a lip around the bottom. No license plate this time. It looked dumb anyways since I couldn't get the angle right. I would still want a bracket for the plate, but for now it's off.

I also kind of think it would look better if the chain guard curved down a bit at the end of the chain, then came back up. Sort of like a check mark. I might work on that later. I merged the layers too much and might have trouble doing it.

 

[dart1963]

funny thing about design... you might like it, might even find a few others who like it... but unless you are going to make your own... you'll have a hard time fining a shop to put it together without big bucks...


We (where I work) sometimes pay $3-5k just for a first run proto on our mechanical parts, and we do simple aluminum extrusions/bend and cuts... something like this is going to be custom mold/CF work and I can only imagine what those NRE run.

I applaud those that can do this themselves... and I personally like your idea... but, unless you can make it, it's going to be expensive to get a shop to do it.

For sure keep the idea running, you might find someone on here that can do that kind of work!

 

[qnoisx]

Yeah, I wish I was talented enough to make it myself. But I can barely even make a edited image of it look right. The easiest way to make it if you were able to do your own would probably be to buy 2 Puig huggers and chop the second one up to extend the first. Use epoxy as filler, then sand and paint it. That's basically how I made the image, cutting and pasting existing parts, then filling in with the clone tool. Of course it wouldn't be as easy. Especially the details like the lip around the bottom to finish it up. Oh and the mounting bracket for the license plate.

I've considered that as an option. Just dunno how well it would turn out. Doubt it would be as strong as it would be if it was one solid piece made from a mold. I suppose you could use the result as a master and create a mold with it. Oh well, just wishful thinking.

 

[cavcuz05]

almost makes the bike look stretched!

 

[StrangerInStrangeLand]

Thanks

Guys, just joined your forum for a minute here so I could thank you for this thread. Odd, I know, but I've been scanning the web for this kind of fender/plate contraption thing, and your thread here is the one useful thing that came up.

I'm by no means a "bike builder", but the last couple of bikes I've had have been rolling experiments in reinvention. On my last bike, an 07 R1 (hopefully pictured below), I wanted to turn it into a clean looking street fighter, not something that looked like a crashed-then-resurrected racer with all it's plastic torn off and handlebars slapped on. I wanted to make it look like it was originally built as a so-called naked bike. So, I got a "How to Work with Fiberglass" book and went to it. Thankfully, it turned out to not be that difficult (or expensive) a project. I built a solo-seat tail, the instrument cluster/tank piece, and the two air inlet covers on the frame -- the bellypan was bought online, then modified to fit. The bike ended up looking okay, but the spray-back due to the short tail was a huge, messy flaw. I sold the R1, but when I saw the splash-guard/plate holder thing on the new Diavel, I thought THAT was the solution for the wet-back problem. The idea of meshing a chainguard with the splashguard contraption was brilliant!

My current bike, a modified-modified 06 SV650 (last photo), didn't come with a chainguard, so this hybrid-of-parts never occurred to me. Thinking about it now, I'm not sure the fiberglass is going to be stiff enough, but I think I can embed a bit of metal to solve that problem. And because the attachment points are so far forward, there may be some unwanted flex problems (fender striking tire). I'll figure that out, but I'd like to keep the thing attached to only the one side because it will be easier to make and look better.

So, thanks again, guys -- very ingenious!

 

[yellowfz]

Was just thinking about this for the last 2 months as well (fiberglass) .
Tried with plexiglass and could not get a good bend in the plastic , the FZ6Rs I think can be done , I was looking at the Ducati Gallery - Ducati Multistrada 1200 as a model for the mod .
I think you will need it to slide as you adjust chain and the tire moves back .
Oh nice ride StrangerInStrangeLand , very artistic .

 

[NoDoze]

Guys, just joined your forum for a minute here so I could thank you for this thread. Odd, I know, but I've been scanning the web for this kind of fender/plate contraption thing, and your thread here is the one useful thing that came up.

Thanks for dropping by and signing up to become a part of our community. There are a lot of great ideas here and we're glad that you are finding them useful.

Nice looking bikes by the way!

 

[qnoisx]

That's a nice looking R1! If you did that well before I'm sure you'll have no problems making a rear tire hugger.

I haven't had a chance to attempt replicating the photoshop yet. Mainly because when I was looking for the original hugger, they only had the carbon fiber one in stock. Didn't want to spend the extra cash since I was going to chop it up and paint it anyways. I'll have to check again to see if anyone has the black one yet. Didn't think about doing it in fiberglass, but I've never worked with it.

Good point on making it adjustable. Hadn't thought of that. I was already considering using a metal bar along the length of the chain guard to give it strength. I guess you could build it in two sections and have adjustment holes where you bolt them together. Like a belt. Have the rear section the adjustable part and overlap them enough so you can't see the extra holes.

 

[StrangerInStrangeLand]

Easy or Adjustable -- Not Sure I Can Have Both

Chain guards are easy enough to remove, so I think I'm just going to make my chain-guard-splash-guard-plate-holder-thing (we need a new name for this) non-adjustable because it will be simpler to make.

Went on one last canyon ride today before I start taking the SV apart and begin the project. Really looking forward to this and will certainly post pics of the results -- unless, of course, it all turns out wonky. Then, if it's all the same to you all, I'll just keep the abomination to myself.

 

[mike1000]

Brother that R1 is a beautiful manipulation of fiberglass. It has the stance of a pit bull and sweet flowing minimalistic lines. That bike is something to be proud of! Extremely nice and very impressive! Great work!

 

[yellowfz]

That's a nice looking R1! If you did that well before I'm sure you'll have no problems making a rear tire hugger.

I haven't had a chance to attempt replicating the photoshop yet. Mainly because when I was looking for the original hugger, they only had the carbon fiber one in stock. Didn't want to spend the extra cash since I was going to chop it up and paint it anyways. I'll have to check again to see if anyone has the black one yet. Didn't think about doing it in fiberglass, but I've never worked with it.

Good point on making it adjustable. Hadn't thought of that. I was already considering using a metal bar along the length of the chain guard to give it strength. I guess you could build it in two sections and have adjustment holes where you bolt them together. Like a belt. Have the rear section the adjustable part and overlap them enough so you can't see the extra holes.

My idea was to use the axle and make a mount that would slide with the axle when adjusting the chain , like take out the axle bolt , replace spacer with one slightly shorter to make up for a plate that would mount there , the plate would then have a lip to just fit over the top of the swingarm and form a place to mount the fiberglass rear splash guard hugger (fender) , when you adjusted the chain it would move with the tire and maintain a safe distance from it , of course it would be segmented from the chain guard .
Will take a couple of days but will try and mock something up .
StrangerInStrangeLand can't wait to see .

 

[StrangerInStrangeLand]

How Small is Big Enough?

Here's another set of questions: How long does this thing have to be? And, taking into consideration that I personally want it to be as small as possible, where should it be positioned? That is, over which part of the tire's arc should it be placed? Look at the gizmos on these two BMWs. Looking at them, I'm not even sure why these bikes have them, as both bikes already have full-coverage rear fenders that should be doing the trick. Is this added coverage for rocks maybe?

I suppose I can figure out the positioning by setting my SV on a rear-stand, then running the bike with the rear tire sitting in an elevated pan of water. I guess that will show me where exactly the water leaves the tire.

Any of you know your geometry and/or hydrodynamics and can just figure out what part of the rear tire needs to be shielded? I wonder if there is a YouTube video out there -- not sure why there would be, but I'll look...

 

[qnoisx]

Sounds interesting yellowfz. I look forward to seeing your mockup of that.

The fender would need to be where the tire starts to arc back from vertical, pretty much exactly like those examples show. Below that line would shoot water and mud behind you. I'm just interested in keeping the water and mud off my back. Besides the water jet behind you keeps people off your rear when it's wet.

 

[JSP]

Here is where the hugger on my R6 ends...

I get mud and crap all over the tail light and underside... It basically only stays clean from where the hugger ends and back. So where the hugger ends, draw a line straight up. Anything behind that will get crapped on. Anything in front of it towards the front of the bike stays dry. So its just enough to keep any thing off of me.