nemecham
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Registered: Sept 10, 2018 13:34:43 GMT -7
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Post by nemecham on Nov 16, 2018 16:09:13 GMT -7
There have been a few times where I have had to commute to and from work with wet pavement. Wet-weather commuting has never been a big deal for me. I actually find it enjoyable to a certain extent when I am wearing the right gear. I found that the FZ seems to kick up a lot of water in a couple places when the pavement is wet. My previous bike didn't have this issue at all. My commute isn't horrible - about 15 miles and 30-45 minutes (Seattle) depending on traffic and the route that I take. The other day I took off for work and it wasn't raining, but the ground was a little wet from the night before. By the time I got to work, the back of my heels were soaked. I took a look at the bike when I reached my destination and finally noticed the cutouts in the side of the rear hugger. Why?!? It's annoying, but it can be fixed. The other part is that the FZ seems to rooster tail like crazy since installing the fender eliminator. Yes... I know that is the point of having the stock fender, but I couldn't stand the looks of it. Now, the ground water gets kicked up onto the top of the back seat which eventually runs down to where I am sitting and soaks back of my pants.  To get this out of the way now, I know that the rooster-tailing is a self-inflicted problem caused by the removal the stock fender and my feet wouldn't get so wet if I wore some boots instead. At this time, I am just looking at possible modifications to the bike to resolve this issue. Regarding the cutouts in the rear hugger - the best option I have seen so far is the Ermax hugger, which eliminates that gap completely. It is currently on ebay for $119 which isn't too bad. I may go that route unless one of you has a better mod to address that issue.  I am at a little bit of a loss when it comes to the rooster-tailing problem. I have seen the extenders for the stock hugger, but it doesn't look like they are long enough to resolve that issue. Other thoughts I had were to try a rear cowl cover on the stock seat hoping that this would level off that area which would keep the water from running forward or installing a rear luggage rack to block the water from landing on the back seat. Just recently, I saw a rear mudguard on ebay for an FZ/MT-09. Would this fit the -10 too? While I am not too crazy about the looks of the rear mudguard, I suppose I could deal with it for the rainy season and remove it when we start having nicer weather again.  What do you think? Do any of you have the same problem and what have you done to address them? Cheers  |
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Deleted
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Registered: Apr 26, 2024 10:12:56 GMT -7
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2018 11:06:12 GMT -7
Damn, what a mess; didn't know a tail tidy would do that. Ha ha. But now I know; thanks for posting about your rainy experience. I don't think the factory tail is that effective against rain, but could be wrong. As far as a rear fender, there's nothing short of attrocious that would prevent that mess IMO. You could lessen it with a solid luggage rack, for example, but I'm not interested in that either. The best solution would be a longer and wider (at the front, where you want it) hugger, but nobody makes one that I know of. Anyway, I rarely ride in the rain (at least not on purpose), but now I know what it'll entail: boots, pants, the the entire rear of the freaking bike, including my tailbag straps, that connect under the seat. Hopefully others will have an actual recommendation for you . |
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nemecham
Junior Member
Posts: 60
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Registered: Sept 10, 2018 13:34:43 GMT -7
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Post by nemecham on Nov 17, 2018 18:25:07 GMT -7
Lol, good point. I didn’t really think about placement of this thread. How can I move it to the proper section? Maybe an admin only thing? The stock rear fender does actually do a good job of keeping the water under the bike. There is a plastic piece just above where the license plate was mounted. Maybe you blocked that monstrosity from your memory just as I did.  I had to go back to an old picture to make sure, lol.  |
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Deleted
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Registered: Apr 26, 2024 10:12:56 GMT -7
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 23:20:59 GMT -7
Maybe you blocked that monstrosity from your memory just as I did. Ha ha. Indeed brother. And yes, looking at the picture, it seems like it should help more than I thought. But no way in hell I'd put it back, even with the mess without it. Hope I never catch rain. Ha ha. At least it won't be on purpose. And since this bike is not a sport-touring one, it's less likely. However, it's definitely likely it'll catch rain on my truck or a trailer, but at least it's much easier to clean without rolling. Thank you for the clarification. Hope you had a great weekend. |
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theculturalattache
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Registered: Jun 2, 2018 15:45:08 GMT -7
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Post by theculturalattache on Nov 26, 2018 18:08:49 GMT -7
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Post by evitzee on Nov 26, 2018 19:11:10 GMT -7
Not sure that will prevent much spraying, but let us know how it works.
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nemecham
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Posts: 60
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Registered: Sept 10, 2018 13:34:43 GMT -7
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Post by nemecham on Nov 26, 2018 19:25:04 GMT -7
Not sure that will prevent much spraying, but let us know how it works. Agreed that it won’t offer much protection, but at least you get an awesome looking hugger out of the deal! Waiting is the worst... |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2018 20:07:09 GMT -7
Whether it does any good we will have to wait and see. Unfortunately, like the other 2 folks said, it won't brother. The spray that gets into the pillion seat is being thrown waaay before where the hugger ends. All it'll be preventing is a little less mess under the seat, but not much less. But hey, it'll look nice . |
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nemecham
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Likes: 18
Registered: Sept 10, 2018 13:34:43 GMT -7
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Post by nemecham on Jan 8, 2019 22:13:42 GMT -7
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ghostrider1127
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Registered: Sept 11, 2016 7:06:10 GMT -7
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Post by ghostrider1127 on Jan 9, 2019 1:16:21 GMT -7
Use two big washers with it , see few losing it due cracked plastic.
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nemecham
Junior Member
Posts: 60
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Registered: Sept 10, 2018 13:34:43 GMT -7
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Post by nemecham on Oct 20, 2019 22:12:45 GMT -7
Ok, so it's been about a year since I have tried to mitigate the issues that revolve around the way the FZ handles water on the road. I still can't stand how it rooster-tails and throws water onto the back seat. With enough water thrown onto the back seat, it will eventually run towards the front seat which would soak the back of my pants. I would prefer not to show up to work with a soggy rear... My first thought was that a top case rack would do the trick. I installed the alu-rack by sw-motech, but unfortunately it didn't make a difference. Same story even with my top case installed - the water gets to the back seat through the gap above the taillight and below the top-case rack.  Still, I have been unable to find any kind of solution to make my commute a little less wet. I refuse to put the stock fender back on the bike, no matter what. Because of the lack of solutions on the market, I decided to create my own. Just a little bit of a disclaimer here - This solution is not awesome, but if this means that I can get to and from work more comfortably then I'll take it. I'm guessing the majority here will not be in favor, but maybe one or two of you will find interesting at the least. I've found recently that I have become more of a functionality over aesthetics type to an extent, anyways. My current solution was to buy a black plastic Five-Star Mead folder and cut it to fit under the license plate and make it long enough to catch any water being thrown up by the rear tire. I just finished with my first attempt tonight. My solution bolts onto the fender eliminator under the license plate and extends down towards the end of the back tire. The idea is that I can use this while commuting to stay dry(er) in the rain and can easily pull it off when the weather is nice or when I go on a ride for fun. I have yet to test this, but it's supposed to be crap-weather all week. What you think?     |
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chasx
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Registered: Jan 12, 2019 17:56:59 GMT -7
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Post by chasx on Oct 21, 2019 13:51:04 GMT -7
Instead of taping that big rectangle below the license plate, why not use the same plastic to fill in the gap between the seat and top case rack?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2019 21:41:12 GMT -7
I don't have any help, but just wanted to comment you're lucky to just get crap on the rear pillion. I rode in rain for the first time in the Hill Country, and my bike had crap EVERYWHERE, including my tailbag... as expected from your post. What I didn't expect was to find my jacket's back full of crap too. But that's not all. The back and top of my freaking helmet was full of crap too. How the hell can that happen? Geez. But I'm not putting back the stock fender either. Ha ha. I didn't have an issue with my short boots, however. Hope not to catch more rain in a while.
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pascalg
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Registered: Sept 2, 2019 4:58:09 GMT -7
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Post by pascalg on Apr 18, 2021 8:48:49 GMT -7
Hey all! I know I'm replying to an old thread, but anyhow! I have the same issue. Crap gets on the seat, my back and butt! Did the pl  astic cover work? Curious! I have seen some aftermarket covers that are low  . Havent tried any but am wondering whether they keep the crap of the bike. Anyhow, I am in Greece and we dont get a lot of bad whether, so when it rains I juts use my other bike or car! Not putting the stock fender on again in any case! |
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My first impressions exceed what I was expecting. I expected the hugger to be at least a little flimsy, but it is actually pretty solid. There is no play in the plastic when I take it in both hands and try to twist. The color (tech black) seems to match the paint on my FZ pretty, at least it seems for now. I will be able to get a better look during the day and after I clean it up a bit. One thing I did notice is that the hugger doesn't seem to offer the same level of side protection on both sides. The left hand side looks great, but the right hand side is cut shorter to make room for the brake line. I'm hoping that this doesn't impact performance as the whole reason for the upgrade is to keep my heels dry when the ground is wet. *fingers crossed*
