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So I dont like any of the tail tidy's on the market for our bike. They all make you drill multiple holes for cable management or somehow try and hide them further down the tail and I didnt want to do that. This was my solution using my old pinch bolt and the appropriately sized sleeve. I'm ecstatic and I thought I would share! Besides who wouldn't want to get rid of that massively heavy rear plate holder?
1st step was to drill a pilot hole with about as small a drill bit that you can find. Drill it in the center of the square. Also very important to drill the hole so that it follows the shape of the tail section. When your looking down the top of the drill (like through the site of a gun) it should be in line with the edge rear tire. Shoot for that and it will be perfectly in line and will allow the head of the pinch bolt and the sleeve to sit flush.
2nd grind down the square to be flush with the metal around it. This insures the whole assembly sits flush and allows for more clearence for the tail light.
3rd drill out your hole completely to be the exact same size as the outer diameter of the pinch bolt.
4th grind down the head of the pinch bolt completely or at an angle. If you grind it down completely it's hard to grab it or put an allen in the hole to tighten it. Also you want some meat on the head of the bolt so it doesn't break.
5th push a wire sleeve through the pinch bolt then run your wires (22-24 guage only!)
6th figure out your cable management options. You can put a Deutsch plug on and pin every wire like I did or find a different solution that works for you. You could solder or use butt connectors. It's up to you. I chose a plug because its cleaner and water tight.
All dark Blue wires are ground. It does not matter what ground you choose to attach to its corresponding positive signal wire.
7th pick your favorite plate holder and figure out where your going to put the turn signals. I had a R&G tail tidy bracket that I just turned upside down. Then I drilled 3/4in holes in my plate for the signals. Maybe this is illegal in your area of the world I dont know but for me it's fine. I wanted the least amount of things sticking out to help with removal and installing the panniers.
8th Find two nuts and the right length sleeve to hold it all together. I didnt go out and buy anything and you could make it allot lighter and cleaner if you went with TI or Alluminum everything.
9th paint black! And hide the wires on the back side of your plate as best you can using zip ties or wherever you think looks best.
10th get some shorter titanium pinch bolts, they look better and make it so you dont have to run spacers.
I tell you what, there is so much room! I dont even come close to hitting the plate. I'm very happy. Maybe someone else would like to do the same so that's why I went more in depth. It took about 2 weeks to get it to the place where it is with just things I had lying around my garage. You can pick and choose how you accomplish the same result if you like how clean it looks.
Good luck!
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1st step was to drill a pilot hole with about as small a drill bit that you can find. Drill it in the center of the square. Also very important to drill the hole so that it follows the shape of the tail section. When your looking down the top of the drill (like through the site of a gun) it should be in line with the edge rear tire. Shoot for that and it will be perfectly in line and will allow the head of the pinch bolt and the sleeve to sit flush.
2nd grind down the square to be flush with the metal around it. This insures the whole assembly sits flush and allows for more clearence for the tail light.
3rd drill out your hole completely to be the exact same size as the outer diameter of the pinch bolt.
4th grind down the head of the pinch bolt completely or at an angle. If you grind it down completely it's hard to grab it or put an allen in the hole to tighten it. Also you want some meat on the head of the bolt so it doesn't break.
5th push a wire sleeve through the pinch bolt then run your wires (22-24 guage only!)
6th figure out your cable management options. You can put a Deutsch plug on and pin every wire like I did or find a different solution that works for you. You could solder or use butt connectors. It's up to you. I chose a plug because its cleaner and water tight.
- Red with black stripe is right signal
- Sky blue is left signal
- Brown with black stripe is for the licence plate light
All dark Blue wires are ground. It does not matter what ground you choose to attach to its corresponding positive signal wire.
7th pick your favorite plate holder and figure out where your going to put the turn signals. I had a R&G tail tidy bracket that I just turned upside down. Then I drilled 3/4in holes in my plate for the signals. Maybe this is illegal in your area of the world I dont know but for me it's fine. I wanted the least amount of things sticking out to help with removal and installing the panniers.
8th Find two nuts and the right length sleeve to hold it all together. I didnt go out and buy anything and you could make it allot lighter and cleaner if you went with TI or Alluminum everything.
9th paint black! And hide the wires on the back side of your plate as best you can using zip ties or wherever you think looks best.
10th get some shorter titanium pinch bolts, they look better and make it so you dont have to run spacers.
I tell you what, there is so much room! I dont even come close to hitting the plate. I'm very happy. Maybe someone else would like to do the same so that's why I went more in depth. It took about 2 weeks to get it to the place where it is with just things I had lying around my garage. You can pick and choose how you accomplish the same result if you like how clean it looks.
Good luck!
