DIY Tail Chop + Powdercoat

[tomcat]

Got a wild hair one night and decided to mod my own tail instead of paying $150+ for an aftermarket one. Just jumped right in and starting sawing on it. I firgured if I messed up then I'd just have to bite the bullet and open the wallet a little bit. Here's my process. Enjoy!

Hacksaw - $3
Rotory Tool - $25
Sandblast/Powdercoat - $40

Edit: Pic Placement

 

[konarider94]

nice work. looks good.

 

[Fish]

Thats badass fosho! Nice job.

 

[el diablo]

who make's those turnsignals if you don't mind? And nice job.

 

[tomcat]

I'm not sure who makes the signals, I found them on ebay for like 12 bucks and they're the size of a quarter. I figured why not, if they break I'm not out a bunch of money. I think did a search for mini LED blinkers

 

[Atomicpunk]

Great work!! That looks clean. I want to get rid of my cheese grater and have been on the fence about buying a fender eliminator, or chopping my tail. You just inspired me to chop my own and save some $$$$ Thanks for the great pics.

 

[wiznut]

Did you do your own powdercoat too??

 

[tomcat]

Atomicpunk - I was in the same boat as you. I don't know much about metal fabrication or working with aluminum so I basically just said screw it, why not learn on my own by trial and error. Worst case scenario is I end up buying one like I was going to do in the first place. I'd say go for it man unless you really want to keep the stock grater for a backup down the road or something.If you do, take your time and go slow. Took me about 8 hours and 7 of those cutter wheels for the rotary tool. Its thicker than it looks, gotta get creative with your angles.

wiznut - No, there's a guy in my area that does blasting and coating for a decent price. Could have painted it myself but I figured a powdercoat would hold up way better, especially for the tail when road debris is constantly flying up at it

 

[ROJO]

Great work dude!!! Very good step by steps also.

 

[303xb]

love those turn sigs

 

[marnej]

Done a really nice, I give thumbs up , I felt pity to cut the original so I made a new laminate, link here:

null

 

[IYAOYAS]

Outfreakinstanding!! That is very motivating to see. Considering my budget I think I am gonna go that way myself.[up][up]

 

[slickrickCA]

Good work, I am headed to the garage right now!

 

[04buell12]

very cool. I hate my fuckin tale but between that and my beater truck i'm always broke. thanks for the input. a few questions:
1. what'd you use to re-bond the aluminum pieces back together?
2. whered you relocate the plate to?

 

[MJ Century]

take off the passenger pegs/brackets and it'll look even better!

and where is the lic. plate? got it lit up too?

 

[DrogeN Omen]

nice, that's what i want to do to mine.

 

[tomcat]

04buell12 - I didn't bond anything back together. I just cut, filed, and sanded it all down. Made sure I had everything smooth before getting it powdercoated. Had to drill new holes for the signals. I only used the accessories that came with the rotory tool( cutter, grinding, sanding, and polishing bits) Had to use a small hacksaw here and there but mostly just shaped the existing aluminum. You can shape it to however you want it to look, just make sure its smooth, buffed, and clean before painting.

For the liscence plate bracket, I used 2 washers off medium sized D-ring bolts( they're about 1.5 inches long with 2 holes in each) and used vice grips to bend each washer to about a 22.5 angle and mounted them under the tail using the 2 stock hex bolts that screw in from the bottom. Then I just mounted the plate to those washers that I bent.

MJ Century - I agree but I take a lot of girls for rides so gotta keep them. When I took the pics I didn't have the plate brackets made yet. As far as the plate light goes, I'm not going to install one. Cops aren't concerned about that piddly crap where I'm at anyway. If I lived in Cali it'd be a different story.

 

[Jeroen]

Plate light:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackaday/431039662/sizes/l/in/set-72157594551498549/