XSR900 Rear Fender Styling
The XSR900 is a designer neo-retro bike in which a lot is done stylishly and consistently, but not the «shovel» rear fender with a plastic brake light from the Yamaha Bolt. Restyling this part is the first thing that comes to mind for custom builders, but truly great solutions haven't appeared online yet. In Russia the task is made harder by the very large license plate. Below is a brief look at the configuration options and a detailed installation video.
Under the subframe
An extreme mounting of the plate under the subframe with the «shovel» fully removed will cause problems with the police, even if all the indicators are provided. Plus it's 100% streetfighter style.
Under the seat
The option of fitting a compact brake light and plate holder under the seat is the lightest and simplest (there are ready-made kits, including in our shop), but it doesn't match the neo-retro style. Such a minimalist tail can look quite good on, for example, a cafe racer. The turn signals are placed on the holder in this case.
Under the fender with the original brake light
Placing a compact holder under the fender while keeping the original brake light is the most affordable option with minimal personalization. It leaves the original brake light, which is exactly what you most want to replace. The turn signals are placed on the holder or on the side of the fender.
Swingarm mount
The most unusual, expensive and unstylish solution. It looks bulky with a Russian license plate. On the other hand, there are ready-made kits, so it's easy to do.
Under the fender with a non-original brake light
We decided to make an option (we haven't seen similar solutions online) with a stylish German ABM brake light, which is more compact than the original, made of aluminum and has a much more suitable silhouette. The main problem is adapting the original fender. You can make an adapter insert for the standard hole or weld up the hole and repaint the fender: the options are comparable in price and difficulty. We chose the second as the most finished.
For the holder we chose our standard one for a Russian license plate with turn signal mounts and plate illumination. It's important for us to keep all the indicators to avoid problems with the police.
The holder can be mounted via a steel bracket or directly to the fender. A bracket makes sense if the fender isn't modified. It was easier for us to weld stiffening ribs and mounts onto the fender, since it had to be repainted anyway after welding up the brake light hole.
In terms of style, we like our solution best of all, but it's complicated and expensive to implement: you need to buy a brake light, plate holder, a pair of turn signals and illumination, and reweld and paint the fender. You can buy the parts and have the fender modified at our shop!