New improved
instructions!!!!
The instructions that come with the undertray are shite. These instructions are based on 6 hours of hard work and annoyance. Some of this I actually did and some of it is based on what I would have done, had I the benefit of the knowledge that I have now. It is also based on a 2000 model UK spec 929. If the model you have is different check to make sure that these instruction tie up with your bike. Specs can be different so if you arse the job up…don’t blame me.
You can do the job on your own, I did. However, if you have someone that can help you, use ‘em as you may not need to strip the bike down quite as much as you will on your own and it’ll probably take you half the time
Take your time. You will have to cut the stock rear fender/mudguard. Think before you cut. Remember, measure twice, cut once. Always check what you are cutting and make sure that it all lines up. TAKE YOUR TIME.
Preparation
Read through these instructions. Have a bud (only one though!!) or a coffee then read ‘em again. Make sure that you know each step that you are going to go through before you start and what the next steps are so you are thinking ahead.
Useful tools…beg, borrow or steal ‘em!! You will need allen keys, spanners, Philips head screwdrivers, long nose pliers, a hacksaw or electric jig saw, a file or dremmel/mutli function hand tool with cutting blades and a router bit if you have one (useful for shaving and making neat edges), chalk, thread lock, cable ties or safety wire, masking tape, some scrap wood and a drill. You may need bullet connectors and a crimping tool if you are replacing the indicators and your new ones don’t have the same connector type as stock.
Remove the pillion seat or seat cowl if you have one fitted. The seat bolts to a hinge and is held on by two nuts on studs set into the underside of the seat. Remove the seat and replace the nuts on the stud so you don’t loose them. The chicken strap also secures on these studs and you will need to remove to take the seat off the hinge. Take out any crap you are storing there, spare condoms, old chicken sandwiches, oh and the tool kit!
Disconnect the lights. There are two connector blocks for the tail and stop light and two for the left and right indicators respectively. Remove the indicators. First locate the wires and feed then through the hole in the fender and out into the open. The nut that holds the indicators is accessed underneath the fender and not through the top of the seat plastics. There is enough room to get your fingers into the gap once you have loosened the nut so that you can undo. Once the nut is off the screwed shaft, pull the indicator away and drag the wires out through the mounting hole. Place your hand underneath to catch the nut. Replace the nut on the original indicator so you don’t lose it.
Remove the seat plastics. The plastics are held on by 8 screws and bolts. Undo the 2 Phillips head screws on the top of the seat plastics near the tail light. Look underneath the fender near the pillion footrest hangers and there are two plastic pop fasteners, also Philips head. Undo and pull the plastic fittings out. Undo the allen head bolts on the bungee mount points. These are located on the seat plastics just forward of the pillion seat. Undo the bolts and remove the mounts. Finally, lift the seat pad edges and you will see two allen head bolts, one on either side. Undo these and remove the seat pad. You can now remove the plastics. Gently stretch the narrow end of the plastics by the seat and move the unit backwards. You need to push the seat hinge down (this is where a mate comes in handy) to be able to remove the tail unit from the bike. The unit is whole and the lights stay with the plastics. Put it somewhere safe where you are not going to stand on it, kick it or scratch it.
Finally remove the licence plate.
At this point I cut the flap off the fender but you can do it later. A dremmel with a cutting blade is the easiest and I sliced through just below the seat lock mounting point.
You then need to remove the seat lock. The lock is retained by a spring clip that you just pull up and out on. Use some long nosed pliers if you have them or a screw driver to lever it up. If you use a screwdiver then hold a cloth over the top as you lever up. You need this retaining clip and if it springs out the cloth will stop the clip disappearing and then a 20 minute search on the drive….trust me. Once the clip is removed disengage the lock arm from the seat catch and pull the lock out through the back of the bike. Keep the lock and retaining clip safe. These will be relocated UNDERNEATH the bike in the undertray. Make sure that you retain the dust seal as well (black rubber ring that seats around the lock. It should come away with the lock.
Remove the battery. Take a note of the way the connections are made to the various electrical boxes mounted in the fender. You are going to need to remove the fender entirely from the bike so you do need to disconnect all the electrics. Take a note of the routing and which wires sit where as there is not a lot of room here. Taking the time to do this will save you struggling to relocate everything and seat it properly when you build it all back up again. Disconnect the electrics that are seated in the fender. The loom runs alongside the subframe and fender to carry power to the indicators and tail lights and it runs down the right hand side of the bike. Pull this though so that it is clear of the bike. Note that there is a frame mounting point for the loom on the right hand side of the subframe. It is just a push fit stud but remember to disengage or you will put too much pressure on the loom when you pull through. Don’t forget to disconnect the electrics on the left hand side of the bike. Don’t know what it is (too cheap to buy Honda Manual) but there is a “heat sink” covered unit on the subframe. You don’t need to remove it, just disconnect and pull the loom through the frame.
The fender is mounted to the subframe by two bolts near the tail. Undo and keep safe. Undo the tank mounting bolts. There are three by the seat and two by the headstock. Either remove the tank if you are on your own or have your mate lift the tank up. If you are with a mate who can lift the tank then don’t just undo the bolts by the seat end of the tank. You will put strain on the mounting by the headstock as well as running the risk of marking the frame. Lift the head stock end first and push a cloth under the tank to protect paintwork and the frame. Pull the loom clear to give you space to work. Now you need to remove the fender. It is wedged in over a cross member of the subframe so you need to lift the front end first and pull down and back to exit just above the back wheel. It’s tricky but not too difficult.
You are now ready to cut. Fetch the undertray but leave the protective film on that it is shipped with. You will use the tray as a pattern so no need to run the risk of scratching it at this stage. The dremmel and jigsaw come into their own now. Whatever you do you need to retain the mounting points for the original fender so mark these so you don’t forget and hacksaw them off by mistake.
Cut off the indicator mounting points to square off the tail. Use a jig saw to make a neat cut. Place the fender on a bench, wheel side up. Mark a line with a china graph pencil or some chalk just forward (towards the shock end) of the bungee mount points. There is a ridge that runs across the fender that needs to go to allow it to seat properly. I did look to see if this could be retained and holes cut in the tray to allow the bungee points to be kept but you can’t do it. Drill a pilot hole on one side and then use a jigsaw to cut across the fender.
Next turn the fender so that the licence plate end is facing you, shock end away from you. Mark a line a few mm from the outside edge of the fender back towards the cut that you have just made. Repeat on the other side. Drill a pilot hole on each side and make a cut back towards the shock end of the fender.
Turn the fender onto its side. Mark a line just aft of the subframe mounting point and make a cut from the top to the bottom of the fender. Go slow and break through to the cuts already made. Repeat on the other side. The tail end of the fender should now come away.
Turn the fender over so that it is wheel side up again and lay the undertray on the fender. It should line up on the mounting points that are drilled though the undertray and the fender. This is where the seat plastics mount through.. The fitting kit comes with some plastics nuts and bolts so fix the undertray to the fender with these do not tighten right up at this stage and remove some of the film from around the bolts. This is not enough to hold the undertray and I would recommend more mounting points.
Place some masking tape over the end of the tray on the shock end. Use a drill, appropriate to the size of bolt, to drill though the under tray and fender. The masking tape is to stop the bits slipping and gouging the tray. I positioned my bolts so that they were just after the battery box and forward of the toolkit securing strap. Remove the film around these holes and bolt up the undertray.
Put a cloth on the bench to protect the tray and turn the fender over. There are two holes on either side that were not used as original mounting points. These fit into the bulges moulded into the tray. Place some woo under these bulges and drill though the original holes into the fender and the wood. The wood prevents the hole from being ragged on the fender side. Repeat on the other side. Remove the film around these holes and bolt up. Remove the original two bolts that you used to hold the tray to the fender. These points will be sued to bolt the seat plastics though and the original plastic fixing can still be used.
OK. Time to stick the fender back in. Place the fender on the back wheel slide the shock end up and over the cross member of the subframe and push the fender into position. Take the two mounting bolts and fix the fender into the subframe. You can now remove the plastic film from the tray and tighten up all the bolts. A drop of thread lock is probably not a bad idea.
The next fun part is to mount the seat lock. Offer up the lock into the hole. There should be a detent drilled in the larger hole for the lug on the lock to locate into. It is a bit weak but the best you have. The spring clip is then mounted over the lock (there are groves cut into the lock body for the prongs to locate on. The best way is to place the clip so that the tab on the spring clip is downwards, i.e. pushing into the undertray and mounted front to back. Stand with the licence end of undertray towards you and push the clip on so that the prongs are pointing at you. If you have a lock wire kit then use it or use some cable ties over the lock arm and attach to the subframe. The fixing is pretty solid but you don’t want the clip to go and nothing else prevent the lock from dropping though.
You now need to mount your licence plate and indicators. The choices here are up to you. Flush mount indicators on the seat plastics or mini indicators mounted onto the tray. Forget the stock indicators, they are too big and heavy. I went for the minis but make sure you get long stalks (40mm plus or they will not clear the seat plastics). Line up the bolt end of the indicator as close to a flat part of the “wedge” moulded into the undertray. The moulding is odd shaped with different angles and you need to make sure that the holes and mountings are far enough forward that the indicators will sit square but not so far forward (towards the shock) that the stalk fowls on the seat plastics. Place some masking tape over the tray, mark the point and drill through. Mount the indicators. Drill and mount the licence plate. I put a 7 x 5 plate on and it looks nice, big enough not to get pulled (by the filth rather than a bird) and small enough not to spoil the lines. If the connectors on the indicators are different from those on the original loom then change them now whilst you have the space to work. Don’t wait till the seat plastics are on as the slack cable that you have is pretty short and fitting a crimping tool in is a nightmare! Top tip. If you are going to trip the bike for track days make sure that the connectors you use are small enough to pass through the nut on the indicator stalk or you’ll have to cut and replace in order to remove the indicators. (Personal and dumb experience)
Put it all back together. Start by making sure you route the wiring loom correctly. Refer to your earlier notes. Put back the electrics and make sure the connections are tight and that the protective coverings are pulled down over the plugs. Make sure all the mounting points are secure and that the loom is secured into place with all the correct fasteners. Pop the battery in, reconnect and strap it down. Replace or reseat the tank and bolt it up. Start the bike. This is just to check that everything is connected right before you put everything else back on. You’ll need to reset your clock and the trip odometers will all be back to zero.
Offer up the seat plastics. Come over the tail of the bike and gently stretch to pass over the hinge and upper bungee mounting points. The seat plastics need to be pulled apart so that they seat OVER the undertray. It’s tight but you can work them from side to side to get the space you need. Replace the plastic fixing and tighten. Replace the Philips head screws (but leave slack) in the tail section and connect the tail lights and indicators. Refit the bungee mounting points and the seat . Make sure everything is lined up and then tighten up the bolts and screws.
Refit the seat. Now when you close the seat you may need to “work” the lock around a little to line up with the seat catch. It isn’t ideal but it works.
Now stand back and admire the way that it looks like the tail end of your bike has been lifted about six inches.
Other products I would recommend are a Pyramid plastics hugger (same style as the R1 hugger) and a Powerbronze seat cowl.
Have fun!!!!!!!