2007 Ninja 250r Fender Mod

Now that I have had my bike awhile, and now that it’s out of it’s warranty, I am much more willing to do some modifications to it.  I am shying away from doing any mods which change the electrical system, or the strength of the bike in general though.

Today I decided to do a mod which will mostly eliminate the rear fender on this little Ninja.  There are people in both camps in regard to how they feel about that fender, however.  I wanted a slightly more modern look, as most newer sport bikes have minimal fenders, if any at all.  The stock fender is a large piece of black plastic which tends to turn gray over time anyway.  What I will give up in this mod is slightly better protection from water spraying up on me when riding in the rain.  To this date, I have not ridden in the rain, and have no intentions of doing so if I have any choice in the matter.

Making use of original plastic, not cut off in the mod

My mod required hacking up the original fender, and I don’t like to permanently destroy any part of my bike.  Because of this, I hunted around in our local motorcycle scrap yard and was fortunate enough to find a 2002 Ninja 250r which actually still had it’s original rear fender, so I snatched that up for $20 and got out the saw.

Unlike other mods of the fender for this bike which require metal brackets to hold the license plate, I left some of the plastic in place to hold the signals and license plate (see photos).  It is still plenty strong, and think it’s the better choice.

After some reading online about DOT rules, I decided against using the rear two pods (either side of the center brake light) to hold my signals.  Those pods originally held signals and had amber lenses for import into other countries.  DOT rules forced Kawasaki to move to external signals mounted to the fender.  I decided to keep brake lights in those pods instead, which makes you much more visible.  Also, I am able to aim the signal lights this way for the best appearance and visibility from the required 100 feet in daylight required by the Department of Transportation.

Close up shot with License Plate attached

The original fender I removed is tucked away in a box, just in case when I go to sell this bike the buyer does not like this new look.

TJD

This is what is left from the cut