[YamahaR3]

Installation didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but it did not go horribly wrong either. It's really not that difficult, but there are a few steps that weren't as easy as the video showed. The guy in the video has done it a 100 times, the average joe buying one of these has NEVER done it.

The problem started when I took the seat off. In the video his bike has wires neatly right there on top, ready to be manipulated. Mine were buried in the side of the bike with a big black thick wrapped wire going across the top of the whole mess coming from a second smaller fuse stuck on a post that had to be removed. There is no mention of that fuse in the video. That fuse fought me to come off that post but eventually I got it off. I also was not able to wrap the wires back as neatly as this guy did because of that 2nd fuse I had to take off thus it screwed up the length of my wires so I just basically folded everything into a glob of wires and tried to put that plastic thing back on. That didn't go well as its not designed to go around the now much thicker glob of wires that you're trying to shove into it. I finally got it somewhat ok and shoved it back on the side of the bike where it came from.

Fast forward. Taking that rear fender apart was a bit*h. Those screws were so tight I could hardly break them loose. The phillips were the worst as they tried to strip immediately. He made one mention in the video, "These might be a little tight." Oh, buddy, believe me, there was no "might be a little tight" about it. Those things were rammed on with an impact wrench.

Making that "washer stack" line up right took a whole lot longer in real life than it did in the video. At least for me.

That being said, it was well worth it. I can't believe Yamaha actually put that fender on their bike, what were they thinking?

 

[Ravaloft]

Sounds similar to my install. Some of my bolts were so tight I had to give them a shot of WD40.

Overall it went well though.

 

[warlok9]

Really? The screws were easy for me, and the bolts were tight, but they came loose with no stripping or anything. I have a nice socket/driver set I used. Maybe that helped.

I imagine if you use just the bike toolkit the install is possible but difficult.

The wiring was a bit different than the video for me, but no more difficult.

 

[FangShui]

Really? The screws were easy for me, and the bolts were tight, but they came loose with no stripping or anything. I have a nice socket/driver set I used. Maybe that helped.

I imagine if you use just the bike toolkit the install is possible but difficult.

The wiring was a bit different than the video for me, but no more difficult.

My experience was the same as yours; wires routed a bit differently but everything disassembled easily and the whole thing took about 40 minutes for me.

Probably comes down to which guy on the assembly line did that part of the build. Other posts have mentioned bolts and screws that were really hard to get out without stripping but on my bike all those same ones came out easily.

 

[VagabondMS]

Thanks for the feedback and sorry you had a hard time installing the fender eliminator. It does sound as if your bike may have been set up a little differently, @YamahaR3. But we're happy that at the end you still believe all the hard work was worth it! I'm glad that this has not been the experience for the majority of our customers. However, we do apologize that it was challenging for you! You're right, our engineer took the rear fender apart and put it back together probably about 10 times by the time he made the video! Thank you again for your business and feedback. It is always appreciated.

 

[Contrails]

Probably comes down to which guy on the assembly line did that part of the build

No no no. They are built by Gundams, which explains EVERYTHING.

 

[Ravaloft]

I'm super impressedithat iIsee the vendor vagabond responding in these posts

 

[FangShui]

I'm super impressedithat iIsee the vendor vagabond responding in these posts

Likewise from me!

It's refreshing to see a company that actually cares.

Great products, quick responses to customers questions and comments, FREE and FAST shipping, detailed install videos.

This is how all Customer Service should be........Good on Ya, Vagabond!

 

[RobertNL]

The stock one looks like a treebranch, agreed. For me all the stock screws get the thumbs up, Yamaha did a great job constructing this vehicle. You may bless Vagebond that all their products functionated well.... other companies uhh, let's forget that If all the wires won't fit, just use them magic tie wraps

 

[zdaman]

Didn't have any issues at all. I took my time and routed the wires pretty much like oem but I will admit I have ocd.

 

[FangShui]

Didn't have any issues at all. I took my time and routed the wires pretty much like oem but I will admit I have ocd.

Well, all I can say is, if the guys who were building the bikes had OCD we wouldn't be seeing such a variety of wiring patterns under the seats....

 

[YamahaR3]

Yes mine looked vastly different than the video starting after the first little plastic clip right by the "storage compartment" that holds all 3 wires. After that, it was all different with all 3 connections buried deep inside the bike.

 

[Lollingthunder]

This was the second bike that I have been working on. Everything went smoothly. Trust me TC, the next time around, you'll know your ****.

As far as the fender screws goes, you have to press the screwdriver forward hard (toward and into the screw) while you turn the screw. It sounds counter-intuitive but that's one way to not strip the screw head. Another way is don't use a phillips and use a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard). In fact, ditch those phillips and just buy yourself a JIS screwdriver for future use.

And I assume that the fender is some kind of law requirement which is why you will see them even on italian motorcycles sold from the dealership.

 

[RobertNL]

Yep, it has all to do with international laws. If Yamaha had the possibility to build what they want for the road they would've never come up with this backside beast. The wiring in the bike is effected by the production country. As i've got the European model, my wiring was completely different. This regarding the locations of the wires, the colours of the wires and the connections.

One other thing we may not forget is that there is a whole market for brands that produce the aftermarket parts. As long as Yamaha produces the (bulky) rear fenders the aftermarket gains their part. Because they don't have to follow the strict laws

 

[Bisz]

I had no issue with any of the screws, but like warlok9, I have a nice set of tools.

My wiring was routed differently than what the video shows, but that was neither a surprise nor a problem. The video makes it clear what plugs into what, and if anything got in the way I was able to work around it on the fly; maybe it's the engineer in me but I was able to go from A to C without B being spelled out.

Overall the Vagabond Fender Eliminator is a fantastic product witch which I couldn't be happier with.

 

[YamahaR3]

I have a nice set of tools too, and no they were not JIS standard, they were phillips. They were just TIGHT.

And I made it from A to C without B even being mentioned, but it took longer. I'm used to working on planes with just text as the instructions, any illustrations were made in the 60's, and I managed.

I didn't say the video was useless, I just said it wasn't exactly the same. Others have told me the same things. But when working on airplanes, you have all the manuals you need. With this, ALL I had was a video. I had no guidance on having to "shoot from the hip" on parts of the installation.

If I was to install one for someone, I could do it in 1/4 the time now that I've done it once.

 

[SunGawd]

Installed my Vagabond FE today...Hotttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[YamahaR3]

Isn't it nice? And I'm pretty sure there is a significant weight loss too.