Tiger Tail with Trunk Space and Water Protection

[crawler]

As everybody knows if you want to lower your Gen 2 Hayabusa as low as possible, then you will need to install a different undertail.

I went with a Tiger Tail from Tiger Racing to get the maximum amount of space available.

That being said, a tiger tail also eliminates all of the trunk space. I don't mean it limits trunk space or restricts it. It ELIMINATES ALL of it.

Another issue is that the tiger tail is a race oriented piece and therefore does not provide water protection.

Please do not take these as faults. This is a no holds barred race piece intended to provide maximum clearance fot the rear tire. Also because it is formed from a flat piece of metal rather than molded plastic it is quite thin and provides additional room under the front seat in the battery and ECU area.

If you are running an extended wheelbase, you cannot possibly use all of the extra space provided by the Tiger Tail. Your rear tire will be behind the higest point of the undertail (the trunk area).

I modified the tail slightly and did not follow the designed install.

(The install instructions are listed on Tiger Racings website. If you are using the stock unmodified Tiger Tail.)

The difference i the regular install and mine are basic. But with such a well designed and tight fitting fiece; if you move one thing and change a measurement, you will be making modifications to achieve a decent fit.

The basic difference with my install is that the entire Tiger Tail is unstalled under the factory subframe rather than over it. This gives a little over an inch of trunk at the rear of the bike and about two inches towards the front of the bike. I know that this doesn't sound like much, but a little room for tool, cell phone chargers, etc... is quite nice versus none.

I have uploaded pics but am having issues with my computer at this time, I will get them sorted and in this thread as soon as possible. I will also list the minor mods and trimming required to get a good fit.

The end result is a Tiger Tail with all the usuable tire clearance I need and a Trunk for my basic needs. Infact I even made sure the trunk would stay dry. Those pics will be included as well.

~Wes~

 

[crawler]

Remove the stock undertail from the bike following the instructions provided via Tiger Racing. Once removed, place the Tiger Tail UNDER the subframe.

The front of the tiger tail is secured by the same hardware that secured the factory tail. I highly recommend placing washers on the stock bolts to prevent a possible "pull through" down the road.

The tail will seem to fit perfectly until you get to the rear. The tail was intended to go over the subfame instead of under and therefore the rear bends and clearances will be off. The following pic shows the excess material that is left.

 

[crawler]

The excess metal will need to be bent upward and formed to the rear subframe. This can be accomplished with anything from pliers to a metal brake if you just happen to have one lying around. In my install I took an extra few steps to give me a water resistant trunk. So I left my material unmodified until I finished the next step.

This pic shows the view from the top of the subframe with the Tiger Tail in place

 

[crawler]

My next step was to add a sheet of rubber between the tiger tail and the subframe creating a water resistant barrier. You may use anything that you can find. I used “Shower Pan” material. It can be found at Home Depot in a five foot wide roll and sold by the foot. I needed about and eighteen inch by eighteen inch piece for what I did. I notched the piece to clear the vertical parts of the subframe. The sides were then folded over the top of the subframe and pinched by the bodywork to hold in place.

Here is the naked shot prior to putting on the bodywork.

 

[crawler]

As thin as the rubber was it still changed the clearances. So the rear of the tiger had to be “formed” a bit to get it to fit. Unfortunately I was tight on time and did it in a quick fashion. A few marks show from the tool I was using, its all covered by bodywork and is not visible from the underside. If you compare this pic to the earlier pic you will see where the metal was bent upward du to the tail having been pushed further down by the spacing of the rubber. Also there is now some more tail extending beyond the subframe. This was formed to the subframe and had two new holes marked and drilled to accommodate the mounting hardware. The remaining lip was not trimmed. I formed it to be parallel to the ground and serves to protect the bottom of the taillight slightly.

 

[crawler]

This is the view the rear tire has of the tiger taill and the rubber barrier.

 

[crawler]

The rubber is smoother than the pic illustrates. The shadows make the rubber look sloppy, it is quite well formed actually. I had previously had two weatherproof power points wired in the truck. They were mounted below the rearmost subframe crossmember (where the trunk latch is bolted). However there is obviously no space below that mount at this time. Actually with the tiger tail installed and mounted below the subframe, there is now more room to mount the plugs where I originally wanted them.

This is the final view with bodywork in place. Plugs located in center on top of front crossmember.

 

[macon454]

Looks good,

 

[crawler]

Thanks Macon

 

[2fast4u2c]

I love what you did and thanks for posting this info for others who might want to do what you did. I also make a trunk glove box for the 02 that works great and gives you a bunch more storage.

Tiger Racing

Guy

 

[crawler]

I love what you did and thanks for posting this info for others who might want to do what you did. I also make a trunk glove box for the 02 that works great and gives you a bunch more storage.

Tiger Racing

Guy

I've got the glove box too, It shipped with my tail I have really enjoyed the glovebox and it's ease of use.

As an update.

The added space in the underseat area allowed me to put my battery, my air compressor(still in its plasic case), and my ecu all there. So I have the entire passenger seat trunk and the hump for storage.

With the stock plastic piece there is only room for the battery and the ECU.

Thanks for suck a great piece Guy.

~Wes~

 

[BIG GUY]

You went into great detail and thanks for sharing the pics. They will help someone out greatly.