I just searched through like 13 pages of how-to's and I searched "undertail installation" with no luck.

Is there a full write up on how to install an undertail?

 

I've been looking through bits and pieces too, but I haven't found a complete one for my undertail.

Here's one guide I found for a different undertail, but if it's not the same type as yours then your install may be different.

http://www.hotbodiesracing.com/installdocs/46.pdf

 

Ah thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

If you installed an undertail on your bike, did you do it like those directions say to? My main concern is putting everything back together, they said to mount the tail section and THEN slide the undertail in there. True or false?

 

I mounted my undertail first, but the screws don't match up, so I zip-tied it. It's easy enough to put the tail section on over the undertail; I haven't tried, but I imagine it'd be easier than trying to stuff the undertail into the tail section.

I have a Bestem undertail, though, not a hotbodies.

 

where is the lock on the bestem? dont see it in pics on ebay. also how is brightness and fit? thanks.

 

The lock is on the shifter side, near the license plate ridge.

I'm not sure about the lights - I haven't gotten it wired up yet.

The fit is pretty bad - at least 1/2" off (total) on the sides. It fits OK under the tail section, but it doesn't look as flush as the hotbodies pictures. If it weren't $100 less than the next cheapest undertail I could find, I'd have returned it and been more aggravated.

 

I always put the undertail on dirt then pull the tail over all of it, it's a bit like juggling holding it in place though!

 

*first not dirt

 

I just put on a Bestem fiberglass undertail today. Took me 6 hours including web searches and fumbling with a dozen little aggravations along the way. The holes definitely don't line up but I managed to get 3 out of 4 lined up close enough to get the plastic clips inserted. To do so, I cut off the tabs on the stock undertray that have the holes for the plastic clips. That way I only had to line up the tail fairing holes with the new undertail instead of trying to match up all three pieces (fit is super tight so I don't have any worries about it falling apart).

The undertail didn't ship with any instructions or any direction on how to get instructions but google found me this:

http://bestemusa.com/Installation%20..._undertail.pdf

Probably one of the worst instructions I've ever encountered. It literally tells you nothing about how to install it, just a few general statements about what's involved. Only thing it really helped me with was identifying the wires which I'd already half figured out by that point.

Btw, how are you guys dealing with the license plate light if any? Doesn't look like there are any good spots to mount it without it sticking out like a sore thumb.

 

I jimmied up a bracket holder from some Home Depot scraps and mounted my license on the tab under the lights.



One screw goes through the bracket and gets tightened under the rear seat. The other attaches to the license plate.