Near free, just takes some time. I polished them to a mirror finish, then didn't like the "Chrome" look on a sport bike so I sanded the smooth down a bit and painted them with Duplicolor graphite metalic paint, same as other things I have painted on my bike...

Step 1

Take Off, Remove grab bar (Duh)

Step 2

Cut, Get your sawzall out, put your grab bar in a vice and start cutting, I used a fine tooth blade... Easier than you think. I cut just the thick part, leaving about half of the "cover plate" untouched.

Step 3

Grind, Take the plate to the bench grinder, smooth the cut and blend as nice as you can, I spent about 15 minutes a piece on this step.

Step 4

Sand, Take some sand paper and sand the top, I used 220 grit wet/dry paper. This will get you ready for paint. If using a regular paint that doesn't have superior adhesion quality, use a nice self etching primer first.

Step 5

Paint or polish, If you want to polish, go with a 400-600 grit paper then mothers aluminum polish. End result is like chrome. If you paintlike I ended up doing later you can get black colored allen bolts to match the dark look.

Step 6

Bolt on!

I put a LED in the middle to compliment my DIY peg bracket LED's. It blinks along with them, good for side visibilty only, cant see them too well from the rear. I figured at least have a function of the plate when you are don. I also cut about 1/16th of an inch off the bottom mount where it sits on the rear frame, this allows the plates to sit lower and eliminate the foam pieces in between. Just cut a little, grind a little till the gap is almost gone, I like to leave a little so it doesn't touch and rub.

PICS CAN BE FOUND HERE https://cbrforum.com/m_447362/tm.htm

 

I made the other side today......

Here are pics throught the process...

As you see here.. cutting doesn't need to be pretty...

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A trip to the bench grinder to shape...



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Total time at grinder was under 10 minutes, easier than it looks.

You can see here where I cut the base down a bit to eliminate the foam strip under the handle, and lets it all sit more flush and streamline.

[IMG]local://upfiles/20287/72715F0B6CCB40FAB4C8479B4DD2AB74.jpg[/IMG]

 

I made a little jig to hold it in place whle I wet sand with 220... you could probably start with more aggresive than 220 and work your way up but 220 was all I had.

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There were still litght scratches you would want to get out if you are going to polish to chrome like finish, but I am using the paint shown here which is textured and thick.... gives a semi flat finish, looks similar to the texture of the seat.

The picture close up painted on the 2x4 jig was just a minute after spraying, it dries dull... looks shiney in pic.

And the end result from the other side... Black allen bolts finish the look for me.

LED is optional, I had a couple left over and it matched my LED peg brackets so I threw one in. I think it makes the plates look like they are there for a purpose this way.



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Total time per side is about 2 hours, could be done in an hour.

BTW I love this paint, I have done a few other things on my bike with it, very durable and forgiving.

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looks great! I would def do this if I had a bananna seat!!!