Killed a hamicad tail tidy kit!

Hey all new here and need some help...

Bought an 07 naked lat summer and couldn't stand the snow plow stickin out of the back so I bought the hamicad tail tidy. Now for some reason it was tough to install, i had to cut off some of the ribs on the plastic splash guard on the underside of the wheel well and man was it ever tough trying to screw the tidy in by going around the sides of the splash guard. I followed the instructions as best i could but either the 07 bike is different from previous years or I am a missing something. In either case I got it installed at the end of last summer and didnt ride much till now.

The other day im approaching a lovely pothole filled road (all too common here in montreal) and I hear a clunk. I stop the bike and find out there wasnt enough clearance between the tidy and my wheel and it just bent everything forward including my poor plate. Now Im not too happy about this, I dont think they give refunds and I certainly cant put the same thing back on there. I did have the bike lowered about an inch but that shouldnt really mean anything because the same would have happened with a passenger no? Whats the highest resting tidy kit there is? Im thinking of the evotech one now...any opinions?

TBH I can't see how the Hamicad could ever get hit by the tire, short of the rear shock falling off. Even if lowered. As it sits just below the tail light it actually should have more clearance than the stock fender.
Mine is on an 05 but as far as I can see there is no difference on the subframe and tail section between 04-07, and it does not appear that the 08 is any different either looking at the Suzuki web site.

Evotech may give you another inch, as I don't think they have the drop down corners that mimic the ones on the shovel. I like those corners as they make it easier to route the wires and also cover the gaps better.

Post a picture if you can, maybe someone can see what happened. It should look like this:

Alright i took everything apart for inspection but I held the plate in its exact resting spot as it was after installation for the pictures. sorry for the crummy pics

ok so heres what I had to deal with upon installation...can someone tell me how you're supposed to screw the plate on then push the plastic spash guard up over it? Its physically impossible and as such I had to fit the plastic on the plate then screw it in making it hard to reach the screws.


here it is held in the installed position, you can see the clearance looks fishy but obviously not enough to get me worried when I first installed it....maybe my suspensions too soft?




I bent the plate back to its original position but its still a little deformed

Hard saying with the plastics off, but yours looks the same as mine, but seems to be a little closer to the front of the bike.. Did the license plate light butt right up against the taillights when installed? And all the gaps covered?

I'm a pretty heavy guy, around 210lbs (sorry, 95kg) in gear. I have the stock shock still on with the preload set three up, and I also live where there are a lot of potholes and in fact live down a gravel road that sees little maintainance, so I use the suspension pretty hard; I don't think I have come close to hitting the license plate.

You have the small plates in Quebeque as well, no?

Just an idea, try putting a little bit more angle on the plate while you are straightning it up, so that if the tire does happen to hit it it will just push it up without catching it.

My number plate rubs on my tyre when i use the bike on bumpy roads with a pillion and I have a Hamicad Tail tidy. But I cant see it ripping the tidy off. I suppose it could eventually wear through my number plate though.

I fitted the Hamicad a couple of weeks ago on a K5 and it was a bit tricky to fit some screws back in but all went ok and have had no problems since. The instruction were very clear.

it didnt rip off, it just bent very far forward. Im pretty sure the wheel caught the hamicad piece and not just the license plate. I tried straightening out the kit when it happened and even thought i had pulled it more then it used to be but a few bumps later it got squashed forward again. It does seem a bit strange how im the only person with this problem...My suspension hasnt been played with aside from the lowering kit but I would think someone who weighs over 200 pounds would lower it that much anyway so somethings not making sense...grrrr

I fitted a hamicad tail tidy to my K7 the other week, It was hard work trying to get past the splash guard, but after a bit of struggling it was done.

Now there is a decent gap between the number plate and tyre, but if i was to have a person of the same weight as me on the back 110kg, I reckon the plate will scrape on the tyre

i have had the exact same thing happen with the custom tidy. You do need to be very carful with the angle and position of the plate or it will catch the rear tyre

mine caught today...just ripped the number plate off, tail tidy still in place. However, I am in the land of large number plates! Any idea on what would be good for me? Guess I should be in the market for a new tail tidy/undertray!

Cheers.

Tom