[Let The Good Times Roll]

Made this tail tidy today.
Main points-
Number plate light had to be inconspicuous (not like the evotech one). the light is 4 LED strip from local bike shop.
Back side of number plate had to be finished off.
Reflector had to be self adhesive because I didn't want to see the mounting nuts.
It cost about $25 which is $375 cheaper than Ducati's.
Made with basic workshop tools.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

 

[Asador]

Nice work, looks very tidy

 

[TC3]

Great job, you do realize if you powder coat you will have a ready market for these assuming price is right

 

[greer]

Love to see projects like this, thank you!


Sarah

 

[techfreak]

Excellent .
Have a look at the EVOTECH engine guard, I think you can make that too.
Superb finish, keep it up.
Ride safe.

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk

 

[FatRob]

Good work.

For what it's worth, I think that sits much nicer on the bike than the Evo one.

What gauge aluminium did you use? Looks pretty heavy duty.

FatRob

 

[Let The Good Times Roll]

Thickness of Aluminium

Thanks for the comments.
Fatrob - the bit that bolts under the mudguard is 3mm thick. The little plate that hold the number plate light and the backing plate for the number plate are 1.6mm. It seems to work well because there is no vibration of the number plate.
If it looks different to the Evotech its probably because the "downward bend" starts just under the mudguard and the number plate light doesn't stick up in the air.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

 

[Karlo]

Great job, you do realize if you powder coat you will have a ready market for these assuming price is right

I agree too great job... and yeah I would pay it for it in fact

 

[silverluxe]

Where do you tap into power for the LED light? I assume there's a factory location for the Classic version, so it's easy?

I have to admit, as cool as I think the hover plate setup is from the factory, the tidy plate up at the fender may end up making more sense after I get over my initial love of the OEM stuff.

Also, I love your Thruxton. that's my favorite color combo they've had of it.

 

[jerrys]

Made this tail tidy today.
Main points-
Number plate light had to be inconspicuous (not like the evotech one). the light is 4 LED strip from local bike shop.
Back side of number plate had to be finished off.
Reflector had to be self adhesive because I didn't want to see the mounting nuts.
It cost about $25 which is $375 cheaper than Ducati's.
Made with basic workshop tools.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

I really like what you have done, and also having an Australian plate, did you put the dimensions of the template on a piece of paper to share? Then I don't have to guess too much and match it

 

[pacman]

Wow-- that tidy is better than any of the company offerings. Well done!

 

[PeteI]

Made this tail tidy today.
Main points-
Number plate light had to be inconspicuous (not like the evotech one). the light is 4 LED strip from local bike shop.
Back side of number plate had to be finished off.
Reflector had to be self adhesive because I didn't want to see the mounting nuts.
It cost about $25 which is $375 cheaper than Ducati's.
Made with basic workshop tools.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

Nice, charge $100 and start selling them! > by the way, is the reflector a legal thing you must have? I have always taken mine off. I never ride at night so I always remove them all.

 

[Let The Good Times Roll]

Answers to your questions

Firstly - thanks for the comments.
Silverluxe - the led number plate light is powered by the original wire that disconnects at the back of the swingarm when you remove the original Ducati thing/contraption. I just re-routed the wire up the right side of the bike towards the new tail tidy. There is an excellent description on the Evotech website where they give you a PDF on how to fit theirs. It explains exactly whats needed and that's all I did.
My Thruxton is a strange bike - 2 Monsters have come and gone in the time I have owned it - its got half the power, twice the weight, half the handling - but its just a sweet bike that is so easy to ride and live with. It has got Icon suspension all round and sounds sweet with the Staintunes.
Jerry's - I have a confession - my template is disgusting - it got chopped, taped up, changed and is not worth sharing. We need someone who has an Evotech one to trace out the shape. That would give you a much better template and you would only have to do the bend.
Peter1 - Yes the reflector is a legal requirement in Australia - only the back one as far as I know - even though our Tail Tidy rules have just been relaxed a bit, the cops are more likely to pick you up if you don't have a reflector - its the first thing they seem to notice.
Hope the above helps a bit.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

 

[Doc59]

Ray, nice job mate, mind if I copy it I was thinking of making something similar but leaving the bumper bar on to stop getting crap thrown all over me. Any reason you didn't combine the plate mount with the bracket and make that bit all one piece? Where'd you pick up the LED plate light and how is it held on to its bracket? Sorry to be a pain in the arse but you must have expected lots of questions.

Have to agree with you about the Thruxtons too, 2 of my mates have them and they are just a sweet bike to ride.

 

[Let The Good Times Roll]

Reply to Doc59

Doc59 - thanks for looking at it.
You are not a pain in the arse - copy away - all I did was copy the Evotech one from photos somebody put on this Forum.
I didn't combine the two bits because its easier to make it as separate parts because it gives you the chance to correct any little bits of misalignment and bad measurements - it just builds a bit of adjustability into it. The down side is you can see the two nuts that fix the number plate and its backing plate to the main frame but you would have them anyway because the number plate has to be mounted someway. You could just mount the naked number plate to the top bit if you wanted to. I used a backing plate because I don't like the look of the back of a number plate and I think my way stops the plate from vibrating and ultimately cracking/fatiqeing around the mounting bolts.
I have attached a photo of the LED packet which shows everything including their website (which I haven't been to). I purchased it from Peter Stevens here in Adelaide - im sure they can get more. It is self adhesive. However, I tested it the other night (first chance) and its barely good enough and only really illuminates about half of the number plate. I very rarely ride at night so Im not that concerned but at a later date I will replace the two mounting bolts with the Ebay LED bolts (let me know if you don't know what they are).
Hope this info helps - just yell out.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

 

[jerrys]

Firstly - thanks for the comments.
Silverluxe - the led number plate light is powered by the original wire that disconnects at the back of the swingarm when you remove the original Ducati thing/contraption. I just re-routed the wire up the right side of the bike towards the new tail tidy. There is an excellent description on the Evotech website where they give you a PDF on how to fit theirs. It explains exactly whats needed and that's all I did.
My Thruxton is a strange bike - 2 Monsters have come and gone in the time I have owned it - its got half the power, twice the weight, half the handling - but its just a sweet bike that is so easy to ride and live with. It has got Icon suspension all round and sounds sweet with the Staintunes.
Jerry's - I have a confession - my template is disgusting - it got chopped, taped up, changed and is not worth sharing. We need someone who has an Evotech one to trace out the shape. That would give you a much better template and you would only have to do the bend.
Peter1 - Yes the reflector is a legal requirement in Australia - only the back one as far as I know - even though our Tail Tidy rules have just been relaxed a bit, the cops are more likely to pick you up if you don't have a reflector - its the first thing they seem to notice.
Hope the above helps a bit.
Let The Good Times Roll - Ray.

Cool thks

 

[Doc59]

Ray, started copying your idea today but just one piece, made a cardboard template that is pretty much your shape but maybe puts the plate a bit further forward, not too far after the rear mounting bolts. I've got a bit of around 2.5mm alloy sheet that I'm planning to use, so still have to work out how to make the bend nicely. A mate has a sheet metal bender so I'm hoping that can handle the thickness otherwise it'll be the vice, some bits of wood, a lever and brute force, also hoping this stuff bends without cracking. I'm also leaving the standard lower bumper bar thingy on so no need for a reflector on the tail tidy. Looking at these cheapies on ebay for a light:

3LED Motorcycle CAR License Plate Light White 12V High Brightness | eBay

MC Motoparts Micro 3 White LED Number Licence Plate Light E Mark | eBay

I'm leaning towards the second because it looks neater and better quality, might have to buy them both and see which works. I have around 10mm from the bend to the plate so might have to wait to get the lights to see if I have to lengthen that a little.

Can you or anyone else that has fitted a tail tidy remember what pins the standard plug uses so I can grab some corresponding ones for the light?