F3 or F3-S Tail Tidy - anyone seen or know of one? Does one exist?

[broderp]

As the title states, has anyone ever seen or know if a "tail tidy" for a Spyder?

I'm needing to find a place to mount a rear camera and a small radar for blind spot detection. Being attached the rear fender would not be a very stable platform, so I thought if the rear fender could be cleaned up, and the license plate and plate light relocated to a tail tidy, this would provide a more stable platform to attach these items to.

Any such thing? I found one YouTube video, for an older Can-Am, but nothing else.

Thoughts or comments welcome. :cheers:

 

[troop]

Not sure about a tail tidy other than a chopped rear fender. That said, you could just remove the OEM lower rear fender and install a side license plate mount. I ran the lamp wire to the accessory lead under the passenger seat.

 

[broderp]

Not sure about a tail tidy other than a chopped rear fender. That said, you could just remove the OEM lower rear fender and install a side license plate mount. I ran the lamp wire to the accessory lead under the passenger seat.

An idea, thanks. But its not about relocating the plate, its more about creating a stable platform for a rear cam and radar unit. I have my work cutout for me I think...

 

[3Tyme]

I have my rear camera mounted to the Shad saddlebag bracket. If you don' have saddlebags you could make a small bracket mounted to the rear bolt for the passenger grip. I have been looking at the Blind spot monitors, but haven't purchased yet. I have been trying to figure where to mount it. Do you know what size the unit is? I found a Tidy tail on Ebay that they claim will fit a F3, but I'm not sure I want to mount it to the plastic inner fender.
Please post what you come up with, I may want to do the same.

 

[broderp]

I have my rear camera mounted to the Shad saddlebag bracket. If you don' have saddlebags you could make a small bracket mounted to the rear bolt for the passenger grip. I have been looking at the Blind spot monitors, but haven't purchased yet. I have been trying to figure where to mount it. Do you know what size the unit is? I found a Tidy tail on Ebay that they claim will fit a F3, but I'm not sure I want to mount it to the plastic inner fender.
Please post what you come up with, I may want to do the same.

The passenger grip mounting bolt seems like a very good idea! I'll have to see what it will take to make such a bracket. Thanks!

I have the INNOVV ThirdEYE. See my attached image from the unit I bought.

Its 36mm around x 26.2mm deep using my digital calipers. Pretty small, but when you add brackets etc. it may be hard to hide from plain view.

 

[CsOldGrayDog]

Sorry, I know bit of zombie thread resurrection, but broderp, how did you end up mounting the blind spot? I have one on the way for my F3L, and I'd love to know your solution??

 

[jpezzulli]

I have a 2023 F3L and the Third Eye. Drilled a tiny hole and mounted it under the license plate. I can take a pic in about 30 min.

Note: they work, but I wind up just turning my head and looking anyway out of habit.

 

[broderp]

Sorry, I know bit of zombie thread resurrection, but broderp, how did you end up mounting the blind spot? I have one on the way for my F3L, and I'd love to know your solution??

I was just getting back to this project. My new Spyder (yes it's still new as it has not left my garage since I bought it late last year. It still has the 20 miles on the odometer it took me to ride it home.) I am determined to get it on the road in the next week.

I have installed the third eye, including the two LED warning lights (I got the "motorcycle" version) and it seems to work, but the radar location still baffles me. The easy way would be on the license plate, but I am concerned about stability, vibration and being too low. The manual states it should be installed between 15.75 ~ 51.18". I'm not sure the license plate is even 15" off the ground. I am still working through possible locations, including using one of the bolts for the passenger hand rails, and even more daring ~ removing the backup light and modifying the backup light (I'd buy a cheap knock off) to house the radar and my rear camera. I would then have to buy a decent looking LED back light and mount it somewhere. I also have one more place, but will need to see how feasible it will be.....

More to come in the very near future....

Cheers.:cheers:

I have a 2023 F3L and the Third Eye. Drilled a tiny hole and mounted it under the license plate. I can take a pic in about 30 min.

Note: they work, but I wind up just turning my head and looking anyway out of habit.

View attachment 208939

Don't you mean above the license plate? :dontknow: Your pic seems to show it above the plate. Did you mount it on top of the plate light/reflector housing? How has it held up being on the swing arm & having to deal with vibration and the suspension bouncing?

Thanks

 

[CsOldGrayDog]

broderp, I like idea of that placement on the license plate light, as jp3zulli shows in the Image; it seems stable and at the correct height per the instructions, but getting wires from there to under the passenger seat is the question for me. I'm hoping that pulling off the top trunk will show me a route; I don't want to pull off the whole rear body work and side bags on my F3 Lts.

 

[jpezzulli]

I paid someone to install it so I can't answer how the wires got there. The unit itself is under the left service panel. I have never had any issues with vibrations and have never adjusted it in the 1600 miles I have done in the past 7 weeks since getting the Spyder. Also, I did mean 'above'. I wrote the post and then went down to take the pic and added it.

 

[Dutchy]

Hello broderp,

I have a INNOVV K5 dash Cam system on my F3. Here is a shot of the rear Camera Lens:



The Top Box is gone for the moment as well, but that would have been another spot to put the Radar and a camera. By the way, I am interested in what you are going to use as the warning indicator for your radar, as I am considering one myself.

I will take a closer shot later on of the camera & the bracket for the camera.

 

[jpezzulli]

The third eye system comes with 2 choices of indicator. Mirror or watch style. I chose mirror.

 

[Dutchy]

The third eye system comes with 2 choices of indicator. Mirror or watch style. I chose mirror.

I find it hard at the best of times to glance at the mirrors on the F3 I have been thinking about the mirror style but put it on the side of the dash, but I am not sure if that would work well either.

 

[jpezzulli]

I added the big eye mirrors to the handlebars. Mirrors were too low. However, I still mainly just turn my head.

 

[CsOldGrayDog]

For the warning lights, I agree the mirrors do not seem best place, too far out. I'm thinking handlebar, dash, or even edge of windshield; I will see which seems best in my scanning. When I get that far. Radar first, lights last.

 

[broderp]

I was wanting to share the progress on my F3-S. Everything found a home and after HOURS of design and engineering and manufacturing, I am 90% complete. I have a short "punch list" of things to check off before final assembly and a good detail of my Spyder before putting it on the road.

First, I wanted to explain why I do things the way I do. I am very anal and detailed. I despise messy wiring, sloppy connections, improper crimping, and the 'spaghetti' that most accessories expect you to deal with. I also have to have serviceability and proper documentation. I like my stuff to look "factory" or as close to OEM as possible. So, to that end, I installed many OEM accessories, took no short cuts, and torqued every screw or bolt to factory settings (I bought the OEM service manual). It's sort of an OCD I have.

I use red wire ties, so I know where I've added circuits and wires, just in case I need to access them later for work. The harness is modular, meaning that I can replace parts of it as required, or modify it without having to remove it all. I try to utilize OEM wire paths and run my harnesses within factory wire retention mechanisms when possible. Harnesses are in looms or wrapped in cloth tape like the OEM harness. I attached one of my later drafts so you can see how this is basically wired in. (Don't quote me on it though, it may not be 100 accurate!)

Basically, there is a ton of thought that goes into this, and I know most of it is over kill, but that's how I roll. My only let down, which I may fix later, is that the LED wires provided in my kit were all too long, so all the extra wire had to be bundled up. I may go back and make custom wires that are the proper length. :helpsmilie:

I thought I would share a few short videos of what I did and open it up to critique and comments.

This video shows the install of my under-glow LEDs, INNOV K6 dash camera, and Third Eye.

https://youtu.be/npHhEEWAMAQ

This video shows where and how I routed most things.

https://youtu.be/Ph9C7C_Dgco

Please be nice, my Spyder has been sitting in the garage since late last year and is super dusty and dirty - as is my garage, but one has to have priorities, right? I'll be detailing the Spyder when it's all complete. :doorag:

Cheers. :cheers:

 

[broderp]

broderp, I like idea of that placement on the license plate light, as jp3zulli shows in the Image; it seems stable and at the correct height per the instructions, but getting wires from there to under the passenger seat is the question for me. I'm hoping that pulling off the top trunk will show me a route; I don't want to pull off the whole rear body work and side bags on my F3 Ltd.

I looked hard at this after I measured and saw it was the proper height. My concern was the movement while riding. The radar states to be 10 degrees from level, and what if the rear was in compression and the angle all messed up and not able to function? Low risk, for sure, but I decided against it when I saw it mounted beautifully under the rear lights. The downside is that I will need to scan, modify, and print new covers to close up the openings.

The third eye system comes with 2 choices of indicator. Mirror or watch style. I chose mirror.

The mirror version definitely added complexity, especially since they are not removable from the main unit, but the separation of the warning LED's is better IMO.