Passing Inspection

[macgyver]

hi i'm new to the forum. i recently just got tax refunds back so you know what i was thinking. motorcycle. i found an older 1988 katana 600 for $2,500. it looks brand new as someone repainted it and it runs great. all the lights work and the brakes should be ok for inspection. now here comes part 1 of my question. the kid that owned it before me for some reason cut off the rear plastic fender to eliminate it he said because it stuck out to far. he said the fender was made out of flimsy plastic like you would find inside a wheel well of a car. he then moved the turnsignals brake light and liscene plate up. the bike hasnt been inspected since 98 and he says all it will need is a new plastic fender to pass inspection. does anyone know whether this has any creditbility to it as i dont know what a bike needs to pass inspection. if i would put a piece of plastic covering the rear wheel do you think that would pass inspection.

[BraadaJim]

I split this off to a new topic.

To answer your question... Laws will vary from state to state. In most states that inspect you can get away with it permitting that your wheel is not sticking out farther than your tail light and your plate is still mounted above the minimum height and is lighted. If you do need one to pass inspection you can find them cheap on eBay.

[macgyver]

Passing inspection

well i live in Pennsylvania and i believe the fender is about even with the rear wheel,as a matter of fact the background for where i am typing this has a pic and i would say the top portion with the brake light is about how far it comes out. see the lower part that curves downward with the turn signals on it is the part that the guy hacked off. do u think i could find something like the plastic piece off ebay?? would one off of a new katana fit maybe? and do you know anywhere i can get replacement stickers for the katana as it was repainted and they took all the factory stickers off now it is just a silver color with a red windscreen. i was thinking about putting red katana stickers on it.sorry so many questions i just want to do some research before i buy this bike i have until saturday to come up with a desison and if it will be to much trouble to find a fender i will just look around more. thanks for any input!

Chris

[meanstrk]

All you most likely need will be a tag light. Go by one of your local dealers and have them take a look at it and tell you what you will need.

[steves]

Re: 1988 600 katana

the bike hasnt been inspected since 98 and he says all it will need is a new plastic fender to pass inspection. does anyone know whether this has any creditbility to it as i dont know what a bike needs to pass inspection. if i would put a piece of plastic covering the rear wheel do you think that would pass inspection.

It might be as easy as riding over to the local shop that does inspections and asking "will this bike pass inspection with the rear fender the way it is?"

I do most of my buisness with the local Honda shop because I like their parts and accesory depts. but the guys at the suzuki shop have been just as helpful.

[BraadaJim]

Re: Passing inspection

well i live in Pennsylvania and i believe the fender is about even with the rear wheel,as a matter of fact the background for where i am typing this has a pic and i would say the top portion with the brake light is about how far it comes out. see the lower part that curves downward with the turn signals on it is the part that the guy hacked off. do u think i could find something like the plastic piece off ebay?? would one off of a new katana fit maybe? and do you know anywhere i can get replacement stickers for the katana as it was repainted and they took all the factory stickers off now it is just a silver color with a red windscreen. i was thinking about putting red katana stickers on it.sorry so many questions i just want to do some research before i buy this bike i have until saturday to come up with a desison and if it will be to much trouble to find a fender i will just look around more. thanks for any input!

Chris

If the only thing holding you back is the rear fender then you really have nothing holding you back. Like I said you can find one on ebay cheap, any 88-97 600 rear fender will fit and there are only about 6 bolts holding it in. I might have one, I've got 5 or 6 but I'll need to see if they are new generation or pre98 and what model.
Non factory decals are all over eBay too or there are a couple of sites that sell nothing but bike decal kits.

[macgyver]

REAR FENDER

thanks brada jim. yea i am sure now that i am going to get this bike. i called a local inspection station and they said they would have to look at it. maybe i could rig the plastic piece the seller is giving me to make a fender just to pass inspection then i will probably start looking for the actual fender. i know there is not to many bike salvage yards around here. i never really paid much attention to the rear fender on bikes until now. if you look at the picture up abover it still has the piece with the tailight on it but the part with the turn signals and liscene plate he hacked off. i don't know why he did this?? if you come across a extra fender piece that will fit this 88 katana 600 please let me know. i will gladley pay your asking price plus shipping as i probably will have a hard time finding one at a salvage yard at least ones that are still in 1 piece. i will be sure to get pictures of it as soon as i get it on saturday. i probably keep the bike the silverish brown color that it was painted as it has no chips or scratches on it. i will more than likley be putting red suzuki katana graphics on or i may just leave the bike plain like it is to keep people guessing. i am definitly painting the wheels because they are a faded white color and the paint is chipping off of them the only clue you have to what kind of bike it is is a red suzuki windscreen. as far as i could tell the bike was never laid over and it has 11,000 miles on it and an older vance and hines pipe which makes nice music. thanks a lot for all your help and i will keep you updated with pictures as i progress.

[goose491]

Re: REAR FENDER

... but the part with the turn signals and liscene plate he hacked off. i don't know why he did this??

Because it's God-Ugly??? lol

Really, that's the first thing many do when they get their new bikes. Cut off the "shovel". I'd say if you can jimmy something up to pass inspection, then do so... then don't even bother getting it back to stock unless you really want to.

Like someone has already posted though, take it to a shop and ask. You might find someone is willing to safety the bike as is if that's the only non-compliance.

Nick

[TurboMike]

In NY its a bitch to get a modified car to pass inspection, but I've been to two bike shops that do inspection and they bearly look at the bike. You'd have to do something really crazy to fail.

And if all you need is a light on your plate, dont buy that ugly rear fender just for that, get an LED from ebay for $5 to $7 and tap the wires into your parking lights and screw it anywhere its facing the plate to get light on it.

[BraadaJim]

Re: REAR FENDER

if you come across a extra fender piece that will fit this 88 katana 600 please let me know. i will gladley pay your asking price plus shipping as i probably will have a hard time finding one at a salvage yard at least ones that are still in 1 piece.

Here ya go
It's not mine but is probably cheaper than I could sell it for if I have one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-GSX600-GSX-600-GSX-750-GSX750-KATANA-FENDER-REAR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10066QQitemZ4619503784QQrdZ1

If you miss this one, they come up all the time at about this price point. Took me about 15 seconds with search terms "Katana Fender" to find this one. Looks like there are 3 or 4 others there that might work too. Any 88-97 600 fender will fit. 750's are different and 98+ are different so avoid those.