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Chinese Knock-off Covers on U.S. Rebels

11K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  travelingmanjcw  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
For the Gen-2 owners looking to replace your plastic side covers but don't want to spring the extra cash on new or used OEM replacements, the cheap Chinese knock-offs for the Rebel Clones seem attractive in price...but there's a catch:

While the left side (air cleaner) clone-cover fits perfectly, note how the mounting tab on the right side (battery) clone-cover is flush with the edge while your US model cover has the tab recessed further into the cover. The clone-bikes have the mounting tab welded further inside the frame and as such if you attempt to mount this cover to your US model the forward grommet will not even connect. As such you can opt to bolt the cover to the frame as is, but it will be sticking out significantly without the benefit of keeping the battery safe from the elements.

Fret not, there's a solution...and it's so simple it couldn't be more obvious.

Step 1> Cut the tab off. Okay, it's not that simple --- before you cut the tab off make sure you measure just how much extra space you need. You can cut shallow and re-cut as needed, but if you cut too deep on the initial try then you're screwed.

See that tab laying on the pillion? Step 2 is removing all the excess plastic above it. Cut it, sand it, whatever your choice of removal may be but just get rid of that excess plastic. Once you have just a tab, slide it into the gap of the side cover for a test fit accordingly:

Step 3> Now that you have that tab right where you want it, get some two part epoxy resin and affix the tab to the cover. You can even use that leftover piece you just cut off the tab on the inside of the cover to reinforce it with more epoxy. When it's all said & done, it should look like this:

Step 4> Let it cure for at least 12 hours (if not 24, the more the merrier), afterwards ---
Step 4½ (if applicable): clean it up and touch up the paint if necessary (or just repaint the whole thing to match if it's a different color).

Step 5> Finished product mounted on the bike:

Step 6> You're ready to ride with those shiny inexpensive covers!
 

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#6 · (Edited)
Did you notice someone shoved a pipe up the exhaust?
Yes, I did. It turns out one of the moderators here had that happen once and later on it happened to me too...

Photobucket can sucket.
I hope the site I hosted those pics on lasts for a bit...

If you have an Aussie rebel they fit without mods. They are made to fit with twin carbs
I gathered they would since they resemble the Asian market models that the Chinese cloned.

Good balance of information and laffs.
That's my writing style: inform & entertain. :thumb:

I used to write amonthly editorial for an international webzine that fell off the web long ago. The writing has been recently rehosted/archived but the accompanying photo links are dead. http://www.beginnerbikers.org/content.php?119
 
#3 ·
For the Gen-2 owners looking to replace your plastic side covers but don't want to spring the extra cash on new or used OEM replacements, the cheap Chinese knock-offs for the Rebel Clones seem attractive in price...but there's a catch:
Thanks for redoing this post Shack!

Photobucket can sucket.
 
#10 ·
I'm not sure of the type or size, they came with the bike when I bought it. As far as additional work involved --- multiple carbs require periodic synchronization, or at least periodic checks to said synchronization.
 
#11 ·
It's an interesting question to ask about the effect of twin carbs on a 360 degree twin like the Rebel. Keep in mind that a cylinder draws fuel mix only 1/4 of the time on it's intake stroke, so for a 360 degree twin, even a single carb only feeds one cylinder at a time with half a crankshaft revolution between the pulses of air/fuel flow through the carb throat.
I'm no expert, but it would seem logical that a 180 degree pulse of flow every crankshaft revolution would result in better flow momentum through the intake tract than a pulse of the same magnitude every 2 revolutions.
I suspect that the freer flowing advantage of twin carbs is largely due to straighter and shorter inlet tracts to the engine.
 
#14 ·
For the Gen-2 owners looking to replace your plastic side covers but don't want to spring the extra cash on new or used OEM replacements, the cheap Chinese knock-offs for the Rebel Clones seem attractive in price...but there's a catch:

While the left side (air cleaner) clone-cover fits perfectly, note how the mounting tab on the right side (battery) clone-cover is flush with the edge while your US model cover has the tab recessed further into the cover. The clone-bikes have the mounting tab welded further inside the frame and as such if you attempt to mount this cover to your US model the forward grommet will not even connect. As such you can opt to bolt the cover to the frame as is, but it will be sticking out significantly without the benefit of keeping the battery safe from the elements.

Fret not, there's a solution...and it's so simple it couldn't be more obvious.

Step 1> Cut the tab off. Okay, it's not that simple --- before you cut the tab off make sure you measure just how much extra space you need. You can cut shallow and re-cut as needed, but if you cut too deep on the initial try then you're screwed.

See that tab laying on the pillion? Step 2 is removing all the excess plastic above it. Cut it, sand it, whatever your choice of removal may be but just get rid of that excess plastic. Once you have just a tab, slide it into the gap of the side cover for a test fit accordingly:

Step 3> Now that you have that tab right where you want it, get some two part epoxy resin and affix the tab to the cover. You can even use that leftover piece you just cut off the tab on the inside of the cover to reinforce it with more epoxy. When it's all said & done, it should look like this:

Step 4> Let it cure for at least 12 hours (if not 24, the more the merrier), afterwards ---
Step 4½ (if applicable): clean it up and touch up the paint if necessary (or just repaint the whole thing to match if it's a different color).

Step 5> Finished product mounted on the bike:

Step 6> You're ready to ride with those shiny inexpensive covers!
I did the same thing but used a l bracket and pop rivited it to the housing cover painted black and worked perfect
 
#15 ·
Step 6> You're ready to ride with those shiny inexpensive covers!
Update: during the rigorous duties of being stored in a garage as a project bike, the modified Chinese made side cover broke. Not where it was modified, mind you...but one of the pegs that secure it to the frame broke.

From SITTING.

Save yourself the headache, buy OEM covers. They fit, they work, they last.
 
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#16 ·
I got this kind of cover and and decided to return it. Meantime, I used epoxy to repair my old cover, for which I had all the pieces. Worked perfectly. Then, I decided to keep the cover I bought as a spare and to do exactly what is described here if I ever need it in the future. I fully agree that this is the way to go if you cannot repair your old cover. Thanks!
 
#17 ·
Then, I decided to keep the cover I bought as a spare and to do exactly what is described here if I ever need it in the future. I fully agree that this is the way to go if you cannot repair your old cover. Thanks!
See the post just above yours for why it's not a good idea.
 
#18 ·
For the Gen-2 owners looking to replace your plastic side covers but don't want to spring the extra cash on new or used OEM replacements, the cheap Chinese knock-offs for the Rebel Clones seem attractive in price...but there's a catch:

While the left side (air cleaner) clone-cover fits perfectly, note how the mounting tab on the right side (battery) clone-cover is flush with the edge while your US model cover has the tab recessed further into the cover. The clone-bikes have the mounting tab welded further inside the frame and as such if you attempt to mount this cover to your US model the forward grommet will not even connect. As such you can opt to bolt the cover to the frame as is, but it will be sticking out significantly without the benefit of keeping the battery safe from the elements.

Fret not, there's a solution...and it's so simple it couldn't be more obvious.

Step 1> Cut the tab off. Okay, it's not that simple --- before you cut the tab off make sure you measure just how much extra space you need. You can cut shallow and re-cut as needed, but if you cut too deep on the initial try then you're screwed.

See that tab laying on the pillion? Step 2 is removing all the excess plastic above it. Cut it, sand it, whatever your choice of removal may be but just get rid of that excess plastic. Once you have just a tab, slide it into the gap of the side cover for a test fit accordingly:

Step 3> Now that you have that tab right where you want it, get some two part epoxy resin and affix the tab to the cover. You can even use that leftover piece you just cut off the tab on the inside of the cover to reinforce it with more epoxy. When it's all said & done, it should look like this:

Step 4> Let it cure for at least 12 hours (if not 24, the more the merrier), afterwards ---
Step 4½ (if applicable): clean it up and touch up the paint if necessary (or just repaint the whole thing to match if it's a different color).

Step 5> Finished product mounted on the bike:

Step 6> You're ready to ride with those shiny inexpensive covers!
For the Gen-2 owners looking to replace your plastic side covers but don't want to spring the extra cash on new or used OEM replacements, the cheap Chinese knock-offs for the Rebel Clones seem attractive in price...but there's a catch:

While the left side (air cleaner) clone-cover fits perfectly, note how the mounting tab on the right side (battery) clone-cover is flush with the edge while your US model cover has the tab recessed further into the cover. The clone-bikes have the mounting tab welded further inside the frame and as such if you attempt to mount this cover to your US model the forward grommet will not even connect. As such you can opt to bolt the cover to the frame as is, but it will be sticking out significantly without the benefit of keeping the battery safe from the elements.

Fret not, there's a solution...and it's so simple it couldn't be more obvious.

Step 1> Cut the tab off. Okay, it's not that simple --- before you cut the tab off make sure you measure just how much extra space you need. You can cut shallow and re-cut as needed, but if you cut too deep on the initial try then you're screwed.

See that tab laying on the pillion? Step 2 is removing all the excess plastic above it. Cut it, sand it, whatever your choice of removal may be but just get rid of that excess plastic. Once you have just a tab, slide it into the gap of the side cover for a test fit accordingly:

Step 3> Now that you have that tab right where you want it, get some two part epoxy resin and affix the tab to the cover. You can even use that leftover piece you just cut off the tab on the inside of the cover to reinforce it with more epoxy. When it's all said & done, it should look like this:

Step 4> Let it cure for at least 12 hours (if not 24, the more the merrier), afterwards ---
Step 4½ (if applicable): clean it up and touch up the paint if necessary (or just repaint the whole thing to match if it's a different color).

Step 5> Finished product mounted on the bike:

Step 6> You're ready to ride with those shiny inexpensive covers!
WORKED PERFECTLY, however it was even better in the end as when I put them both on I noticed something weird about the left side one as the chrome, believe it or not, was upside down as they had installed a right side chrome on a left side cover. Well I wrote to them about it and wanted a replacement for the left side only as I had already fixed the right side one. Apparently they felt bad about it and refunded me full and I decided to just leave the left on as upside down as you would only notice it if you looked very close. What can I say it was all free except my alteration of the right side tab.