Brash47 said:
after market undertails are totally legal, as long as they meet the requirements of the vehicle code.
1. the plate has to be clearly visible. This is ambiguous, due to how some over zealous officers enforce that law. I have heard of people getting tickets for license plates mounted near the tire....that was TOTALLY VISIBLE FROM THE REAR, but could not be seen from the side. That is ridiculous. I dont know of any cars where I can see a license plate from the side of the car, most are recessed into the bumper, so that is a ridiculous argument.
The problem I see is plates mounted in such a way that when the suspension is compressed, the plate is concealed behind the tire because it is mounted forward of the rear hub. Brash is right, at night, the plate must be illuminated by a white light that does not shine to the rear, but lights up the plate. This is one area at least 90% of the aftermarket kits do not address.
You really should have something that will prevent you from kicking up debris, particularly if you are riding in a group. One of my pet-peeves is vehicles that kick up rocks, debris and water because it can cause damage and worse, could hurt someone, particularly bikers.
I had a 2" rock come up off the tire of a lifted 4x4 and hit me in the face at about 40 mph, while on patrol. I could have easily lost it and gone down and if I had, I doubt anyone would have figured out the rock had gone airborne and hit me, rather they would have thought I hit the rock on the ground when I face-planted. Scary shit.
If you remove the stock tailpiece and it was serving as a mudguard, you probably need to determine if you are inadvertently kicking up gravel, etc. behind you. If you are, you could be cited and could injure a buddy. I like the looks of many of the kits I have seen, but it is really not worth it if you are throwing up junk behind you.