Honda CBR 1000RR Rear Seat Cowl

July 2006

I was a little disappointed that Honda didn't include the rear seat cowl with the 1000RR like Suzuki does.  I think something like that should come with the bike, so I had put off buying one for quite some time.  They are pretty pricey from the dealer, so I had my eye out for one on Ebay and eventually they started to show up and gradually the price dropped down to something I felt was reasonable.  One came available brand new in the box from an Ebayer with good feedback and the price was right so I picked one up.  I would not have purchased one for retail price as I just don't think it's worth it since it is purely aesthetic.  The weight of the rear cowl is 1.12 lbs compared to the stock rear seat's 1.64 lbs weight so you save a little weight (0.52 lbs).

Installation is more tricky than I thought it would be.  There are 4 screws on the under side that you loosen which allow the base to be moved around in order to have the cowl set evenly on the tail of the bike.  It took quite a few tries of mounting, un-mounting, adjusting, etc to get it to a point where I was happy with the way it fit.  When performing this ritual, be sure not to over tighten the 4 screws, and don't put too much force on the cowl during installation or you'll break the mounting tabs the screws thread into.  They're plastic of all things, and it looks like they could easily be broken if too much force is applied.  A few thin washers are also included which allow you to adjust the height of the cowl in reference to the tail section.  The cowl isn't designed to sit perfectly flush to the tail section.  You'll need to insure there's enough gap around the edge of the seat cowl so that the vibrations while riding don't rub paint off either the cowl or the tail.

Once you have the cowl situated to your satisfaction, you'll want to put some type of sealant on the screws.  DO NOT USE LOCKTITE as it will eat the plastic.  I used a hot glue gun over the screw heads.  It's easy to apply and easy to remove should the need arise, but will do the job of keeping the screws from vibrating out.  Silicone caulk would be another good option.  I highly recommend this step as I've read numerous reports of folks losing their seat cowls while riding.

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