Long-Term KTM RC390 Mods: Fender Eliminator Kit | MC GARAGE

Our little RC390 gets a tail tidy from MNNTHBX.

Our KTM RC390 gets a new fender eliminator kit.Drew Ruiz

WRIST: Ari Henning
MSRP (2015): $5499
MILES: 1,340
MPG: 54
MODS: MNNTHBX fender eliminator and passenger footpeg block-off plates
UPDATE: 2

Life with the little KTM RC390 is going great. It's plenty quick and comfortable for day-to-day riding and it looks really sharp. I love the pointed tail and integrated passenger seat, and in an effort to accentuate the RC's sporty appearance I've installed a few accessories to make the bike's posterior a little sleeker.

Not only do the parts make the bike look a lot more like an RC8 superbike, they save weight high up on the chassis.Ari Henning

MNNTHBX ( mnnthbx.com. It's short for "man in the box") was the first company that popped up when I started Googling undertail kits. These guys specialize in small bikes like Honda's Ruckus and Grom, and the KTM RC390 and Duke 390 are right up their alley. MNNTHBX's fender eliminator kit is just $89 and allows you to hack off that massive appendage hanging from the RC's backside. It's a simple kit that's really easy to install. Reusing the stock turn signals meant there was no need to solder or splice wires, and while there's no separate license plate light, the stock LED taillight casts plenty of illumination onto the plate. Nifty LED bolt lights are available if you want proper illumination, but I'm happy with this setup. Total install time was about 15 minutes, and the bike looks so much better now.

RC390 fender eliminator.Ari Henning

To complement the tidier tail I also bolted on a set of MNNTHBX’s “passenger peg deletes” for $47. These plates are machined from aluminum and recessed so they slip over the bolt bosses that are exposed when you remove the passenger pegs. My wife isn’t one to cling to the back of a sportbike (especially one as small as the RC) so I’m not concerned with losing the ability to carry a passenger, and the benefit to the KTM’s appearance is substantial. Just look at how clean that backside is.

MNNTHBX’s fender eliminator kit is just $89 and allows you to hack off that massive appendage hanging from the RC’s backside.Ari Henning

Not only do the parts make the bike look a lot more like an RC8 superbike, they save weight high up on the chassis. I’m a bit of a weight weenie (light weight is one of the reasons I love little bikes—it’s what makes them so agile) so I put all the parts on the scale to see how they compared. The MNNTHBX fender kit cut 1.8 pounds, and removing the passenger footrests and adding the MNNTHBX pieces saved a full 3 pounds. So for $136 I ditched some ugly parts, added a bunch of style, and shed nearly 5 pounds. That’s money well spent!