I noted there is a bunch of stuff in the aftermarket parts/accessories about removing the rear wiper blade and capping the mechanism. I was wondering what this is all about? Is there a reason for doing this?

 

Because you can and its awesome

 

I think I read it adds 10% to your horsepower . . .

 

Me too. I just washed a thick coating of road grime from the rear glass of my MINI after a short drive on a rainy day. If only physical phenomena could be suspended (read Bernoulli Principle), the rear glass in a hatchback would stay clean and wipers would be unnecessary.

Because you can is about all I can come-up with.

 

When I bought my MINI, the rear wiper and motor had already been removed. I've heard some say the wiper scratched their window, but all I've seen is that the wiper might work, but the washer is a pain. Gets clogged.
The back of the MINI gets dirty fast no matter what, and depending on where a person lives, it's not all that important. I live in Vegas, and my car stays pretty clean most of the time. We don't get much rain. When I lived in Colorado, there were times I wished I had it.

I've seen people do some cool things when taking it out. Rear view camera, and the funniest was a simple mod so that when you use the rear washer it shoots a stream of water out the back like it's peeing. Gotta be aggravating to the person getting pee'd on!

 

I am going to remove the rear wiper as well, I think it looks better without and I never use it.

 

Keeping mine. I use it to clean the window. If removing it did add 10% power I would consider it. But here we get rain and snow so I need it.