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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Rear Fender... Finally!
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Message started by SimonTuffGuy on 07/10/10 at 19:26:42

Title: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by SimonTuffGuy on 07/10/10 at 19:26:42

The past couple of weekends have been my "mini project that I've put on hold for way too long"... The weekend it was tackling some minor things on the Festiva... Fixed a crack in the tail light, pulled out the radiator suppoer to realign the drivers headlight after a minor fender bender... Let's the hood close a lot better too, fixing the gauge cluster so that it lights up all the time, etc........

I picked up a trailer fender sometime last year... I pulled off the rear fender sometime late fall, and have been riding around fenderless the few times I've been on the bike this spring.

Today, the bug bit and I decided to get started on the project. Going off of several posts on the board, I started with the bottom holes. I didn't want to have to cut out for the belt, so I just moved the fender up a bit so that it should be out of the way a bit. Aligned, got it all mocked up and then drilled holes for the top bolts.

I was a little unsure of what I wanted... The "full fender" look was pretty sweet, but would've been more to mount to keep it off the tire.

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3773&g2_serialNumber=2
This was the first mock up, without having the top bolts in place.

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3776&g2_serialNumber=2
It gives it that nice, completed look from the rear...

But since I've gone bobberish around the rest of the bike... I figured it would look complete to trim it down to size. I cut it off a little bit behind the mid part of the tire.

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3779&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3782&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3785&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.pimptiva.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3791&g2_serialNumber=2

So to mount it... I added a 2" spacer and got some longer bolts for up top. I need to make the bottom holes a little longer so that they fit correctly. I have some 1.5" spacers for there, but I believe they will need to be trimmed down a little.

Couple of things that need to be taken care of before it's complete. I need to make it straight across, it's a little waved from my sawzall. I also need to round off the ends so that it doesn't stab someone. And then finally, some paint. I'll probably end up going flat black on it for now. I might go that route with the whole bike, or I may end up having it painted the color of the rest of the bike.

Thoughts, suggestions, comments? Anyone think I'll run into issues with the tire slamming into the fender with it being mounted to the frame instead of the swingarm? It's not RIGHT on top of the tire, but it's pretty close.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by verslagen1 on 07/10/10 at 20:19:37

check full compression of the shocks, does it hit the tire?

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by SimonTuffGuy on 07/11/10 at 07:30:45

Don't think so... I'm a tiny guy (140 lbs) too, so I think it'll be fine. Now just to pull it off, grind those sides down a bit and then spray a quick coat of paint over it and I'll be fine. :)

Forgot to mention... But lastly I'll need to figure out some form of a mount for turn signals. I'm thinking of going with a set similar to a new model of HD's where their turn signals double as the brake lights. That would take care of what I wanted to do with the brake light at the same time. Just not sure where I would mount them from.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by Rocco on 07/11/10 at 09:39:30

sweet man! what are u gonna do with the tank? something off the wall as well?

i love the pipe on that!

and do u not have a light on the license plate? i'm jealous, no vertical and need lights down here!!

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by BurnPgh on 07/11/10 at 11:38:55

0D373331300A2B3838192B275E0 wrote:

Forgot to mention... But lastly I'll need to figure out some form of a mount for turn signals. I'm thinking of going with a set similar to a new model of HD's where their turn signals double as the brake lights. That would take care of what I wanted to do with the brake light at the same time. Just not sure where I would mount them from.

Electricalconnection.com has turn signal conversion kits. Just hook it up and ditch the stock tail light. Keeps the stock yellow lense and the signals flash alternating between red and yellow.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by groupus on 07/12/10 at 11:42:31

i did my first fender like that. had some issues with the tire bumping the bolt heads and tearing my tire a new a$$. heres pic of the fender and damage: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1270615431/10#10
if you're gonna do it, stiffen the shocks all the way and probably move the fender up more than it is in those photos

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by Nathan on 07/12/10 at 14:54:40

697E6B7E63797C0C0 wrote:

Looked super good until it shredded your tire tho! How do you tighten up your shocks??

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by bill67 on 07/12/10 at 15:06:43

You will see a hole in the bottom part of the shock,Stick a big Philip screwdriver in it and turn it you will see the bottom move up unless your all way up.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by james may on 07/12/10 at 23:09:31

Looks like there is alot of room in there with the oe fender removed.. betcha could chop off those pipes that the seat rests on and extend the seat back and down a few inches and then that would afford room for a longer tank.. (not really pertaining to the discussion much, but good pictures of the whole back end all stripped out got me thinking on how to make my bike more custom chopper looking.. )

I like the fender and the seat you have on the bike.. there's too much space between the fender and the frame though, but if you mount it close to the frame there would be too much space between the tire and the frame. Best looking if you can stand a hard tail would be to install hard struts that drop the tire down closer to the frame and hook the fender up close to the frame IMO.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by Serowbot on 07/12/10 at 23:29:48

Yep,.. your scrawny 140lb ass, ain't gonna' do near what my huge 145lb ass does...

That tire's gonna' bottom hard enough to lock the back wheel...
You need more clearance or,... you need to use fender struts and have the fender move with the swingarm and the wheel...

This could be dangerous!... :-?...

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by Stimpy on 07/14/10 at 09:47:48

:D

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt227/pfaAt/IMG00057.jpg

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by SimonTuffGuy on 07/14/10 at 17:14:35

Hmmm..... Guess I might have to redo the design a little bit yet then. ;) I don't need to put a hole in my tire or anything.

I do agree... I could always hardtail it, drop the frame to the tire a bit, fix the length of the fender so it's "up", and then put springs on the seat... I've heard that hardtailing is hard on the back though, even with seat springs... Anyone?

Also waiting for install is a set of 10" mini apes that I picked up last year too. Got the Savage cables and risers to match, just haven't started on that project yet.

Title: Re: Rear Fender... Finally!
Post by Serowbot on 07/14/10 at 17:36:17

You could also mount the fender to move with the tire by using fender stays that attach to the swingarm, instead of the frame...

I was going to do that,... but it was too much bother for me...
...this one is a front for a 750 honda...
http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/graphics/parts/61100341700XW.jpg