Beware the fenders!!!

[Thatperson]

I know it's been said on here many times, myself included, but I think it should be said again. I was told about the fenders breaking off and rolling around the tire and wrecking you, so I took them off and put stronger "L" brackets from the hardware store on to stop that from happening. Or so I thought...

Here is the front part that hit the ground with the tire on it.



And here is the back part.

Needless to say I won't be able to remount this one. I don't think I'll be putting any fenders back on, I might just repaint the bike and make it a hotrod.

[bluegoatwoods]

But it's not clear what broke.

Did your L-bracket fail? Maybe the nuts backed off?

Or was it something else?

[HoughMade]

Hope you made it through unscathed.

Warnings like this are essential for those just starting out. Thanks for posting this....and I went without fenders....kind of.

[Thatperson]

Sorry about that. It was the new L brackets that snapped. They were pretty strong and I had to use my vise and pliers to bend them into shape and they still broke.

[bluegoatwoods]

The L bracket actually broke, huh? That's awful. And I wouldn't have expected that.

I wonder what we can do to make the fenders safe. we'll have to ponder this one.

[Mountainman]

Needless to say I won't be able to remount this one. I don't think I'll be putting any fenders back on, I might just repaint the bike and make it a hotrod.

same set up used on my cousins new bike with motor -- ((fender same))
he's got a Happy Time
let's see if I remember all that's happened to him his first week of riding
tank came loose
petcock broke
muffler fell apart
head bolt came out -- stripped out
he just called me this morning -- head gasket blew

and now I need to warn him about his fenders !!!

wow -- hope that he's still HAPPY with that THING !!!

MM

[Axlerod]

Hi ThatP;
Mangled fender must have put you down hard! Years ago I thought it was a good idea to put fenders on my MTB. Well on a trail my knobby tire picked up a stick which folded the front fender which instantly locked up the front wheel. Lucky for me, it happened so fast, I landed on my feet.

What type of metal was your L-bracket? Aluminium perhaps?
Al is susceptable to fatigue cracking especially when bent to 90 deg.
I remember a tubing supplier tell me once that Al will crack if bent to the radius of the earth, when I was asking about how much I could bend some tubing.

Fenders sure are nice when you get stuck in the rain.

Geo.

[Thatperson]

The brackets were steel. They came in the L shape, I just had to lessen the angle to make it match the right angle to mount. When it happened, I got VERY lucky and didn't go down. Just came to a very fast stop. Well the bike did, my heart didn't!

[uncle_punk13]

I'm very glad you were not injured!!!
Thank you for posting this as it serve as a reaffirmation to the warnings which myself and many others have posted. I personally would not use the L bracket type mounting on the front, but I know most all manufacturers these days utilize this set-up, while leaving no threaded hole in the bottom of the fork steer tube for through bolt and washer mounting. I have modified these forks by brazing in a nut securely in which to run my bolt and washer through the fender, and I also utilize the "flat" style braces (bolted with lock-tite, or riveted) over the wire braces, I don't like the wire braces for strength and surely do not trust the brace mounts on the fender So I like to replace these as well. I would also recommend there be two braces on the fender- One forward of the fork legs and one rearward. Seems like a lot of work, sure, but at what point does a little extra work and cost, over run your personal safety? Just sayin... I've also run no fenders, but if you live in wetter climes you need to be pretty hardcore, as you get soaked, dirty, and run with the "skunk stripe" up yer back! LOL

[angrysamoan]

I know it's been said on here many times, myself included, but I think it should be said again. I was told about the fenders breaking off and rolling around the tire and wrecking you, so I took them off and put stronger "L" brackets from the hardware store on to stop that from happening. Or so I thought...

Here is the front part that hit the ground with the tire on it.



And here is the back part.



Needless to say I won't be able to remount this one. I don't think I'll be putting any fenders back on, I might just repaint the bike and make it a hotrod.

I've found that going to Home depot and buying 1/8" x 1" hardened steel plates about 3' long works best. Cut in half {or to proper size} grind corners round, then use nuts {with nylon inside} and lock washers. Finally, I dab on some black silicone on exposed bolt threads. Has'nt come loose since. I'm sure fenders are the most vibrating parts on a motorbike that when loose will cause mayhem! Good luck