Lower for sure

 

Higher for sure. I hate the "tail between the legs" look. I'd actually slam the suspension (take the front nuts off) to ensure that when hitting a bump it won't touch the inside of the fender, and then stretch it right down to a fraction of an inch above the ground. But I'd definitely have it come back more rather than follow the wheel around. Can't believe so many prefer that look.

 

Lower it and I say keep the hinge if you want to. Gives it a vintage look and feel...

 

Aesthetically, I like how the fender looks at the higher position. The lower radius of the fender looks better to me pointing more rearward versus pointing more downward in the lower position. That may change once you blend the top two radius' of both fender sections together though. I like the idea of the hinge, It adds an element of cool that you don't see very often today. The problem with the hinge is if you plan to rack up the miles on it the vibration will eventually crack the paint because it's essentially 3 surfaces (two hinge halves and a hinge pin) with about .015"-.030" gap, depending on the hinge you use, that will vibrate and rub together.

 

Will your jack go high enough to get the wheel out?

 

I like the higher look and easier over speed bumps.The hinged fender would be a nice touch and convenient.Never say never to the lift table-it would be a big help fitting up any project you take on.

 

Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts.
I have looked at as many pics I could find with the hinged fender. At the moment I,m thinking I should walk away from that idea. From what I have seen so far, lots of chipped off paint, and by the looks of it, those hinged fenders didn't seem to fit together that good anyway. I guess it would have a lot to do with how old the bike is.
I think I can deal with pulling the fender, if need be.

Its a good thing that I cut both these fenders, and left extra material on both so I could move things around. Moving things alittle, can change the look a lot. I have also decided that Im going to position the fender somewhere between the hi & low positions shown in the pics at the start of this thread. I do like the really low look, but this bike does not have a air ride to lift it going over speed bumps and such. The new Paughco exhaust hangs quite abit lower than my previous dual setup with the cross over. So, if this system scrapes the ground, it will only do minor damage to the fishtails. The fender on the other hand, if mounted low could easily be trashed.

So at this point, the hinge is out. The fender is going roughly at mid point between the hi & low pics posted previously. I will post up some new pics of the new position in a few days when I get back into this. I just gotta roll this thing out in the driveway so I can get a better view of the new positions. Then I can get on with the trimming off the excess and final welding.

Thanks guys for posting your thoughts on this project. If anyone has any more comments, Id like to hear them.

 

I'm more old school....i like the vintage 'hinge' look.

 

keep it low in tucked in, you'll be fine with ground clearance like your pic

 

Why would you want to hinge it? A stretched fender looks best clean! Bite the bullet and buy the Shotgun Shocks.

I stretched my fender 6 1/2" with not clearance problems.