Hey all im getting ready in the next week or so ( getting cold in Germany ) to do my ape hangers

and the question i have is :

when doing the brakes is it better to take the front fender off to avoid getting fluid on it or is a towel good enough ? it'll prob be a few day project for me as i have to do it entirely outside ( weather pending )

I just dont wanna remove the towel to find it soaked through and removed my paint

 

Leave the fender alone. Put a trash bag or plastic over it if your worried. But def use towels in case you drop something.

 

If you're worried about it, remove it. If it's DOT 5 it won't matter either way (doesn't harm paint)

 

ok cool .. i may try the trash bag .. its DOT 4

 

I assume that with the new apes you'll be replacing your break line?

If so, by carefully following the procedures on emptying out your break fluid before removing anything then you shouldn't have much problems as any sort of mess or spills should be very minimal.

As has been said already, just cover your fender to avoid the possible drip that might happen while you work or what have you.

One thing I do whenever I do any major work with the break system is to keep a spray bottle that is a mixture of water and a small amount of dish detergent like DAWN and a NICE, CLEAN, SOFT rag handy. If I happen to get a drip of fluid somewhere on the bike I don't just wipe it with a cloth, I also give it a couple of sprays of my soap mixture and then dry it with my cloth. When the whole job is done, I give the bike a good wash just to make sure I didn't miss any small drips.

 

When I did mine on my 01 Fatboy I didn't. Just covered anything I was worried about. Didn't even remove tank. Just slid it back.