P.o.s. Rear fender cracked !
 

Well, I read about this on here but I guess I didn't really think it would happen this soon. I came home and cut the grass, Drank a beer and decided to cool off and ride the bike down to get gas so i wouldnt have to fill up on the way to work tomorrow. I heard some nasty a$$ rattling behind me and sure enough, it was cracked! Any advice from you guys who have dealt with the moco on this well documented problem would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. ..... Maybe this is a good excuse to just chop the struts and get that vodoo fender I have been looking at? Either way I still would like them to replace this cracked fender.

Great excuse to get a Voodoo fender!

My thoughts exactly! I Still feel like they should replace the bad one.

Using a HD solo rack really stiffins the fender up.

Voodo sounds like the problem solver

Have them replace it with a full fender

Yea Chris, I would love to get them to just replace it with a full fender. I may do something different later but I need My bike to be functional. I want the longer fender or at least the short fender with no limp sausage hole in it. Obviously this design is flawed.

Once again...No it doesn't.

To the OP you've got two options.

1. Replace with a stock fender and remove the plate from the taillight. This is what is causing the fender to crack.

2. Replace with and aftermarket or 06-08 style fender.

I don't think you'll see the sparto style tail light on the Street Bob in 13.

There is about a 3/4 inch gap between the bottom of the tail light and the top of the licence plate when it comes stoick. I removed the licence plate bracket, re-drilled the holes and moved the plate up snug to the light. I also put a cheap chrome licence plate holder around the plate itself. I have not had any problems. This may just be luck though.


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I put an older fxdb fender on mine. No cracks on my old one though I could see where it would happen.

mine cracked, so i bolted on an '08 fender

Time for a full fender. At least thats what I would do..... Did

That license plate holder is what Harley said was cracking my fender on my 2010 SB. I am on my third fender currently and with this one I took the license holder off and I will be damned still got a solid fender. Just a heads up there.

I'm also on my third fender, they told me when they replaced it the last time that the moco strengthened it. I will be moving the licence plate though before it cracks again. I'm sure your dealer knows about this defect and will replace it for you.

Thanks for the feedback fellas. Should a full fender cost more? Dealer was reasonable and offered to replace it with the same one. I asked about the full fender and the guy called me back with a $250.00 price for the longer fender. That is without the light and hardware. Seems kind of high to me. Also I believe that he was checking on a new super glide fender. is the sg fender different from the 06-08 sb? He is looking in to that and I should know something tomorrow. I just feel better bouncing this off you guys on here before I get screwed by dealer. also, the two bikes were exactly the same price when i bought mine (new) so i think the full fender should be the same $$. I just want to know if i am beinh unreasonable before i start acting like an a$$ up there.
Thanks! Walker

All I could get out of Harley was the stock fender. I talked to my dealer and wanted to go with either the bobtail fender or a WG fender with the boxed tail light. They checked on both for me and gave me a crazy price for each. I will ride this fender out until the winter and decide what I want to do then. GL with Harley the last fender they wanted pictures of the bike and trying to give me the run around about pipes,tuner, and what not.. Just stand your ground with them.

I was told I had to pay 250 for the full fender. It's gonna cost Harley more than that if they replace my cracked fender another couple of times so
F-em If Harley wants to keep replacing the cracked one for free instead of giving me another style for free then they can go right ahead

Sometimes you wonder about a company who would rather send out three or four brand new fenders when they know they will have to replace them instead of just saying sorry we made a bad design. And here take the fender that we know won't crack. I guess that would just make too much sense. It would be so easy for HD to turn thier customer service reputation around. They would get more customers and in this case save money on sheet metal. We all buy these bikes knowing what a pain in the ass they can be. Alright I'm done bitching.

What about installing an aftermarket fender. Theres a ton of options. Steel, fiberglass, composite, ect..... You can choose Fatbob, dresser, ducktail or custom. If my stock fender cracked all I would be able to think about would be what else can I put on that isn't stock.

You have a really good point there bikerlaw. Maybe I should just get the free fender from the dealer and put it up in the garage. Then I can just get something different. (NON HD!). I have always liked your ride bikerlaw, I need to look at your fender again. It is not stock is it?.... That's the reason I like this forum. Always get a different perspective. my old fat boy had a nice fender. Maybe I can find one that will fit the dyna? I don't think I could mod something like that myself. Oh I see now, it says FLH rear fender right the there. Sorry.

Yup the plate is the problem, relocate it to the rear axle "road6 plate mounts" and have MoCo replace your rear fender. I know it's been said before but the rear fender on the new model dyna's is not only flawed, but imo ugly as shit, much prefer my older style fender. Best of luck on getting everything sorted.

Yea, I liked the short fender when I bought the sb but I think that the full fender looks better now. I was really torn between the SG and the SB. I went with the Sb mostly because I was tired of polishing all that chrome on my old FL. any suggestions on an aftermarket full fender? I like the vodoo fender but I don't know if I have the stones or $ to chop the struts and throw down on that right now.

Oldy's and Sumax sell full length composite fenders. Me and Surfor CHOP run Shovelhead era steel fenders. Once you have the width, you just need to find the fender to fit and redrill it. Oldies will make them to any width you want for like 150 shipped. I happened to like the hinged look, so thats why I chose what I did. And a tombstone tail light is maybe fifty bucks new on ebay. You can surely give yourself a headache looking at options. Thanks for the props as well and post up what you do.

This was my cheap (under $30) and temporary solution to what appears to be the inevitable fate of a cracked fender: A Road 6 axle mount horizontal (Utah state law forbids a vertical mount) plate bracket and a chrome flag decal from the Fatherland on the original plate support.

I'll wait and see a few more long term solutions from others before I decide what to do...unless a cracked fender forces my hand, of course.

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/w.../DSC_13562.jpg

I like that choice of flag there on the old plate mount. I am not sure, however, that you will not end up with the crack. That little bracket may cause just enough vibration to crack you fender. the side mount plate is the right thing to do apparently. As an added precaution I would amputate that bracket. Should be easy enough. I hope it works for you buddy. Your bike looks good by the way! Did you have to drill and tap the swing Arm for that plate bracket?

I don't have a cracked fender, I installed the solo rack when it was new.
Same fender.
Anyone else using a Harley Davidson rigid solo rack have a cracked fender?

Thanks...she's a work in progre$$.

I hope only to delay the cracked fender long enough to find a permanent solution. I thought of trimming the excess from the tail lamp assembly, part #24 here, but figured the lost weight from the original plate frame, the three bolts that attach the frame to the tail lamp assembly, plate, and the four bolts to attach the plate to the frame would buy me some time.

I did not have to do anything to the swing arm. The side-mount bracket is one piece construction, drilled at 25mm for the rear axle, and attaches behind the rear axle nut.

I don't know about the solo rack but I have seen a number of threads here that deal with cracks on the rear fenders of '08s (I think) and up.

There appears to be some connection as well to the type of pipes you have and I read that some dealerships were blaming shortys for the excess vibration. Still, it's not happening to everyone. I road the first year and half with no problems - and I had even added a chrome license plate frame.

I'll never understand why H-D would deface a perfectly fine bobbed fender with a license plate flapping around back there to begin with but, no matter, I'd choose this bike all over again.

Stupid question:
How do you know when the fender has cracked....Is it visable or is it under the tail light and makes a vibration sound? If it happens to mine, I want to catch it quick and get it fixed.

Any pics?

Thanks

PM me with tour mobile # and I will send you pics. Can't figure out how to post pics from phone. My first clue was the hideous rattling noise coming from behind me.

is this just a street bob thing?, as the wide glide runs the same sparto light.

The US spec Wide Glide doesn't run a tail light. So for us it's only the Street Bob.

I just ordered a new rear full smooth fender from southeast custom. Check out they're web site. http://www.southeastcustomcycles.com/

I like that smooth fender! Post pics when it's on. I called those guys but can't spend the $$ on it right away. (2 little girls and new house being built.) I got a wg fender with road 6 bracket. Hope to have it all together this evening.

Saw a used street bob at the dealership the other day, rear fender was cracked...design flaw?

Oh he'll yea bro, the moco knows all about it too.

I have been meaning to upload a couple of pics of the new fender and bracket. I have since de-cluttered plate bracket. Here is what i did.
What do you guys think? How did it turn out? Like everyone else, there are a hundred other mods on my list so it is far from finished.

Recently someone asked me for a pic of the cracked fender so here it is.

oh trust me.. youll know.
this is as of a few days ago.. heard a noise.. looked back while riding to see the tail light and plate vibrating everywhere... got home and checked it out.. yeah, this.

http://i47.tinypic.com/1pihra.jpg

What year is your bike