"Recent" shadetree reviews??
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From: Delaware
"Recent" shadetree reviews??
A search for shadetree fender kits turns up a good amount of bad reviews, but not many recent reviews - good or bad.
Anyone install a shadetree kit recently that can comment? I'm thinking about their softail bundle.... And their seat.
Anyone install a shadetree kit recently that can comment? I'm thinking about their softail bundle.... And their seat.
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,054
Likes: 26
From: Florida
I went back and forth on them for a while. When I first saw Shadetree stuff I loved it and was sure I'd put one of his kits on my bike someday. I then started seeing a lot of feedback from users who were having bad experiences with the product. I took it with a grain of salt given that it's not a true bolt-on and you have to do a lot of work yourself. I had to wonder if some folks were possibly introducing their own issues into it.
Recently I decided I wanted to try the bobber look and was going to go with a fender from other makers and just make my own mounting system. I was going to go with a fender from Sled Led (less than $200) which will make them to order based on the size/radius of your rear tire. As it were, a member on here posted his used rear Shadetree set up and after negotiating a deal I went ahead and bought it. I figured that after all I had read it wasn't worth the NEW price but for a deeply discounted used price it was worth a shot if only to save time making the mounting brackets.
I got the fender and it seems pretty solid. The lower mounting bracket was nothing to write home about but it seems suitable. Since this was a pre-owned set up it had the older style mounting brackets. The top bracket is made of two cast pieces that clamp together. Not the best design I think but if you get a newer kit you will get different brackets than mine.
Since this fender had been pre-installed I didn't have to do my own drilling and was able to mock it right up. Initially it seemed that the fit was off but then I figured out why. The former owner had not trimmed the lower front of the fender enough and it actually came down further than the frame of the bike. He said his air ride shocks gave out and the fender dragged on the ground. That part of the fender was slightly bent toward the tire. This wasn't allowing me to push that lower portion of the fender towards the tire as it needed in order to fit the radius properly. I took the fender off and trimmed off the excess. It needed to be done anyway since the fender was technically to long. Once I did that everything fit right up and seemed pretty solid. I do plan to make some plates for the underside of the fender to reinforce the bolt holes for the mounting brackets. I also plan on using struts at the back but rather than go with Shadetree's flat struts I am going to make mine out of round metal stock.
Some have said that the fender will move left and right at the upper mounting bracket. I can see how that might be but I have a hard time seeing that being the case on mine. The bracket gripped so good that when I went to take it off I was expecting it to fall free when I removed the bolts and instead I have to pry it off the swingarm. Also, I think that with a set of good struts, it would prevent any side to side movement since it would have to push against the struts on either side.
I stripped the fender and of the paint job and it is pretty raw underneath. Fortunately I can do my own paint and body work so I'll be able to refinish the fender with little additional cost. If you are not capable of such work or don't have the funds to pay someone to do it I would consider something different. I know they advertise ready to paint fenders now but I myself didn't care for the style of them. They are very small and don't come down the sides of the tire as much as I'd like. I also don't like the shape of the back of the fender. However, if you like those and don't want to worry about body work it might be the way to go.
Overall I think it's a decent set up but to be honest I don't know that it's worth the new price. I think if you trust Kyle to get you what you want, go ahead and have him pre-cut and drill your fender for you so that you spend as little time with set up.
Knowing what I know now I would probably go back to my original plan of getting a Led Sled or Lowbrow Customs fender and making my own brackets. It still would have been cheaper than the used price of my Shadetree kit and given the amount of work I plan to do with this Shadetree fender, I don't think it would have been that much more effort to mount make my own mounting setup.
Recently I decided I wanted to try the bobber look and was going to go with a fender from other makers and just make my own mounting system. I was going to go with a fender from Sled Led (less than $200) which will make them to order based on the size/radius of your rear tire. As it were, a member on here posted his used rear Shadetree set up and after negotiating a deal I went ahead and bought it. I figured that after all I had read it wasn't worth the NEW price but for a deeply discounted used price it was worth a shot if only to save time making the mounting brackets.
I got the fender and it seems pretty solid. The lower mounting bracket was nothing to write home about but it seems suitable. Since this was a pre-owned set up it had the older style mounting brackets. The top bracket is made of two cast pieces that clamp together. Not the best design I think but if you get a newer kit you will get different brackets than mine.
Since this fender had been pre-installed I didn't have to do my own drilling and was able to mock it right up. Initially it seemed that the fit was off but then I figured out why. The former owner had not trimmed the lower front of the fender enough and it actually came down further than the frame of the bike. He said his air ride shocks gave out and the fender dragged on the ground. That part of the fender was slightly bent toward the tire. This wasn't allowing me to push that lower portion of the fender towards the tire as it needed in order to fit the radius properly. I took the fender off and trimmed off the excess. It needed to be done anyway since the fender was technically to long. Once I did that everything fit right up and seemed pretty solid. I do plan to make some plates for the underside of the fender to reinforce the bolt holes for the mounting brackets. I also plan on using struts at the back but rather than go with Shadetree's flat struts I am going to make mine out of round metal stock.
Some have said that the fender will move left and right at the upper mounting bracket. I can see how that might be but I have a hard time seeing that being the case on mine. The bracket gripped so good that when I went to take it off I was expecting it to fall free when I removed the bolts and instead I have to pry it off the swingarm. Also, I think that with a set of good struts, it would prevent any side to side movement since it would have to push against the struts on either side.
I stripped the fender and of the paint job and it is pretty raw underneath. Fortunately I can do my own paint and body work so I'll be able to refinish the fender with little additional cost. If you are not capable of such work or don't have the funds to pay someone to do it I would consider something different. I know they advertise ready to paint fenders now but I myself didn't care for the style of them. They are very small and don't come down the sides of the tire as much as I'd like. I also don't like the shape of the back of the fender. However, if you like those and don't want to worry about body work it might be the way to go.
Overall I think it's a decent set up but to be honest I don't know that it's worth the new price. I think if you trust Kyle to get you what you want, go ahead and have him pre-cut and drill your fender for you so that you spend as little time with set up.
Knowing what I know now I would probably go back to my original plan of getting a Led Sled or Lowbrow Customs fender and making my own brackets. It still would have been cheaper than the used price of my Shadetree kit and given the amount of work I plan to do with this Shadetree fender, I don't think it would have been that much more effort to mount make my own mounting setup.
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