I mocked up the front fender this morning. Not bad for $100. Heading to Lowes to run get some spacers. I think it looks pretty good, not as good as some of the money bag bikes on the forum though.

Looking for opinions on height off the tire. Do you folks think it should be a tad higher off the tire?

thanks, Jim

 

I would keep it from 1/2" to 1" off the tire. The more space the less chance of something in tire grabbing and ruining your fender.

 

That's a good call.

I was thinking the less space would prevent something from getting between the tire and the fender.

 

Looks great!. I'm swapping my fender out this week. MY HD manual instructs to remove the calipers & front wheel . . . . . looks to me that after you bend the retaining tabs & remove the four mounting bolts, it should come right off. Can you offer your insight?

 

Yes you can do it without taking all that off, it is a pita thought. I had to do it with a box end wrench and with limited room it takes a bit. Putting it back on was easier but I used lock tight not the locking tabs.

 

If you're new fender requires adjustment, I would just leave the calipers and wheel on, maybe put some painters tape on the upper portion of the wheel and the calipers. You're correct though, just straighten out the retaining strips and you're all set. If you have an E-glide, you'll have to unplug the wire removing the outer fairing to get to it. That's pretty much it.

Jim

 

I did the same thing, those retaining strips are a bit of overkill. They came in handy, I had to drill mounting holes in my new fender, so I used them as a template to drill the holes, they were spot on.

 

Nice work on the fender. My custom is 1 1/4" off the tire, but I positioned it based on the fender radius. I would have preferred a smaller raduis for a tighter fit, but I got what I got. I was exhausted after prepping the cheap blank and I just settled, but it turned out to be tolerable.
Jason

 

I've used a garden hose taped to center of tire to get the lowered look. I've always had to take the calipers off to get the tire completly off.

 

I like how yours exposes the whole rim

Dig the C3