Tech: Front Fender

I like the front fender on some of the Victory motorcycles so when it came time to address this part of my bike I looked around for something to start with that would be similar. Ghost Rider Customs had a metal fender that I really liked so I saved it to my favorites during the summer. By the time fall came and I was ready to order it, they stopped caring it.... They replaced it with a fiberglass model that they are adamant is much better. My first reaction was no, so I looked around for another steel fender. I wasn't very successful so I came back to Ghost Rider and decided to give this thing a try.

The web site states "Comes Gell Coated ready to Prime and Paint, or we can paint it any solid color for you for $200.00 (choose custom paint option at checkout) or email us for Custom Paint quotes!"

http://www.grcustoms.com/shop/NEW-V-Rod-Front-Fenders/ so I figured that this would be a quick job.

The box took a couple of weeks to arrive. I was surprised to see that UPS had not crushed it. Inside I found the fender was well wrapped in paper and bubble wrap. My first impression when I pulled it out of the box was disappointment. This was definitely NOT ready for prime and paint. I emailed GRC and their response was that it is supposed to come rough.

Above you can see the rough and uneven edges that the fender came with. I let it sit a couple of days before deciding not to send it back and continuing with the project. I knew I had the ability to make this work, I was not expecting to put the extra time into it. "ready to prime and paint". I also expected better for the price.

Here you can see where I had to remove the inside build up so that the fender would sit on the wheel evenly.

Remember to use proper safety equipment when working with fiberglass and paint.

After that I had the fender roughed down on the inside and evened the edges so that I could get a good fit with the fender and see how it looks on the bike. I used a climbing rope to set the clearance height. This will give it a tight look, but it should give it even clearance all the way around the tire.

With the fender in place I could see how the lines flow with the rest of the bike. The fender did not follow the lines of the rim, so I used a marker and drew where I needed to cut.

After cutting the shape I fit it again to make sure it was where I wanted it to be. I was happy with the first try so now it was time to shape the edges. As a tool maker by profession I have a few metal files lying around and I have had to shape a few metal parts by hand in the past so that is what I chose to make clean lines on the edges. I filed it at a right angle to the sides, just concentrating on smoothing out the side profile. When I was happy with that I used the file to put a rough radius on the inside of the edge. The wall thickness changes along the edges so some spots needed a little more work, while other spots need little or none.

After I filled the edges I used 120 sand paper to smooth the edges further followed by 220, 280 and then 400. As the sand paper grit got smaller, the more I worked the outside of the edge, gently creating an outside radius.

After a couple of days I was satisfied with the general shape of the fender so I wet sanded the gel coat with 280 and then 400. I was able to sand out a few of the imperfections in the molding, but others I would have to fill and sand later. I painted the fender with primer and then wet sanded it. I followed this procedure 2 more times, prime, wet sand, prime, wet sand. Eventually I had a smooth looking fender.

I had to build a stand to paint the fender. It was easy to make from scrap wood I had sitting around. I used a piece of plywood for the bottom. The center post can be any length, as long as it doesn't make the stand top heavy. Last thing you need is for the stand to fall over when painting. On top I used a 6" long piece of wood that I nailed like a "T" to give the fender a nice broad place to sit.

After the fender was primed and wet sanded to my satisfaction I wiped it down and painted it with a burgundy. When this dried I wet sanded that and then painted it two more times. The burgundy wasn't the same as the bike color but close. This was a lower cost but quality paint alternative, because there was no metallic in it.

Over the burgundy I used Dupli-color Burgundy Berry Met. This was the closest thing I could find to the original Harley paint. I painted the Dupli-color twice, wet sanding between followed by two layers of clear coat. To get a nice smooth surface I used a 3M buffing kit. It came with a 1000 grit sanding pad, two buffing creams and two buffing wheels that fit into a standard drill chuck.

After bolting the fender to the forks the front and rear of the fender tweaked a little, closing the clearance between the fender and tire. I had to take the fender back off and slot the holes to move the fender away from the tire more. I should have checked the fit with bolts before painting.

The color is slightly off, but with plans of repainting the tins next winter if funds allow, I wasn't going to spend a lot on the Harley custom paint. Summer project will be cleaning out that messy garage.

After a couple of weeks of cold wet weather I was eager to get the bike out and ride it to work Wednesday. I have to say that in the sun the paint matches closely and you likely wouldn't notice the difference unless you were told.

It took more work than I intended, but I like the way the fender looks. I was also able to sit with my 12 year old son while working on it. Hopefully he learned something from it, like maybe hard work can pay off.

I picked up the fork bag at the Harrisburg, PA Swap two weeks ago. I don't know if it will be on long term, but for now it gives me a place to stash my stuff.