Sunlite Springer Replica Fork with fenders

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Tom from Rubicon

Tom from Rubicon

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Apr 4, 2016
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I am in the midst of a Sportsman Flyer 80 build, and killing time by completing some details while waiting for the reduction drive system. I bought a set of 26" fenders from Wald, and I must say they are very high quality. They put Huffy fenders to shame as well they should.
I am hoping there are some forumites who have attached fenders to Sunlite springer forks. If you would be so kind as to post photos and or recommend hardware to facilitate this combination please do.
So far the only example I have found is a photo posted on Pat Dolan's flicker account. Sadly not the best photo.
Tom from Rubicon,WI
 
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Tony01

Tony01

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Nov 28, 2012
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Meh, the walds are just OK. Feel a bit light for me. Anyway I looked up the fork and it looks like you have a hole on the front assembly for a fender/brake. On my build I made my own angle brackets from 1/8" steel, bent and annealed, and painted with engine paint. Then used bairdcos instructions to rubber mount the fenders. The front bracket is a u-shape and bolts to the steerer in two places with one hold for the fender. In this thread you can see how I mounted the rear with an l-shape bracket.

http://motorbicycling.com/showpost.php?p=648425&postcount=8
 
Tom from Rubicon

Tom from Rubicon

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Apr 4, 2016
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Rubicon, Wisconsin
Sunday,I kept squinting at Pat’s build and can see that the fender stays tie together below the axel of the sprung fork so the stays are tied to the axel. So I bolted the stays together and hung them under the axel nut. Measured the distance between bolt and axel centers.
One inch even.
Today after work, I went out to my machine shop, found some 304 SS 1”X .062”thk.
“punched two holes” with a 3/8” carbide end mill. Trimmed the OAL to 1.875” and the width to .875”. Ends will be radius’d , but the fit up on the bike looks right.
Thanks Tony, for your reply.
Your machine reminds me so much of a early fifties Triumph. Sweet!
Tom
 
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Tony01

Tony01

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Nov 28, 2012
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Old triumph, haha thanks. You know Tom, I've had this strange noise coming from my bike ever since I layed it down on the freeway. I thought it was coming from my motor that I built up but then tapped my fender and it was the same pitch. Well last night only a few hours after my post I looked between the tire and fender edge at the 3/4" wide button head screw holding the front fender center slot on the fork bracket, and it looked cracked. So I pulled the fender off and this is what I found: a 3/4" diameter hole where there's only supposed to be a 1/4" wide slot. This thing was about to let go!

The way my buddy did his shorty fender (only one bracket) was by using one of the long brackets for the fender ends, cutting it about 4" from the fender and hose clamping it to the fork. This way you get much more mounting area and two screws holding it. I'll be putting the fender back on, along with an additional front bracket, before the rains come on Thursday cause I gotta get to work!

304SS sounds good but check it frequently. I originally stretched the chai stays only with a .125" wall thickness 1" 304SS tube that cracked at about 40mph. Scary! I could be wrong but I think mild steel is less brittle than stainless. My rear fender is also cracked at the tab where it bolts to the chainstay.
 

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Tom from Rubicon

Tom from Rubicon

Well-Known Member
Apr 4, 2016
2,786
6,002
113
73
Rubicon, Wisconsin
Hi Tony, that photo shows a stress flex failure. Kinda like how you can break steel wire by flexing it back and forth. I will keep an eye on the SS tabs. Stainless does work harden.
Tom
 
Tom from Rubicon

Tom from Rubicon

Well-Known Member
Apr 4, 2016
2,786
6,002
113
73
Rubicon, Wisconsin
As mentioned in my last post, the early 1900's provide examples of how to deal with attaching fender stays to the leading link. And then there were examples more in the 1940's where with deep fenders they were attached to the steering fork.
Sunlites don't offer that solution nor do the fenders. So I first made a front fender stay link of 1/16 SS with hole spacing's
on 1" center to center. Using the same attachment point for the rear stay as KCvale has said would conflict with the steerer forks, and it does. So I next made a set of SS links tied to the front stay links with a hole spacing of 1 1/4" C to C
attaching the rear stays to it. I also mounted the top fender attachment to the rear side of the sprung fork spacing it back with a 1/4" nylon saddle. I will post photos of the individual components soon. I am waiting for a order of Sturmey Archer axel nuts. Just for the record they are 13/32-26 tpi. Not a hardware store item.
The links are not adjusted yet so there should be another 1/8 to 3/16 clearance of the steerer fork.
This website is a bit hard to post photos. go to motoredbikes.com for photos.
Sorry Moderators it is what it is. My charter connection is terribly slow.
Tom
 
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