Thinkin' about fenders

GoldenMotor.com

exavid

New Member
Dec 12, 2009
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Medford, OR
I've got a Schwinn Beach Point cruiser bike that will soon be converted to four stroke. After hearing the horror stories about front fenders coming loose and had a couple of thoughts about mounting methods. I'm planning on pop riveting a couple pieces on either side of the fender to make valences ala Indian but not quite so deep. Where the valence passes through the fork on each side I'm going to bolt it to the fork. That way if the bracket did break the fender couldn't rotate forward. One other possibility if one doesn't want to valence the fender would be to make an arch out of 1/16" thick steel or some other suitable piece of metal. Cut a strip about 1/2" wide and long enough to form an inverted 'U' shape that would fit the underside of the fender and extend down below it a half inch or so. Riveting or bolting the arch in two places on the side of the fender and then bolting the tabs to to fork legs would make for a pretty solid and safe attachment. With the added support and the original tab there's little chance a fender would ever be able to rotate forward.
 

BOREDTrackRacer

New Member
Nov 10, 2009
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Los Angeles
that would probably work. I did have fenders with valances and when i took them off for inspection when the back one came loose, I found tons of hairlines cracks in the bracket. Just make sure its really solid or you will be thinking about it everytime you ride.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
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Littleton, Colorado
I'd opt for screws instead of pop rivets. I like 10/32 with nylock nuts. Never had one come loose of fall off. I also double bracket the fenders. In other words, where the factory gives you one, I fabricate another one to attach to the fender in tandem. I also remove the factory rivets and install screws and nuts. Just MHO.
Tom
 

exavid

New Member
Dec 12, 2009
163
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Medford, OR
Pop rivets work well when fitted right. I've used tons of them in ultralight aircraft and never had one come loose. Talk about vibration, those things can really buzz. Using SS pops set in a #30 hole is really solid, the SS rivets pull up much harder than the aluminum ones. A bit of epoxy in the lap joint before riveting helps a good bit too. Using quality pops is important too. United Shoe makes good ones, the cheap imported ones aren't worth using in any thing stressed or vibrated.