More bling

(Reposted from my nomad blogging thread at Motorcycle-USA.com, just so you guys don't have to click off to another forum.)

Day 1757
30,973 miles

My matching chrome bumper for the front fender came and I put it on last night.

The same 4 bolts that hold this chrome doo-dad to the fork legs also hold on the front fender and the front reflectors and the front brake hose guides. I can tell you it was a pain in the butt to get all that stuff lined up at once without removing the brake covers, and front wheel, and without scratching the fender all up.
It took my wife and I over an hour, and then it didn't fit quite right & we took it all back apart.

If you buy one, IGNORE the instructions that say to place the chrome tabs inside the fender. Locate them between the fender and the fork legs or you'll be taking it all apart again like I did. (Pack rags under the fender to support it in place above the tire while you struggle to align all the holes.)

Anyhow, it all came together finally and looks pretty nice considering I got it for $100 (which is $54 less than normally advertized.) The big thing is that perhpas it'll protect that $450 front fender from being bent in some minor mishap.

LOL...Yes those are my white knees in the reflection, and we have been shopping at OSH.

[racinchef]

It IS a PITA to mount or install some of these accessories, but in the end when the sun is starting to set and the driveway is shaded and you pop a cold one, the satisfaction is two-fold; a job well done, and your baby looks even better than ever. Perhaps a nice Bacardi Silver Mojito w/Pomegranate would be the beverage of choice. I drink one to your work now; salute! Kudos too to your extraordinary wife for her help too!

Thanks buddy. She is a peach of a gal and I couldn't be luckier than to have her.

As for myself, it's a Clovis Ice'd Tea, containing tea & ice (of course) Bacardi, Vox, Lemoncello, and a dash each of Midori and Blue Curacao.

[chuckster131]

Cadd,
I thought of getting one of those, but it won't fit with the fender tip allready installed on my scooter.

[coacha]

Nice addition. I'm glad to hear someone else had to take an hour to install 4 bolts, lol. My wife and I put mine on two weeks ago. I told her, "this shouldn't take more than 15 mintues"...famous last words. After much gnashing of teeth and a few choice words, got it on.

[ringadingh]

I can certainly vouch that those bumpers are almost impossible to install by yourself. It took me probably at least an hour also, I was suspending the fender with bungee cords to try to line up all the stuff to get those little bolts in. And I think I did manage to put a small mark in the fender.

15 minutes? Yeah I've been there too. Now I expect to just look at something for 15 minutes before I even touch it, just deciding which way to proceed.

Mine hit the fender on one side once I got everything bolted up loosely. Before tightening the bolts, I stuffed a wadded up rag between the bumper & fender at the tight spot, and when I pulled it out after tightening the bolts, I had pretty even clearances. But at first glance i was afraid I was going to have to grind holes or bend things a little. I think the fender just had a natural "tweak" to it, that came out when I did this.

Now I've probably pre-loaded the fork legs doing this & the seals are gonna start leaking soon.

Originally Posted by chuckster131

Cadd,
I thought of getting one of those, but it won't fit with the fender tip allready installed on my scooter.

You know, there's actually more clearance at the tip than I thought there would be, but along the sides it gets pretty close. I know the thing is flexible enough to develop a little more clearance if you wanted to, but I'm not certain it would be enough.

One thing I will say is that it's very difficult to get the fender bolts in and out if you have the chrome rotor covers. If I had to do it again, I think I'd remove the covers and calipers & drop the front wheel.

Also, my hands aren't that large. Anybody with larger hands should consider dropping the wheel even if they don't have the rotor covers.

[refugio]

Cool...........Nice Job........No apparent visable scratches

[vaccam]

Caddmann,

That looks real nice. I had a hard time deciding which way I wanted to go on mine between the bumper and the tips. In the end I decided to go with the tips, since I could do it for less $$$ and do it one piece at a time. I only have the front on mine. That's what I get for trying to do too many mods all in the same month.

Either way they look great. Glad you got it done without any scratches.

Michael

[jussmatt]

Looks nice Cadd!!! Been thinking of getting those too, but haven't been able to bite the bullet yet... Thanks for the write up though!!!!

There are scratches, but they were there before I started. They are on the fender mounting tabs, and the dealer put them there when they first mounted the fender. Of course I didn't notice them until I first washed the bike and by then they blamed me.

BTW, their ham-fisted assembly guy overtorqued the front fender bolts as well as every other thing he mounted when the bike came out of the crate.

Anyhow, the chrome tabs actually cover them up except for a clip you gotta look behind the forks to see.

Now there are a few rock chips in the paint, but with 31,000 miles on the bike, you can't help that.

[nomad1600]

CaddmannQ
Looks good, I like my front fender trim, I think it does help protect the fender. It's just hard sometimes to get the dried bugs off the fender up under the trim. But I like it and it LOOKS GOOOOD!!!

Sorry, it was so hard to put on. I don't remember mine being that difficult. But it's good that you have some great help.

[dogdoc]

Nice touch CaddQ, thanks for the pics too.

[pirate]

CaddQ it looks great. I've been trying to decide if I should go that route or the fender tips. I like the appearance of both.
Nice work!