Not your typical MX rear fender question...

[Been2Long]

MX rear fender install question...

Hey guys, newbie here. Have been doing alot of reading on this site after recently purchasing a very nice/clean 2000 220. It's great to be in the bike riding business again after a very long layoff.

So I bought a Mair fender from Fredette and attempted to bolt it on tonite. Apparently I'm doing something wrong. Now I'm not as techincal as most of the regulars here but I'm not helpless either. It went on rather easily, but the seat bracket doesn't line up correctly on the muffler side now. It's slightly off as you can tell in the picture. I began to notch out the area where it appears to be rubbing but quickly stopped to ask for advice before I did something I might regret later.

Am I the only one to have this problem? It really feels like the fender is lined up and not in a bind anywhere. What do you think I'm overlooking?



Great site here, I'm really enjoying it and being a bike owner again.

 

[samiam]

It appears that you have mounted the fender just a bit too high on that side. You might be able to lower it by slotting the mounting holes in the fender, or placing a shim under one of the mounting bolts to space the fender slighter lower.

 

[reepicheep]

That whole stack is pretty fussy. It depends on how far forward the front of the seat is, and if the sub tail assembly has been previously bent by somebody looping the bike, and on the condition of the seat pan (which can be reshaped through new covers and different seat pads.

The previous owner broke one side and badly bent the other side of my tail section subframe, so I had to weld back one side and bend the other side back... the net result ended up about half an inch too low... and the result is almost the same as your picture. I just force it, and it all stitches together and works fine... about the only problem is the gap then translates to the *front* of the seat, so it isn't as flush to the tank as I would like.

No big deal, next time I have the fender off and it's warm enough to paint I'll heat up the frame and bend it right. And until then it's fine...

So that's the seat / frame holes... my UFO aftermarket fender was fussy to maneuver in there, but once in lined up great.

 

[Been2Long]

Thanks for the replies. After sleeping on it, I think today I'm going to remove the spacers from under the fender to see if the seat will fall into place. If it does, then I'll shave them down in small incriments until it all lines up.

The fender bars off the frame look pretty straight so I'm hoping the solution will be as simple as shaving the spacers.

 

[Porkchop]

fixing previous owner crash damage

Bend & tweek as required to get the wheel well centered over the rear wheel. Keep adjusting until all mounting holes line up with seat, fender, muffler, side panels. Have a look at it from several different angles, both up close & standing back a bit. When everything lines up & it looks right, you're finished. Good luck pal, Porkchop... :cool:
P.S. Check for rear wheel clearance when completely bottomed out, to ensure tire does not contact the fender, good luck.

 

[mudpack]

When assembling bike parts, especially something like a bodywork piece installation, I always wait until all the fasteners are in and have about two threads left before being tight, before finally tightening them all to final torque. That way things can still move around a bit which will facilitate everything lining up.

 

[Been2Long]

All done, I think...

Great advice mudpack...I'm happy report that this project is complete. I removed the spacers like I mentioned in my 2nd post to no avail. I loosened everything up and started over. I also modified my seat mount bracket by adding 3 washers over each post to lengthen/drop it some. With the top fender bolts removed, I put the seat and number plates back on. i then added the spacers and tightened the top of the fender. It's snug, but done. Will make it interesting when removing in the future but at least I've been there/done that.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[julien_d]

Good job man, bike looks great!

 

[Porkchop]

breaking in new plastic?

It looks great, can I take it for a spin?( some dough nuts in super hunkies front yard maybe?) For gods sake go ride the thing! :laugh:

 

[Been2Long]

Porkchop, it still has that new to me smell. However, I did take it down to my neighbor's house for a beer or 3 - does that count? No, I did not go thru any yards...

 

[Porkchop]

RIGHT ON! A maiden voyage, christened with beer! Glad to hear about no trespasing, rose bushes are painfull....

 

[mudpack]

Put some new levers on that beauty....or handguards.
The first time you drive one of those into your thigh, you'll know why I say this. :cool:

 

[0120x]

weres your skidplate?bike looks great nice job.