[The Rev.]

Last week, I was rolling down I-55 about 50 miles south of St. Louis and I started hearing a "metal on metal" rattling sound. At first, I thought one of my front brake calipers was coming loose, but then I saw that the right side of my front fender bracket was cracked all the way through and was banging against my right fork leg. About the time I saw this, the other side of the bracket cracked through and the fender went flying. It hit the ground behind me and nearly took out my buddy who was riding behind me on an old '75 Sportster. He displayed some pretty quick reflexes for an old man! Anyhow, the local dealership ordered me a new fender and bracket. I'm waiting to hear if it is going to be a warranty item or if I'm going to get jacked. If it isn't covered by warranty, I may not replace it. It looks kind of cool with no fender. Has this happened to anyone else, or am the "example" again?

 

[CPTJAM]

Had a similar problem, and at first the dealer was not seeing my side. Finally, showing the broken brackets convinced him to do the warranty thing. If stuff just falls off, most times they blame you. I had a fight on heat shield bolts. Good luck! V/R Joe

 

[pacanis]

I'm wondering how well the dealers even go over these things.
I got stranded in Jerkwater, NY when my DX finally died and wouldn't stay running. After getting a buddy to pick me up and trailering it to a different dealer the following day (props to Jamestown H-D), it turns out the nut on the battery was stripped. The more I rode the worse it got and at 90 miles the loose terminal couldn't maintain good enough contact to keep me running.
Now don't you think the $450 setup fee they charge would have discovered a loose battery terminal leading to a stripped nut???

 

[Frankenstein]

fender

I was going to pull off the front fender to see what it would look like! Just got to stay out of the rain. Doc

 

[ajam318]

How about some pics without the fender? Curious.

 

[smokenjoe01]

I ripped mine off ! Chopped the throttle in a massive wheelie. The bike slammed down hard. Luckily it did not go through the radiator. My tubes were slid up.
FWIW -Dont ride with out a front fender. Even if you ride trough a little dust. It gets thrown straight up on top of you. I almost ran off the road with my chopper like this. I pulled out of a parking lot on to a busy road and dirt got in to my eyes and I couldnt see a dam thing.

 

[Kru_zer]

That sucks, I do hope the dealer warranties your new fender.

 

[DallasV Rod]

Funny, I posted (see in the general section w/ pics pg. 19) 6/25/07 about my front fender breaking. It broke on the left side. I heard a loud rattling noise, looked down in front of me to see my front fender bouncing. Since my post was pretty much ignored, I figured this was not a regular/warranty type problem. I have just over 7k miles on my R also.

I was hit in October and figured that this caused a stress crack that finally worked its way through. So I didn't try to get it covered under warranty. The part cost me $204.00 after tax.

 

[JDR_ROD]

gotta tighten them bolts

 

[DallasV Rod]

Here is a pic w/out the fender.

 

[JDR_ROD]

Here is a pic w/out the fender.

what in the heck is going on w/ that airbox cover???

 

[firemedic]

what in the heck is going on w/ that airbox cover???

:stupid:

 

[Cheatin]

what in the heck is going on w/ that airbox cover???

Looks like it's screened for more intake air.

 

[JDR_ROD]

Looks like it's screened for more intake air.

I rather go with the looks or the stock one, then the extra .025 hp from that lid

 

[DallasV Rod]

what in the heck is going on w/ that airbox cover???

Actually, its my old airbox cover that got dented when I got whacked last October by a driver talking on her cell phone.

I decided to cut out the dent with a grinder with a cutting wheel attached. Its my rat-bike in progress. I'll start a new thread with more recent phots.

 

[The Rev.]

I finally got my new front fender and "updated" fender bracket (bracket was back ordered for over 6 weeks). I'm not sure what was H-D did to update the fender bracket, but other than a different part # it looks just like the old one that broke. The fender and bracket were both covered under warranty, so I'm not out any money, but hopefully this bracket is stronger than the old one. It's a lot nicer riding in the rain with a front fender!

 

[TheeRod]

So whats that new part # just for sh!ts and giggles.

 

[The Rev.]

I not sure. When I commented to the parts guy that the new bracket looked just like the old one, he said H-D must have done something different to it, because it was listed as an updated part and it had a different part number than the old bracket. The fender still shakes like crazy going down the road, so I'll be pretty surprised if new bracket holds up any longer than the old one. The first one only made it 12,000 miles. I'm just happy they covered it under warranty.