I couldn't sleep again, so I went outside and chopped off my rear fender.

It was cracked, so I ordered a new one from the dealer for $30.  I picked it up today, so I decided I wanted to see what a fenderectomy looked like in person.

eh...

Although it's better than the long plastic peice.



How did you guys get a smooth straight cut?  I used a hacksaw, which was quick, but it left a rough edge and wasn't totally straight.  I also used my boxcutter.  It cut like the fender was butter, but very hard to keep straight.

mines not that rough ... but sand that shaZam! down ... i didnt touch mine and it looks alright.

sand it down.

An, doing that must have cost you at least 90 posts on gstwin...was it really worth it? I dont think you can afford to leave the computer any longer...LOL.

I just put some tape down where I wanted to cut mine, then got out the dremel.  After dremel I sanded it down to smooth it out.

Did I miss the pic or something?  Or maybe I'm just getting blind in my old age.

I used a box cutter. Cut it pretty cleanly. You can also use a dremel tool. Also a clean cut. Or just file/sand your rough edges.

OCD Steps for a Proper Fenderplasty:

Tools:

Measuring Tape
Straight Edge/Ruler
CD or something else round
Pen
Painters Tape
Dremel
Box knife/razor blade
Flat file
Sand paper

Steps:

1.  Tape the fender over the area you want to cut.
2.  Measure up on both sides to make sure you're going to cut it straight
3.  Use the straight edge to draw a straight line.
4.  Use the round thing to draw a taper on the sides of the fender (similar to the original shape).
5.  Use the Dremel to cut along your line.
6.  Take of the tape.
7.  Use the straight file to straighten/round out the edges.
8.  Use the knife to removed the melted plastic on the edges.
9.  Use the sand paper to give a final smooth edge.
10.  Look at the shorter fender for at least 20 minutes obsessing about that one part that's not quite right.

Quote from: RVertigo on September 13, 2006, 12:42:37 AM
OCD Steps for a Proper Fenderplasty:
10.  Look at the shorter fender for at least 20 minutes obsessing about that one part that's not quite right.[/list]

That's my problem.  Everything needs to be perfect if I'm doing a custom thing.

Quote from: RVertigo on September 13, 2006, 12:42:37 AM
OCD Steps for a Proper Fenderplasty:
4.  Use the round thing to draw a taper on the sides of the fender (similar to the original shape).

I'm thinking of doing something similar, but making the round shape follow the tire instead.

Quote from: pantablo on September 12, 2006, 09:30:29 PMAn, doing that must have cost you at least 90 posts on gstwin...was it really worth it? I dont think you can afford to leave the computer any longer...LOL.

DAMN!!!  I didn't realize it cost me THAT many posts.  I'm gonna have to arrive at my night class 15 minutes late today to make up for that

when and if i do mine I am going to do it the dremel way, then if i am real lazy i will use a sanding bit on the dremel 

Well, I've seen some pretty hacked up fenders...  Mine looks pretty close to stock, only 5" shorter.

It's all about your own style.

mine is better
and I used a handsaw.

OK.  I just completed the fenderectomy on the GOOD FENDER.

I used a chopsaw to get the nice and straight cut I wanted.  Then I just used a sharp knife to get rid of the melted plastic and VIOLA!  I love it.

I also relocated the rear reflector to just under the license plate.  Looks better IMO

I will take pics when I'm not lazy.

Quote from: annguyen1981 on September 13, 2006, 11:03:32 AM
I will take pics when I'm not too busy post whoring.

Quote from: bubba zanetti on September 13, 2006, 03:32:47 PM

Quote from: annguyen1981 on September 13, 2006, 11:03:32 AM
I will take pics when I'm not too busy post whoring.

BURN!

Quote from: bubba zanetti on September 13, 2006, 03:32:47 PM

Quote from: annguyen1981 on September 13, 2006, 11:03:32 AM
I will take pics when I'm not too busy post whoring.

Noob question...

Doesn't the rear fender serve a purpose (besides making the bike look ugly)?  What keeps the rain / mud from splattering up the back of the rider if there isn't a fender?

No doubt about it, the bike looks better without a fender.  But are people with fenderectomies making their bikes look good at the expense of wearing a nice stripe of mud up their back? 

El Noobo

p.s. An, show us some pics (of your bike preferably)!  You can't just start a thread of this magnitude without showing us the results.   

the tail of the bike sticks out sufficiently to prevent your back from getting a mud stripe, unless its super wet out. In which case its probably raining really hard and you're all wet anyway.

I never had a problem with getting wet on my bike, although I had to clean the rear tail light regularly...

Cool!  It's raining all weekend here anyway, so I've got an easy project to look forward to while waiting for sun.  How hard is it to reposition the tail lights?

El Noobo

you mean the turn signals? easy. very easy.

fender eliminator:
http://pantablo500.tripod.com/id48.html

moving your turn signals:
http://pantablo500.tripod.com/id31.html

Uhh.. someone did the math, with angles and everything, to prove that without a significant tailwind, it's impossible for the water to come off the tire onto your back in any significant amount.