I was thinking about taking the front fender off my bike for asthetic purposes. Has anyone done this here? What are the pros and cons are of running a bike without one. Anyone have pics? Thanks again in advance!

What?!!  You don't get a woody staring at that awesome front fender?!!   Seriously I  think you are going to get all grades of crap all over you and your bike!

Quote from: commuterdude on June 23, 2008, 03:21:17 PM
What?!!  You don't get a woody staring at that awesome front fender?!!   Seriously I  think you are going to get all grades of crap all over you and your bike!

I plan on taking it off just to see what I like mroe. Having it on doesnt do anything for me...I'm an ass man myself

Those guys do it on their choppers all the time. You'll just throw up more road grime and rain water on you and your bike. I don't know if the fender provides any bracing for the forks, if it does, it's probably very little.

You have to have the metal plate in the center. As far as removing the fender I think its kinda a dumb idea, but its your bike... Hope you like the taste of rocks 

I think it would do much more harm than good 

I was thinking about going fenderless too.
Does it really catch that much debris?
I'd like to see a pic if you do it.

Quote from: SmithvilleFlats on June 23, 2008, 05:28:57 PM
I was thinking about going fenderless too.
Does it really catch that much debris?
I'd like to see a pic if you do it.

Tons ! I ran without mine for a few days when I put the 2nd set of tires on. Hella lotta crap flinging everywhere.

And rain !

OMG ONOZ NOT RAIN !

Hell the dry riding was enough. shaZam! sticks to the tires, waits for the perfect moment to sling off, trajectory set to hit you squarely in the middle of your face shield !

But, I have the luck of a turkey in November, so don't mind me.

I have had mine off for sometime after my crash and made no difference looked the same just without but I didnt notice if the fender has no bracing duties so removing it if fine if you rlike it.

Quote from: scottpA_GS on June 23, 2008, 05:22:53 PM

You have to have the metal plate in the center. As far as removing the fender I think its kinda a dumb idea, but its your bike... Hope you like the taste of rocks 

I think it would do much more harm than good 

Ditto that..I've got a Busa fender on mine,but I added a 1/8''piece of stainless plate above my steel brace.Helped alot as far as vibrations and cornering.It's there to keep the forks aligned!

I ran without a fender for a while when I got new wheels on my old GS400, and rain/puddles are HORRIBLE without a front fender. The tire picks it up, and flings it straight around at you

Riding it with no fender makes no difference.The engine will loose some paint as will the headers.You'll get wetter when riding in the rain,get more water on top of the engine and down the back of it.Worst case i've seen,a bike lost all the paint from the front of the gas tank all the way down to bottom of the frame.It was an old HD that was used to tour the US for 10+ years.Remember that 88 to 97 Katana,Bandit,and some SV fenders work on the GS and Katana front ends.I transferred my Bandit400 fender from my GS front end over to my Katana front end.

when i had my sv i broke the fender off it and it sucked.  flinging rocks at my face and when it was wet outside i got a nice steady stream of water to the face.  ya...

Does anyone have pictures of other compatible front fenders on their GS? I'd really like to see some. I'm not a fan of the fender on mine now, ad just plain ol' taking it off would have been an easy solution for me.

Holy ancient thread I know!!    But I was curious about this, did the search thing, and this thread turned up.

Soooo like the last post says, does anybody have any pics of a different front fender on their GS?  Anybody get really creative with the stock one?  Mine was busted when I bought the bike, I took it off and rode without one for a while.  Then I got a stock replacement and threw it on.  Then I chopped it way down and that's the way it is now.  How do you all have your front fenders?     

Did you see the one from Airtech?

http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/suzuz/GS500Titan.htm

That fender in carbon fiber would be pretty slick.....

OOOOOOOH that one is pretty sweet!  No I have never seen that one before... CF would be slick 

"aesthetic purposes"

Well, they say,  "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"...so do whatever makes you happy...

Nobody, I mean nobody gives a rats butt whether your bike has a fender of not....nobody will notice one way or the other, nor will they care if the did notice...

So if your "eye" sees that fender is the ugliest thing you've ever seen.... If removing that fender is the only obstacle between you and eternal bliss,  then remove it!

Me...I have other things in my life which are far more important than thinking "fender or no fender?"...like "should I have Coffee or Tea with my breakfast"?

Cookie

Quote from: Jackstand Johnny on June 23, 2008, 03:18:58 PM
I was thinking about taking the front fender off my bike for asthetic purposes. Has anyone done this here? What are the pros and cons are of running a bike without one. Anyone have pics? Thanks again in advance!

I always go with "function before beauty" 

Agreed!

Way back when, I went to design school.....the motto then was "form follows function"

The idea was that if you designed something functional, it would naturally be pleasing to the eye.

I like my front fender.....I like its function...I like its looks!


Cookie

Quote from: Suzuki Stevo on September 13, 2014, 12:29:21 PM
I always go with "function before beauty"