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[quixotic]

Zero does sell a fender extender that may do something, but water spray is always going to get around.

What it does not do is prevent aerodynamic turbulence that swirls spray all over the place. 

Yeah, I'm sure that they could make some fairly easy money if they made a conventional plastic fender which replaced the chopped off version, and then sold it as an extra.  Same goes for the front fender.  That would please both the fair weather riders and the commuters.

[Killroy]

Zero does sell a fender extender that may do something, but water spray is always going to get around.

What it does not do is prevent aerodynamic turbulence that swirls spray all over the place. 

Yeah, I'm sure that they could make some fairly easy money if they made a conventional plastic fender which replaced the chopped off version, and then sold it as an extra.  Same goes for the front fender.  That would please both the fair weather riders and the commuters.

The money would not be that easy.  Zero just does not have the volume.  They sell ~2000 motorcycles a year.  Injecting molding molds can be US$20,000 in Asia, so they would have to sell a lot of fenders to make easy money.  That is what I do for a living.

As I said before, rain riders are a corner case most are fair weather riders = not a large market.

Now, making a fiberglass fender on a foam mold would not be that hard.

[quixotic]

As I noted previously, I'm not impressed with the Zero fender.  I'll also note that it allows road grit to build up on the motor's cooling fins -- definitely not a good thing. 

Fender arrived in the mail yesterday.  Inexpensive, both for the fender and the shipping, but it took a few weeks to get here from China.  Decent quality, and the packaging was fine. 

Amazingly, it fits fairly well with the Zero's stock amputated fender.  I did chop off the last little inch or two which rises vertically, since it could conceivably hit the license plate holder.

I put a threaded rod (3/8", I think) through the axle.  Snugged it up by wrapping some motorcycle inner tube and friction tape around the rod.  All the rest should be self explanatory.

I'll shortly be painting it with aluminum etching primer and black rust paint (I don't want it to stand out).

[Kocho]

I bought the same rear fender extender as you off eBay. It's for some Harley bike. Haven't gotten to installing it yet. I probably would go with brackets through the axle like you did. Can you post a photo of the way you attached it to the OEM fender stub thingy?

[quixotic]

I bought the same rear fender extender as you off eBay. It's for some Harley bike. Haven't gotten to installing it yet. I probably would go with brackets through the axle like you did. Can you post a photo of the way you attached it to the OEM fender stub thingy?

Yep, I'll get a photo on there soon.  But essentially all I did was overlap the two fenders by a couple of inches or so (new under old), drill four holes, and use nylon nuts/bolts to tie them together.

This morning, I went back out there and laid a straight-edge on the fender and the nearest tangent of the tire.  Looks like the fender will even keep spray off of the cooling fins of whatever it is that sits directly under the seat (would it be the CPU?). 

[mrwilsn]

I bought the same rear fender extender as you off eBay. It's for some Harley bike. Haven't gotten to installing it yet. I probably would go with brackets through the axle like you did. Can you post a photo of the way you attached it to the OEM fender stub thingy?

Yep, I'll get a photo on there soon.  But essentially all I did was overlap the two fenders by a couple of inches or so (new under old), drill four holes, and use nylon nuts/bolts to tie them together.

This morning, I went back out there and laid a straight-edge on the fender and the nearest tangent of the tire.  Looks like the fender will even keep spray off of the cooling fins of whatever it is that sits directly under the seat (would it be the CPU?).

That's the SEVCON motor controller under the seat with the huge heat sink. Size 4 (420amp) for S/DS and size 6 (660amp) for SR/DSR.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[quixotic]

I bought the same rear fender extender as you off eBay. It's for some Harley bike. Haven't gotten to installing it yet. I probably would go with brackets through the axle like you did. Can you post a photo of the way you attached it to the OEM fender stub thingy?

Here it is.  I just attached them together with some fairly small nylon nuts and bolts.

[Kocho]

Thanks! I got to get to installing mine soon. Got caught in some rain the other day and it would have been nice to have it.

[yhafting]

It looks very neat and tidy!

[quixotic]

Since the plastic fender from China only extends to about 1 o'clock (when looking at the sprocket), instead of to 3 o'clock (like our bicycle fenders did when we were kids), I had to add a splash guard.  I would have preferred to have the wide part extend further back, but there's only so much room under there when it comes to inserting stuff.

It's made out of two pieces of 1/8", 3-ply plywood glu-lammed together.  Attachment is via 16 gauge wire and a clamptite tool.  The piece of aluminum with the 4 holes (serving as a washer) is to ensure that the wires can't bite into the plywood.

[grmarks]

Since the plastic fender from China only extends to about 1 o'clock (when looking at the sprocket), instead of to 3 o'clock (like our bicycle fenders did when we were kids), I had to add a splash guard.  I would have preferred to have the wide part extend further back, but there's only so much room under there when it comes to inserting stuff.

It's made out of two pieces of 1/8", 3-ply plywood glu-lammed together.  Attachment is via 16 gauge wire and a clamptite tool.  The piece of aluminum with the 4 holes (serving as a washer) is to ensure that the wires can't bite into the plywood.

Why not use cable ties?

[quixotic]

Since the plastic fender from China only extends to about 1 o'clock (when looking at the sprocket), instead of to 3 o'clock (like our bicycle fenders did when we were kids), I had to add a splash guard.  I would have preferred to have the wide part extend further back, but there's only so much room under there when it comes to inserting stuff.

It's made out of two pieces of 1/8", 3-ply plywood glu-lammed together.  Attachment is via 16 gauge wire and a clamptite tool.  The piece of aluminum with the 4 holes (serving as a washer) is to ensure that the wires can't bite into the plywood.

Why not use cable ties?

Galvanized wire doesn't degrade with UV.  And if you do a proper job with the clamptite (which I didn't do), and the wires all line up, it's more aesthetically pleasing.  And I'm always looking for excuses to use the clamptite tool (best thing to come along since the dremel tool).

At some point, I may re-do all the clamptite connections on the bike so that the wires don't overlap...just for aesthetics.

[grmarks]

Cable ties have been used on bikes for years, not sure how long they takes to degrade in sun light, but it would seem like many years. So at that time you replace them. They look 100 times better than the wire.

[quixotic]

Cable ties have been used on bikes for years, not sure how long they takes to degrade in sun light, but it would seem like many years. So at that time you replace them. They look 100 times better than the wire.

Cable ties might be OK for tying cables, but I'm not sure I'd want to depend on them year after year to hold up something that could drop on to my wheel or belt.
http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2016/03/not-all-uv-rated-cable-ties-have-long-lifespans-on-solar-projects/

[quixotic]

Cable ties have been used on bikes for years, not sure how long they takes to degrade in sun light, but it would seem like many years. So at that time you replace them. They look 100 times better than the wire.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Here are the two clamptite attachments that I use to hold on my belt cover.  The one on the right was done in haste, whereas the one on the left was done (re-done, actually) with a modicum of attention paid to the alignment of the wires.  Both are equally strong, but obviously the one on the left is easier on the eyes.  As for strength, I suspect that the tensile strength of the galvanized wire is much higher than plastic when comparing equal cross-sectional areas.