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[MrDude_1]

Great details!  That's a lot to think about.  I guess there's always something like this:



With some air slits in it, and something to allow it to pivot with the swingarm.  Although I feel like we could get away with a lower guard (mirroring the top style) and a bigger piece that shields the motor.

It will take more work than mirroring the top style... because if you do just that, it makes a "bucket" that can also catch more stuff. The bottom of the bottom side (the non tooth side closest to the ground) needs to be mostly open, and the sides should not extend much higher than the teeth, or it risks "catching" more stuff and directing it into the belt.

Ive been putting some thought into it, but I have yet to figure out a design I like. They all seem to cause more issues than they solve.

[yhafting]

First attempt on attaching a 6$ mudguard fender...
I got the mudguard fender i bought on ebay today. It seems to attach quite well after drilling two holes in the rear wheel hugger. It is sligthly twisted (perhaps from transport) so i will have to find a way to fasten it on the sides.

Im pondering on how to secure it on the sides. It would be preferable to have something quite sturdy pushing it slightly upwards from the swing arm.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Not a bad start! It does look a little risky structurally - maybe a lighter fender would avoid needing a brace. I have to fit a different wheel size on the DS, anyway.

[yhafting]

Not a bad start! It does look a little risky structurally - maybe a lighter fender would avoid needing a brace. I have to fit a different wheel size on the DS, anyway.

I made a preliminary attempt today using a steel tube bent into shape and some ducktape for stabilisation on one side. It did work, however it does also look pretty ugly and i'd like to get it attached more firmly at the sides.

In the picture below i have the next plan for stabilisation, which hopefully will be final. The red will be a metal part- either a premade L-bar with mounting holes, or a bent aluminium bar that provide stability and rigidity. The green and yellow parts will be 3D printed to ensure a tight fit and screw attachment for the metal bar. The yellow part will be shaped to provide the ability of adjusting left to right, while the top green part should provide adjustment up/down. One of the cyan colored part will probably also be a 3D-printed part for added sideways stability.

I believe this could be done mirrored for the left side, the only parts that would need to be different would be the cyan part(s).   

In the end the final printed parts should be made in ABS or sintered, and preferably painted black.

[JamesC]

Hey everyone,
First post, but I've been following this thread for a while.  Have you looked at Airtech's Toe Guard (Shark Guard)?  I realize it only protects the belt from objects from the side, but I bet a fiberglass guard could easily be fabricated that wraps around the belt and attaches to the swing arm.  This guard would protect the belt and sprocket from large items (like Brian's milk carton) but probably not the small stones you DX/FX guys pick up off-road.
-James

[yhafting]

one more step:
Now i only need the last part pair that will connect the bracket attached to the fender and the aluminium bar.
When connected it should be fairly sturdy, and adjustable to each side and up/down using a screwdriver.


 

[yhafting]

Painting the struts will be next.- edit: Struts painted: image added below.
It seems though as it prevents most of the pebbles entering the front cog wheel as i predicted. At least i have not had any more rocks embedded in the belt after attaching the fender.

The 3D-printed part holds it in place, while the hose clamp secures it fairly strongly. The only holes i have made in the original bike parts is in the rear wheel hugger plastic. The total sum of costs for the parts used is probably less than 60$ in total. A perfect strut would probably be an aluminium bar (welded or attached with screws into the swing arm) bent 90 degrees upwards, then twisted 90 degrees to become parallel to the wheel. 

 

[NEW2elec]

oh if only the swing are were different.  Harley's design at the 4 min mark

[yhafting]

oh if only the swing are were different.  Harley's design at the 4 min mark

Definitely something to look into for zero engineers!

My belt just snapped in one of the spots where i had a pebble embedded in it. (I  am glad it happened in a totally undramatic way.)
I have not had any new pebbles embedding the belt after making the mudguard, so hopefully i won't have this happening again.

[Kocho]

I wonder if instead of securing with L brackets to the horizontal section of the swing arm like you did, it would be possible to secure with some sort of expansion bolts inside the hollow axel? Would be a cleaner and easier installation - just one bolt on each side and a rod going up from there to the new fender. It won't give as sturdy side to side support as yours does, but I wonder if it is needed?

Edit: and if sturdier side to side support is needed, it could be done with a single inverted "U" bracket starting from one side of the swing arm, attaching to the fender on both sides, then continuing on to the other side of the swing arm? Aluminum and steel strips of various thicknesses and widths are readily available at home improvement stores and can be easily bent into a U shape around a PVC pipe of suitable diameter (or using your cat's scratch post, a tree, a light post, a car tire, or even the bike's own tire as a template)?

Painting the struts will be next.- edit: Struts painted: image added below.
It seems though as it prevents most of the pebbles entering the front cog wheel as i predicted. At least i have not had any more rocks embedded in the belt after attaching the fender.

The 3D-printed part holds it in place, while the hose clamp secures it fairly strongly. The only holes i have made in the original bike parts is in the rear wheel hugger plastic. The total sum of costs for the parts used is probably less than 60$ in total. A perfect strut would probably be an aluminium bar (welded or attached with screws into the swing arm) bent 90 degrees upwards, then twisted 90 degrees to become parallel to the wheel.

[yhafting]

I wonder if instead of securing with L brackets to the horizontal section of the swing arm like you did, it would be possible to secure with some sort of expansion bolts inside the hollow axel? Would be a cleaner and easier installation - just one bolt on each side and a rod going up from there to the new fender. It won't give as sturdy side to side support as yours does, but I wonder if it is needed?

With the cheap harley fender i bought, some side stabilization is needed. It was slightly twisted to one side, either because of material tension or simply through being bent during shipping. 

Edit: and if sturdier side to side support is needed, it could be done with a single inverted "U" bracket starting from one side of the swing arm, attaching to the fender on both sides, then continuing on to the other side of the swing arm? Aluminum and steel strips of various thicknesses and widths are readily available at home improvement stores and can be easily bent into a U shape around a PVC pipe of suitable diameter (or using your cat's scratch post, a tree, a light post, a car tire, or even the bike's own tire as a template)?

I would guess there are many ways to attach that fender on the sides. If you have something that would mount securely from the axel, i am sure it would be possible to give enough side stabilisation that way too. :-)  I just did what i was most confident by doing using struts i found in a nearby harware store.

I was pondering on something like an inverted U bracket regardless of the struts in use, but using hose clamps on the swing arm, everything sits very tight, so there is not much need for it. I would guess there is a tradeoff between the struts and an inverted U bracket when it comes to final looks. If you want the inverted U to fit tightly to the same fender as i used, it makes a more complex 3D- design.   

[Ndm]

I love the way Harley incorporated the rear fender and plate, that plus a clean tail section would look sweet on a zero

[yhafting]

I was reminded the other day of the vulnerability of a belt drive; what felt like a nail embedding in my tire turned out to be milk carton cardboard getting pulled under/between the rear sprocket and drive belt. I pulled over and removed it pretty easily, but I've been wondering whether a guard is possible or available in some way. Even a reverse mounting of the upper belt guard would be suitable.


Any thoughts?

Here are my latest attempt to make a belt guard for the bottom side of the belt going into the wheel sprocket.
I have already printed the swing arm attachement, but the bottom needed some adjustments. I hope the version i put here will be final:





Thoughts behind it are:

1: To be able to mount it, i will need two parts:
1a) One for attaching to the swing arm, and
1b) One for deflecting pebbles and debris

2: The upper part is attached to the lower part of the swing arm, using 2 hose clamps which seems to secure it very well.
3: The upper part allowes for vertical adjustment of the casing by moving side to side before clamping.
4: The upper part fixes the angle but allowes for some horisontal adjustment.
5: The bottom part is a casing from the belt
6: The bottom part can be attached to the upper part using 5mm machine screw and and a nut (only screwdriver needed, no wrench)
7: The back section of the bottom part is made for deflecting pebbles sliding on top of the casing in direction of the sprocket.
8: The bottom part should be replaceable to enable improving designs.

One could argue whether or not the casing should be as long as i have designed it (it does go past the middle of the tire).

If anyone wants to attempt making the same part, i've put it here:
http://heim.ifi.uio.no/yngveha/mc/belt-guard/belt-guard-2.3.zip

Please do note that all use is at your own risk.

I print mine using production grade ABS, and i would not reccomend anything less for anything mounted near the belt. 

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

That's some nice looking work! Getting all the measurements right seems painstaking; I hope it works well.

[yhafting]

That's some nice looking work! Getting all the measurements right seems painstaking; I hope it works well.

Thanks
The benefit of having access to a 3D printer is that i can allow for some mistakes on the way.
I believe my first attempt was pretty accurate, however i forgot that making it in one single piece would be impossible to mount without taking off the belt. For the second attempt, i measured again using the broken belt, but it seems i didn't attach it exactly in the correct position, so i adjusted the casing to close to the belt.

Right now i have approximately 3 mm to the belt on both sides, and slightly more on top (5 perhaps). If there is anything to worry about it is the close proximity to the wheel. The image below does show it as there is no space between, but there are. It might be slightly closer to the wheel than to the belt, perhaps 2mm or so.

Here are some pictures of the physical parts: