V11 Front Fender Removal?

[macgyvercanada]

Anyone know the steps to remove the V11 front fender?  I'm pretty worried about gravel getting wedged in the narrow gap:

[Zopper]

I wouldn’t fear that. If gravel got to the front fender, it means that it passed the whole wheel well from behind, including the bottom side of electronic box which is an aluminum block. With a similar spacing from the tire, afaik. More likely something will get stuck on the side of the motor covers and make terrible noise scratching it.

[mrelwood]

I agree, nothing to worry about. I rode through last winter with a similar tire (CST C-186 = Kenda K262, 2.75-14) on my V11, and while a few times the noise of a passing pebble was louder than normal, the pebble still passed without issues.

 My current tire Heidenau K66 80/90-14 has a pretty similar clearance, but the tread grooves between the “knobs” aren’t as prominent. Yet I ride through loose gravel of all sizes all the time without worrying the slightest.

Edited June 29, 2021 by mrelwood

[Scoo]

I have been thinking some on this between getting K66 80/80 or 80/90 Snowtex for my V11. The only thing that i think will be the difference is greater margin for not damaging the rim with 80/90 and only thing that makes me having a hard time to pick is the narrower clearance.

But then i think that if a large stone comes in it should not get stuck due to the tire will "give away" and the stone will go out due to the high inertia. A bit more risk if you drive slow maybe.

@mrelwoodhave you made your fender in the back longer to protect your back from dirt?

[mrelwood]

4 minutes ago, Scoo said:

I have been thinking some on this between getting K66 80/80 or 80/90 Snowtex for my V11.

While the difference between a 80/80 and a 80/90 can be small enough to barely notice, on the K66 the difference is large. I have the 80/90 on mine, but I’ve seen photos of the 80/80 on a V11, and I must say that it looks a bit too small. For the K66 I would recommend getting the 80/90 and just trying to cope with the slight brushing sound until the hairs of the rubber wear off. They didn’t respond to a belt sander in the slightest so I just left them be. Now they’re pretty much gone.

4 minutes ago, Scoo said:

But then i think that if a large stone comes in it should not get stuck due to the tire will "give away" and the stone will go out due to the high inertia.

This thought is one of the reasons I don’t worry about it. 

4 minutes ago, Scoo said:

@mrelwoodhave you made your fender in the back longer to protect your back from dirt?

I have. I think it’s the width that plays a bigger role though, as the original mud flap leaves gaps on the side. My current fender solves both:

[macgyvercanada]

Quote

...cope with the slight brushing sound until the hairs of the rubber wear off. They didn’t respond to a belt sander in the slightest so I just left them be. Now they’re pretty much gone.

A small pair of wire cutters and a few minutes at the workbench solved that issue for me!
 

[mrelwood]

Wow. You are definitely the fastest cutter I’ve ever heard of! It would take me ages. Been a month already and I’m only halfway done!

[macgyvercanada]

Production-line style!  Held my hand in one place and rotated the wheel so the nubs lined up with my blade.  Snip n' spin, baby!

Edited June 29, 2021 by macgyvercanada