Home made Fenda Extenda.

Well,

finally went off for a long weekend down to the Vosges mountains (a full days ride away), and sod's law it rained a lot. Sod's law No 2, I hadn't got round to fitting the fenda extenda I'd bought. Sod's law number 3 the front cylinder kept cutting out big style, not fun in the German countryside in the pouring rain, struggling at 10k rpm uphill on a single cylinder, just about doing 50 mph.

Managed to limp into France, where it started to perk up a bit and all 70 horses came back to play, found a hotel after a number of fruitless enquiries and got to put the bike to bed in the owners garage.

Next day set off, bike was fine after a night in the dry, then it went down again. Fed up/frustrated at myself & the bike I pulled into a french hyper marche and bought the following:

1 roll of black (matches the color of the bike) insulation tape.
1 mineral water bottle.

After emptying the bottle cutting it up into various pieces and 10 mins on my back with the tape and bits of plastic I'd fashioned myself a rough fenda extenda, all those years of Blue Peter paying dividens

A test ride of 3 days demolishing Cols in the vosges mountains in the sun and rain proved it to be a perfectly operable design So if in doubt, get the tape out.

However I did not like the fact that passers by tended to stare and point at my front mudguard, as if it was broken

Photos will follow this weekend.

Now however I've got to decide, do I keep it or replace with the real thing I've got sitting in my garage that looks 100x better?

Good you got yourself outta that one! Am off to the Voseges area nect week myself....has been raining a lot there lately but fingers crossed my couple of days there wont be too wet

hehe no matter whether it works or not, I don't think I would want plastic bottle taped to my SV, I'd swap it for the real thing asap as they sound usefull!

P.S. Lived near Leuven for 17 years, what a great town to go out in! Lovely beer and friendly people.

Tim, the handy man You shold have known that it reals a lot in Belgium... :P

Originally Posted by Warthog

P.S. Lived near Leuven for 17 years, what a great town to go out in! Lovely beer and friendly people.

FOR REAL!

I've also heard about the front cylinder cutting out in the wet, but it doesn't seem to happen on my bike, even in pouring rain. Is this because they decided to fix it for the 2004 model, or am I just being lucky?

Uh oh plastic bottle and black tape, I fear Andy is getting excited.

Originally Posted by Bevesocth

I've also heard about the front cylinder cutting out in the wet, but it doesn't seem to happen on my bike, even in pouring rain. Is this because they decided to fix it for the 2004 model, or am I just being lucky?

I have not had the problem either

Originally Posted by Bevesocth

I've also heard about the front cylinder cutting out in the wet, but it doesn't seem to happen on my bike, even in pouring rain. Is this because they decided to fix it for the 2004 model, or am I just being lucky?

If you do enough miles in the wet, then it will happen eventually.
Mine didn't play up at all until 15k, then not again till about 20 then not since.
No fender extender on mine, either.

Originally Posted by TC3

Am off to the Voseges area nect week myself....has been raining a lot there lately but fingers crossed my couple of days there wont be too wet

I found when it is raining up on the mountains if you drop down to the eastern side of the range (near Colmar, Munster etc) and do some of the lower roads where there can be sun when it's chucking it down up top. Loads of great roads, though a few dodgy surfaces in places. Try the Col Du Bonhomme, between Kayserberg and Fraize, easily my favourite road of the weekend, did it 3 times back to back (so that's 6 times over the top).

Have fun.

Originally Posted by Tim in Belgium

I found when it is raining up on the mountains if you drop down to the eastern side of the range (near Colmar, Munster etc) and do some of the lower roads where there can be sun when it's chucking it down up top. Loads of great roads, though a few dodgy surfaces in places. Try the Col Du Bonhomme, between Kayserberg and Fraize, easily my favourite road of the weekend, did it 3 times back to back (so that's 6 times over the top).

Have fun.

Cheers for the tip! We will have almost 2 days out near Colmar, actually staying in Orbey so we thought about doing the roads around Colmar and will look up that road on the map