Fork brace option

[John]

I've read here that the XJ's front fender has an extra layer of metal affixed to the underside of the fender to act like a fork brace. What do you guys that own both an XS and an XJ think? Can you tell the difference? I'm asking because I have a couple of XJ fenders laying around, I've seen the extra metal, and I was wondering if they will fit my SG and SH. I test fit them on the forks of a 78E that still has a tire on it and it looked like it will bolt right up. Tire clearance shouldn't be a problem, as the XS and XJ both take a 19 inch wheel, and I have XJ wheels on my SG, and I don't have any clearance issues with them. It looks like that fork brace on ebay is going to get too rich for my frugal blood.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey John,

After reviewing the parts catalog, it looks like the XJ's fender mounting section looks like it's shorter than the XS's, especially the Special. I know the Special's fender sits up further and that's why Tkat has to make separate styled FB's for Standard and Specials, the specials are taller than the Standard. So....your XJ fender might fit on the 78E standard cause the mounting holes on the fork tubes are probably closer to the edge of the tire, but the Specials I think are lower, or maybe not, but the fenders #'s are different for the same year H and SH, but can't determine the length of the mounting plates of the fenders?

However it gives me more ideas for being able to stiffen up the front end for those that don't have a FB. But don't know how badly it would discolor the chrome to try to weld extra bracing inside the stock Xs fenders. It wouldn't be a problem with mine cause I've painted them anyways, but it would probably ruin a good chrome one!? Oh well, thankfully I've got a TKAT FB.
T.C.

[John]

Why would they need to be welded? What if they just slipped in under the fender and bolted up to the fender mounts? You should get ample stiffness that way. It shouldn't be very hard to bend some 3/16 steel into the desired shape, and then locate and drill the mounting holes. Some shaping may be needed to fit into the side of the fender, but again, no big deal.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey John,

That's an awesome idea, and relatively easier and perhaps cheaper than the billet aluminum, albeit, not as pretty as TKAT's creation, but it would be a nice "Sleeper" mod.

I don't know about "bending" the metal unless it's well heated beforehand, thought cold bending weakened metal? But you're right, the fender bolts are quite long enough and there seems to be plenty of clearance between the fender and wheel.
Hmmmm Will have to play with this a while!
T.C.

[John]

TC, the extra thickness of the inner fork brace that is on the XJ fender is just a little thicker than the thickness of the fender, which is what, 14 gauge sheet metal? But...it is spot welded to the fender, thereby stiffening it that way. That's why I thought that something as thick as 3/16" would be more than adequate. 1/8" material would probably be enough.
I was looking at the possibility of removing the bracket from the XJ fender, and slipping it under the fender of my bike, but the cutout area around the fender mounting bolts is quite different, so that's out. The options are swap the fenders out, or bend some metal at work. I have access to torches, I can make a bending jig, so that wouldn't be any problem. It wooul be easier to just try to swap the fenders first. I don't have to build those.

[John]

XJ fender

Well, I just cleaned up and installed the XJ fender on the SG. The fit is fine. It was a little snug getting the sides of the fender past the dust seals on thew forks, but had I been thinking, I could have slipped the dust seals up out of my way. In fact it has more clearance between the fender and tire, than the XS fender. I noticed that the inner brace on the XJ fender is about 1/8" thick, thicker than I first said it was, and would not fit inside the XS fender. The only negative issue is the clamps that secure the brake hoses to the fork. They must be removed. They will not set in behind the fender like they do on a XS. I will probably ride to work tomorrow, now that the rain has stopped, and I'll post back and let y'all know if I notice any major difference.

[lsippell]

XJ Fender

I've got two XJ fenders. I have sandblasted one to paint and am keeping the other one chrome (same for rear). I think after reading this thread I'll weld a new, thicker brace into the one I'm going to paint and see what happens.

Louis

[John]

The XJ fender/brace seemed to keep the front end from following the groves in the pavement where the hiway dept, had done some grinding of the pavement to remove the top layer in preparation for repaving. Usually, it's a little scary hitting that area at 70 mph, but this morning I noticed a big difference. Now, because there is a lot of pitting on the XJ fender, I'll have to sand blast it and paint it, in order to make it look presentable.