Fiberglass mudguards

[wade.edwards]

I waited a month for a mudguard from India. It arrived
It will soon be on it's way back to the prior colony. Three times I've ordered guards from India and once I actually got a very good product. That was several years ago and I've lost track of that particular eBay seller.

I've ordered a reinforced fiberglass rear mudguard from Drags. I have seen one installed and it was not at all obvious that it was fiberglass. I am interested in current thoughts on installing the fiberglass guards.

Have a look at these pics and judge the Indian quality for yourself:

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[nevhunter]

Can't say I would go for fibreglass guards myself. Think I would spend a bit of extra time on the steel ones. Nev

[wade.edwards]

You are serious,Nev? This guard is rubbish. Instead of being rolled from solid sheet it is welded together from 3 strips. I only shared a few pictures.
If the metal finishing is not up to powder coating quality from the get go, why should anyone have to spend 10-20 hours reworking someone else’s disaster?
In the future I may order the rolled blank and finish myself. There is only so much time in a work week to accomplish everything.
Hope every gets the chance to have a good look at a fibreglass mudguard first hand.
I’ve only seen one installed. Anyone else?

[Simon.Gardiner]

Got a couple of fi-glass mudguards on my s/arm, well pleased with them (however they did come from Erik Howerd back in the 1980's).
Not only do people not spot that they're not metal, they're lighter and they don't rust.
And obviously many folks do prefer the 100% originality of having everything in metal (as do I but back way back then anything metal was out of the question and over the years I've come to appreciate the non-original benefits .

SG

[JohnnyBeckett]

I HAVE got a set of fiberglass mudguards that i got with one of my ariels a 350 nh 1954 they came with a load of parts i didn't take much notice of them i just put them with the rest of my parts but they look ok and they been fitted before but i do not know what they looked like before they were painted i must dig them out and see how good they do look

[wade.edwards]

We are all aware that when restoring certain cars and motorcycles that there is a certain pride in saying , oh yes, it’s all steel. We get it. But when steel is unavailable and there is a viable alternative, why not take advantage? Good to hear a couple of positive reviews.

[Mark Nazer]

I bought my 39 square 4 with a front fibreglass mudguard. Impossible to tell by looking.

[JohnnyBeckett]

well their is one moor satisfied customer for fiberglass mudguards i look at the ones i have got in stock today and they look quite good

[nevhunter]

Fibreglass on motorcycles is not new. Bultaco's had plenty of it but it's not the magic fix. IF you have nothing else available, sure go for it, but it's one of the reasons I don't work on bikes like Bultacos… Mudguards have stays and sometimes hinges and are a part of the structure often. Good plastic and fibreglass has it's place, but the design incorporates/adapts to the material. Parts are often rubber mounted. If you use screws , you need big washers. or the hole just gets damaged. Sure some of the India stuff is made the hard way and it's rough , but it's often all you can get .You CAN rework steel sheet and it's thick enough to do so. Some of the rolled section guards that were once available are very thin. Panther and Scott guards are so thin they star crack after a short time on rough roads so EVEN the NEW ones were a bit suss sometimes. Nev

[wade.edwards]

Good idea with the rubber washers, Nev. Now the mudguard will be perfect