Melted fender

[1tinindian]

Just wanting to know how common it is that the rear section of the front fender melts.
I assume it's due to extended road time and heat from the pipes.

Any way to prevent this from happening to a replacement fender?
Jet Hot the pipes maybe?

Thanks for your input.

[FJmonkey]

The fender melts during warm up with the bike sitting still and the wheel turned straight forward. In this position the fender is closest to the heat/pipes. When the bike is moving air is forcing nearly all the heat rearward, away from the fender. I have about 30 to 40K miles on my 86' in the South West (SoCal), long iron butt rides to San Jose and back in hot weather. I always have my wheel turned during warm up, no melted fender yet. If you perform long warm ups you might want to get some floor fans to help air cool a non-moving bike.

[junkyardroad]

Mine is melted a little too. Best thing to do is ignore it and ride the bike.

[1tinindian]

Mine is melted a little too. Best thing to do is ignore it and ride the bike.

Mine is melted to the point that is rubbing the tire badly so I have cut the lower black section off.
Crude but effective, but I'm still looking for a nice replacement.

[FJmonkey]

Mine is melted a little too. Best thing to do is ignore it and ride the bike.

Mine is melted to the point that is rubbing the tire badly so I have cut the lower black section off.
Crude but effective, but I'm still looking for a nice replacement.

Cutting the rear part of the fender will get the plastic parts a little further from the pipes, less likely to melt it any more. Just don't melt your front tire. 

[doright1]

Has anyone tried removing the fender and heating it slightly with a heat gun, then forming it back into shape?

p.s. be very careful with the heat

[Pat Conlon]

Yep, turn your wheel all the way to the left when you warm up... and.... when you park after a ride.
DO not leave your wheel straight.
I notice that I never had the heat problem with my oem double walled header on my '84, but I did melt the fender on my '92 with the Kerker. Fortunately I could still buy a new '92 fender from Yamaha.