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Tourer
Posts: 374
Tucson, AZ | Well while riding recently, I shut the Ipod off just to enjoy the engine sound and heard a loud rattling from the front end. With 70K on the bike my first thought was head bearings. Upon closer inspection I found that the right side portion of the rear front fender mount had cracked and the fender was only held by the 2 pins, and the left mounting bolt. Wanting to continue riding I tried to think of a solution, when my girlfriend said, Why dont you just use the acrylic I use to do my nails....so I think yeah right and chuckled. No way would that hold I told her...so she showed me how hard the stuff got and I started to think she might have something. I had seen automotive plastic repair vids, and it looked similar. Off to Walgreens..$7.00 later I have an acrylic nail repair kit, one bottle of liquid, one of white powder. I superglued the broken piece back on just to hold during the repair, and proceeded to fill the holes, and cover the cracks. Needless to say..you gotta do this outside, the smell is horrible. I put the repaired piece out in the sun to cure and was amazed at how strong it got, in fact when I put it back on and road I smiled....until I heard the rattle again. When I got home I found the repaired side still intact, and the opposite side broke. Did the same thing and it has been holding for 900 miles. I did order a new one but am riding until it comes in. I also fixed a broken trunk tab this weekend the same way, using silly putty to make a template from another intact tab, then taped it in place and filled the mold....works like a charm.
mike |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 880
Orlando, FL | That is a great idea. I bet that stuff is tough as ............ nails!
Sorry, had to go for it!!
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| That why I always have strip's of duck tape stuck to the in side of the outer bag.
Do like the girlfriends fix |
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Cruiser
Posts: 85
| Interesting fix. I just had my rear portion of my front fender break on my 08 Vision this weekend while riding with the VOG in Quebec. Fortunately I was with Reddog and he brought me over to his place where he put a temporary splint on it to get me back home without further damage. I'm planning on repairing it with ABS plastic and ABS cement until I can order a new piece but it bothers me that the plastic broke in the first place. I would have suspected it to break had it been subject to over tightening at the mounting bolt but it didn't break at the hole. A chunk broke away around the hole so that the section was supported by the left bolt and the 2 push pins on top.
I'm hoping the replacement isn't too expensive but my experience with Vic replacement parts has me expecting otherwise. |
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Tourer
Posts: 374
Tucson, AZ | Replacement part cost me $90.00...
mike |
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Cruiser
Posts: 92
Princeton, MN | Mine broke on a trip East,,, but made it home,,, both tabs broke free,,not the hole but the whole tab broke free on both right and left side,,,it held by the push pins in the top,,, my awesome dealer warranty replaced it for me! 2008 tour premium |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | I used strapping material to fix mine. It's held for about 50,000 miles with no further issues. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 92
Fort Walton Beach, FL | Another classic example of Polaris refusing to cover a poorly designed part under warranty... mine broke in the first 5000 miles and first month... they refuse to deal with it. You think Victory is American made??? Think again... cheap ass China made plastic parts. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Glad the fix worked for you.
So Handyhoward why don't you make yourself happy and sell it.... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 92
Fort Walton Beach, FL | RedRider - 2011-08-16 12:35 PM
Glad the fix worked for you.
So Handyhoward why don't you make yourself happy and sell it....
If I could without getting raped on the price I would... once they've got you they've got you good. How about you.., if you don't want to bail me out of it, why don't you keep the personal shit to yourself. You willing to make up for the loss that I will have??? Big mouth!!! Put up or shut up>>> |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Here's my fix that I applied. I should take a picture with it mounted, maybe tomorrow, it got dark on me as I was putting it back together.
(fender_fix.jpg)
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 fender_fix.jpg (23KB - 5 downloads)
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 47
Lynchburg Virginia | Mine broke too on my 08'. Pretty sad after only 12000 miles on a $20000 machine.
Edited by BLK08 2011-09-10 8:45 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 156
Bluff Park, Alabama - God's Country! 2011 PW VV | Handyhoward - 2011-08-16 3:58 PM RedRider - 2011-08-16 12:35 PM Glad the fix worked for you. So Handyhoward why don't you make yourself happy and sell it.... If I could without getting raped on the price I would... once they've got you they've got you good. How about you.., if you don't want to bail me out of it, why don't you keep the personal shit to yourself. You willing to make up for the loss that I will have??? Big mouth!!! Put up or shut up>>> I'll give you $10k for it. No more. Cash. I'll even pick it up. It must be clean and full tank of gas.
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | varyder - 2011-09-10 7:14 PM
Here's my fix that I applied. I should take a picture with it mounted, maybe tomorrow, it got dark on me as I was putting it back together.
varyder, nice to see you back.
Nice fix. That must have set you back less than a dollar parts.
Looks like the fix I did under the front end of my 2003 Chevy Trailblazer on a trim piece that I could not secure with the parts spec'ed in the book. Every time I snapped the plastic parts together, they would come apart and I would loose the plastic fastener. Some fixes require hardware.
Ride Safe |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | thanks RT - it took a lot of time and research on that one - many balled up paper from the drawing board and many late nights thinking through it. The wife said I was driving her nuts. Then it hit me, the strapping material when I was rummaging through stuff on the top shelf of the shed, ouch. I knew right then with the blood running down my face that this was the fix. I forgot to include them in the picture also the washers that I use for spacers at the mounting point on either side. They just make up the dfference in the fender thickness. Mounted, the fix is not noticeable except the two screw heads on either side, and the best part is that I get to ride without further worry. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | HH hope things work out for you. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | right side picture of fix. hope the pic ain't too small. either painting the screws black or using chrome, they wouldn't look out of place to me.
(fender.jpg)
(fender_close up.jpg)
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fender.jpg (31KB - 4 downloads)
fender_close up.jpg (97KB - 3 downloads)
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Cruiser
Posts: 156
Bluff Park, Alabama - God's Country! 2011 PW VV | Handyhoward - 2011-09-11 7:29 AM ?I'll give you $10k for it.? No more.? Cash.? I'll even pick it up.? It must be clean and full tank of gas.
Get the dick out of your mouth and go about your own business... Man you have issues! You should just give the bike away before you hurt someone.
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Cruiser
Posts: 277
Apopka, FL | I have used Dental Acrylic to repair numerous items. Where do you think nail techs got their resins from originally? Yes it does smell bad! |
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Visionary
Posts: 1228
Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Dang Chris, I was 2 steps away from ordering a fiberglass fender. Now I have to rethink spending the $185. It was a no-brainer when I was thinking a oem fender would have been $90 anyhow, but for $1? I can deal with a few painted screws. |
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Tourer
Posts: 500
| Great ideas and quick fixes for some, but why??? I still maintain this is a Victory flaw from the beginning and they should quit "pissing off" their loyal Vision riders with some wear and tear BS. that "their riders", who probably ride almost new bikes, seem to think this a not a major issue..When someone gets killed or seriously hurt they will play the same "lawyer speak" language in an effort to cover their asses again.....I personally have lost a lot of respect for Polaris/Victory on this safety item, but obviously making a profit is more important than rider safety to them......JMHO |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| opas ride - 2013-08-28 1:00 PM
Great ideas and quick fixes for some, but why??? I think everyone here totally agrees that Vic should be fixing it but the reality is that at least for the time being they're not going to. So the "why" is easily answered, if you have a bike that is out of warranty with the potential for the fender to crack or worse and you have the ability and wherewithal to augment the current lousy mounting system then it might be in your best interest to bite the bullet and fix it. Certainly you take on some liability whenever you structurally change something but the alternative is pretty unsavory as well. Everybody has to make their own decision about this as to whether to leave it alone and hope for the best or shoulder the responsibility for having changed it.
I think its time to direct this thread away from how screwed we all feel to bringing up ideas as to how to fix it in the best and safest way and leave the rest of the conversation to the other two threads. This thread seems like a reasonable place to continue the technical discussion. In my case I'm leaving for 5 weeks so I won't have time to mess with it besides the fact that it is still under warranty. I'm going to check it closely every morning and do a thorough inspection during my scheduled tire change later on during the trip. If it craps out I'll let you guys know here.
I've been thinking about it while working today and I have a couple of ideas. One idea I've been toying with would be to machine up a couple of thin aluminum or steel plates that would sandwich the original area where the mounting bolt is. I would spread the load by drilling through the two plates and fender material in 4 spots and then pop rivet the assembly together with 1/8" rivets. I would drill through the plates in the same place as the original mounting hole and then use a longer shoulder screw or simply a screw with a tube spacer so that the plates bare the load rather than the plastic. This might be overkill but its just a thought now.
Marc
Edited by marcparnes 2013-08-28 5:53 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 500
| Possibly a great idea Marc..Please keep us not-so-good "McGivers" posted with what you might come up with..Willtill also has some ideas that might work... I already heard from a HD rider at the gas station a little while ago, that asked me if my bike was one of the ones Victory will not fix the fender on..I asked him how he found out and he said his buddy's wife will not let him ride his Vision until he gets it safe!!..This bad move by Vic's staff is already, apparently, spreading in the biker community...
Edited by opas ride 2013-08-28 6:21 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 1228
Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Not all of us are McGyvers, sometimes not even McGyver is a McGyver.
Edited by Nozzledog 2013-08-28 7:41 PM
(5bb31213-richard-deen-akm-1.jpg)
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5bb31213-richard-deen-akm-1.jpg (78KB - 1 downloads)
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | Early last year, before the ride to Alaska, I removed the upper plastic push-pins and installed stainless hardware including two extra bolts. Everything was installed with Loctite. Even if the lower part of the fender breaks it can't go anywhere. 
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Temporary fix for rear portion of front fender
