Fenda Extenda - Verdict

Hit or miss?


The adverts look good. I bought one from Honda in Portsmouth.

Fenda-extenda from Twisted Throttle

I was very brave to drill into the front mud-guard to fit the Fenda-Extenda.

The instructions were clear but gave a 3 1/16" drill bit size, which I had to buy a 3mm bit for. This was subsequently too big for the provided self-tapping screws, which probably needed just 2.5mm pilots. Luckily, rather than drill all 4-holes I discovered the "error" on the first hole.

The screw bit but didn't tighten. There was also the matter of drilling around the side and back of the mudguard as opted for in the image above from Twisted Throttle. I couldn't get sufficient lock on the steering to give enough clearance for the drill to anything except attack from the side. I have two screws each side. It seems fast, but I wonder if vibration couldn't result?

Anyway, without a 2.5mm drill bit I continued by part-drilling the mud-guard with the 3mm bit and then using the self-tapping properties of the screws to make them fast.

The result is as good as it gets; the instructions only called to place the screws where they'd not interfere with the tyre. There was no hint or clue where this might be. Given the fact the "kit" was specifically for an ST1300 I can't see why a specific drawing or picture couldn't have been provided. £18 plus £2 for the 3mm bit.

Trial


Before fitting (last Saturday) I cleaned Shadowfax down. The inside edge of the mud-guard needed to be meticulously clean against which the Fenda-Extenda could be stuck in place before drilling. It just seemed a good time to clean him down all over from the road grime of the last week and a polish filled in the time it took for the area to dry.

There's a pattern of dirt striations where the road-spray and splashes hit Shadowfax's breast and trail in lines across his shoulders. It outlines the airflow around his flamnk and around his black-tipped "wings" like dye-trails in a wind-tunnel. These seemed to emanate from his front tyre track, which made sense to buy the Fenda-Extenda to reduce the badger, rabbit, and diesel residues that then tracked their ways around to my knees. (It'd also make Shadowfax look less like he's rolled around in black mud all day; keep him smart). Anyway, I have become used to the pattern and expected the Fenda-Extenda to reduce this to some light splashing around the under-tray.

Splatter pattern after fixing the Fenda Extenda

No; it doesn't. The dirt lines may have been overshadowed by splash, masking the true cause of these grimey trails, but now the Fenda-Extenda is fitted I can see it's all down to what gets lifted onto the bike from other vehicles' spray. Specifically, what gets dumped on top of the mudguard itself! The mud guard is level with Shadowfax's wings so the dirty water simply blows off the mudguard's top, around the fork stanchions, and then onto the front of his breast.

So, was the fenda-extenda worth fitting? No.

Even the Fenda Extenda is getting muddy behind the ears!

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