Rear Fender Bibs

[Spinner]

I've had a few questions pop up since my last post, mainly regarding rear fender bibs so I thought I would share some design thoughts and a few tips on making them along with some photos for inspiration.

For most riders, a rear fender bib is purely decorative. When someone switches to solo riding, there is now a big empty space on the fender that many feel needs to be customized and fender bibs are a great way to do it.

Shapes:

There are 2 common shapes, along with limitless design variations, that a fender bib typically comes in. The standard "U" and a tapered shape. The photo below shows a few standard variations (R to L) Standard U, Bullet, Taper and long U.

The shape will be somewhat determined by the fender width and the style the client is looking for.

Thinner fenders like on Harley Softails, Blacklines & Slims work better with a taper or long U.

Wider fenders like on Harley Street Glides, Road Glides and most import crusiers like the Honda VTX, Suzuki M109, etc. work better with a standard U or Bullet variation.

And occasionally you'll find someone who breaks the trends and goes with a different combo to carry on a theme like this VTX1800 with a tapered style fender bib.

Size:

Length:

The size of a fender bib is pretty much a fixed variable. The length will be determined by the pillon (rear seat) holes & bolts that were left after taking the seat off and by the distance from the rearmost pillon bolt to the driver's seat back edge. Most Harley's have two sets of bolts, the driver seat rear bolt(s) and the pillon bolt. Most imports will have only the rear pillon bolt and are secured using velcro under the driver's seat.

Width:

Width of a fender bib is preferential to the maker/buyer but I stick to a guideline of 1" - 1 1/2" narrower than the top of the fender. At 1 1/2" narrower than the fender, this provides almost full coverage without having to worry about the edges falling over the side or catching in the wind and flapping. The double & triple loop edge lacing (or mexican round braid if you prefer) will add approximately 1/4" to the width leaving 1/2" of fender top on each side of the bib making a nice framed look for your custom leather.

(to be continued after lunch, please don't comment yet so all the text stays together...Thanks!)

Edited December 5, 2012 by Spinner

[Spinner]

Patternmaking tips

When making the pattern for a rear fender bib, it's best to start at the known point, the rear pillon bolt. I usually extend the bib 1" - 2" past the pillon bolt (towards the taillight) to give it some extra space in case the client wants to use a custom bolt or bolt cover which can be as large as 1 1/2" in diameter for the larger ones. When measuring the fender distances, use a cloth tape measure if possible to get the most accurate measurements. A hard ruler won't follow the curves as well and will result in your measurements being off slightly causing fit issues.

For Harleys and other bikes with the seat bolts on top of the rear fender:

• Measure the distance from the center of the rear pillon bolt to the center of the seat bolt(s) to get the correct spacing.
  
• If the seat uses two bolts to mount, measure the distance between the bolts center to center.
  
• Fold a piece of hard pattern board (poster board works just fine) in half, marking the locations of the bolts using the fold line as the center line of your pattern.
  
• Measure the distance of available space under the seat from the seat bolts (usually 1" - 3")
  
• Mark off the distance past the pillon bolt, the width desired at the widest point and the rear edge that will terminate under the seat
  
• Using a ruler, french curve set (packing tape rolls and coffee cans can also be used for curves) design the curve and outside edge profiles for the bib
  
• With the pattern still folded, punch out the holes for the bolts and cut the shape out of the poster board. This will ensure the distances are equal in 2 bolt configurations and that the edges match each other.
  
• Unfold and use your new pattern
  

For Imports and other bikes without fender mounted seats:

• Measure the distance from the center of the rear pillon bolt to the rear edge of the seat.
  
• Measure the distance of available space under the seat from rear edge (usually 1" - 3")
  
• Fold a piece of hard pattern board (poster board works just fine) in half, marking the location of the pillon bolt using the fold line as the center line of your pattern.
  
• Mark off the distance past the pillon bolt, the width desired at the widest point and the rear edge that will terminate under the seat.
  
• Using a ruler, french curve set (packing tape rolls and coffee cans can also be used for curves) design the curve and outside edge profiles for the bib
  
• Punch out the hole for the pillon bolt and cut the pattern out while it is still folded in half. Cutting it out while still folded will ensure the edges match up.
  
• Unfold and use your new pattern.
  

Tooling & decorative designs

One thing I have noticed is sometimes a client will send in a drawing of a fender bib to be made and the artwork is 'backwards', facing the front of the bike. Now, it's their bib so they are welcome to design it anyway they want but I always point out the orientation is typically towards the back of the bike. Why is this? Well, those folks tend to think of when they are getting on the bike and during their approach the artwork will be facing them. So during the 5 seconds it takes to get on or off the bike, the artwork is oriented correctly. However, when they and others are checking out the bike at Bike Night or wherever, they are standing beside or behind the bike looking at it for minutes/hours/etc. and the artwork is upside down. It will also be opposite of any tank bib artwork or custom paint job orientation. The only pieces/areas that are typically forward facing are the headlight(s), windscreen and seat since they are all forward facing and generally only viewable from that direction. Here's an example of a tank & fender bib set from a typical bystander view point to show how the rear facing orientation works:

Protecting the paint

The last thing you want your fender bib to do, seeing as how it is essentially armor for the fender's paint job, is for it to mar the paint. Adding a layer of soft material, I prefer felt, will keep the stitching, lacing, rivet & spot back and anything else on the underside from contacting the paint and rubbing it raw. Some folks use deerskin and such but I find felt to be softer, doesn't harden with age and is easily cleaned and replaced if necessary.

• Cut the felt slightly oversized using your pattern as a guide.
  
• Using a strong heat & waterproof spray adhesive like Loc-Tite 300, spray the back of the fender bib and the piece of felt and let it tack up.
  
• Apply the felt to the back of the bib (glue side to glue side) and press firmly together.
  
• Using a pair of scissors, trim the felt to the edge of the bib, making sure not to cut the lacing edges.
  
• Now, flip the bib so the bottom is facing up and using the scissors at an angle (nearly flat against the bottom of the bib) trim the felt to a feather edge so it blends into the lacing without being visible from the top or sides. This ensures the lacing can't contact the fender paint but also isn't seen when mounted.
  
• If velcro is needed to sure the seat side of the bib, attach & sew it to the very back edge of the bib. Putting the velcro back as far as possible makes it hidden under the seat if the bib is taken off. This is the reason for the extra 2" - 3" of bib that extend under the seat.
  

Here are a few examples of the underside of a completed fender bib:

Hopefully that helps sort out some of the questions. Feel free to drop me a line with any others. If I think of more tips, I'll make another reply.

Cheers,

Chris

Three Mutts Customs

[Spinner]

Here's a sample of pics of rear fender bib I have made, hopefully they will inspire someone:

Edited December 5, 2012 by Spinner

[Spinner]

A few more:

[David8386]

Chris, thanks for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it.

David

[Cyberthrasher]

Right on Chris!! Another pin worthy tutorial.

I hadn't thought about that myself but I can see it being a nice addition to my fender.

[Spinner]

Chris, thanks for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it.

David

Right on Chris!! Another pin worthy tutorial.

I hadn't thought about that myself but I can see it being a nice addition to my fender.

My pleasure guys, it worked out to be a good time as I realized I pretty much had an example picture for everything I was talking about.

One thing I need to put together is a step by step of how I run two opposing runs of double loop lace into each other, maybe something to work on this weekend.

[Cyberthrasher]

One thing I need to put together is a step by step of how I run two opposing runs of double loop lace into each other, maybe something to work on this weekend.

Yeah, that would be helpful for a LOT of people. I've run into it several times and somehow managed to work my way out of it before starting.

[Wolfye]

This is an awesomely helpful thread - it's helped me out a lot so far. I've made my first fender bib and braided around the edges, but I've been wondering how you get the curves into it so it fits snugly against the fender.

[Twisted 66]

huge thanks..my first real project was going to be a fender bib for my bike..thanks for the input!

[RavenAus]

Thanks for this, just got asked to do a fender bib for a lady and this tutorial is perfect

[carr52]

I was looking for something to put on my 06 Street Bob. Thanks all.

Tom

[Doc Reaper]

I love this page!