I ride a 2008 Heritage Classic.

I noticed a while back that I had a black smudge on the rear of my front fender (shows up because bike is white). It does not come off with washing (though it does fade a little).

A couple of weeks ago I showed it to a service guy at the HD dealer, and he used a bit of swirl and smudge remover and it was gone.

But not for long. It was back a couple of days later. I could not for the life of me see what might rubbing or dripping to make this mark. But my feeling is, if there is a consistant mark, something is making it.

Today, I got my sone to sit on the bike and turn the forks back and forth, and hold the brakes and push down on the front shocks. From what I can see, if the fork is turned to the right, and the shocks are compressed, the clutch cable is making contact with the fender in the exact spot of the mark.

Has anyone ever run into this?

 

Had the exact same thing happen to me. I bought a chrome clutch cable clamp for around $20.00 from e-bay. Guess what no more marks. I used a buffer and a little Mguires scratch remover to get the marks out. These also work well with SS cables as they are thicker. That's what i run now. Good Luck

 

Happened to me on the FB. It rubbed the paint right off after a long ride. I just had someone put wider handlebars on and replace the cables. They were sized wrong (too long) and routed incorrectly. The new cables are shorter, run correctly and don't come near the fender. I'll have to get the fender repainted soon.

 

Thanks for the confirmation - strikes me as something dealer should fix for free - it is either a design flaw or assembly error (everything is stock, so not my fault).

 

Agreed, Took a while to figure out how this happened. I thought that maybe it was from a strap or something when the bike was crated and shipped though the factory. I looked at the clutch cable and there was plenty of space between the fender and the cable so i auto-maticly ruled cable rub out. Until i was on my bike and my brother told me that the cable was rubbing while bars where turned..Well the light bulb finally turned on! Thats what was causing the fender marks. Stupid me... I didn't even notice it until about a couple of weeks after i bought it (and my mark was about the size of a dollar bill). And let me tell you i was pissed when i first seen it. Bring it back to the dealer im curious to what they say? I'm sure they will find a way to make it your fault who knows....Post a reply when you do....Good Luck.


Oh yea a zip tie works great until you get a cable clamp....

 

I have noticed this for a couple of months - mark is only about the size of a dime right now.

Going to try the dealer today.