When I bought my Sporty, there was a small crack in the front fender right behind where it's riveted to the brace. I've put a few hundred miles on it now and I noticed tonight that the crack has doubled in length.. I figure the longer the tear, the faster the wind's going to make it worse, so I'm going to take it off until I can repair or replace it.

So my question- am I going to notice any difference in handling without it installed? I don't ride in the rain, so i'm not worried about it throwing water or mud up on the engine, just concerned with performance.

 

you wont notice, you should care about the mud being thrown on your engine, worry about the mud being thrown at your face.

 

good to know, thanks for answering me

 

You might get a few small rocks kicked up on your legs, but no change in handling.

 

You guys were right, I just took it off and took it up the road, no change at all, except I know now that I was hearing it rattle a little at speeds and that's gone now. I think it looks better without it anyway, except now the headlight brow catches my eye and needs to go.. guess that's how stock bikes catch their flavor.. one thing at a time.

Now to get my search on and figure out how I'm going to get rid of that brow.

 

I tried a new bottom mount headlight Sunday, drilled the lower tree....relocated, used a bar clamp with no speedo or indicator lights. Rode around, parked it in the garage and looked it over and had a beer.
Now it's back stock in the front. Didn't like it. The headlight I ordered was cool but too low with the 1" mount it came with. A higher mounted looks better. Besides the blue dot for high beams was a little off center and I could not stop looking at it. Guess thats what happens when you buy a $35 light assembly.

 

if you do any fab work or know someone who does, a headlight bracket isn't very hard to make. I personally used the two holes from the visor for mine, you could keep the headlight in the same place or raise it obnoxiously high like me if you're into that sort of thing.

 

Oh and I had the front fender and tire off to drill the tree, last thing I put on was the fender, sat it on the tire, reached for a bolt and watched the fender slide down the back of the tire and hit the regulator. So what I accomplished after all day was a scratched dented fender and a $35 light on the shelf!