TaoTao TBR7 Front Fender Reinstall.

In my quest to return my TaoTao TBR7 motorcycle to look like a real dirt bike with legal street lights, I wanted to reinstall the front fender again. My TBR7’s front fender was removed during the oil cooler installation due to how installed the oil cooler was. I wanted the oil cooler as high as possible should I want to add a skid plate on the bike, and as a result, the front fender made contact with the oil cooler.

So for a long time, I have been riding around without a front fender on my TBR7. The results were weird, and let’s talk about the results before showing you how I reinstalled the TBR7’s front fender.

People’s Reaction To TBR7 Riding Fender-less.

Verbal Comments I’ve Received About The Bike’s Look:

• WTF type of bike is that?
• Looks weird. Did something fall off?
• Looks broken.

Some of these comments can be harsh, but the front headlight of the TBR7 does look like it’s not stand alone round headlight. Maybe if I got a round headlight, I would try to make the TBR7 more into a scrambler motorcycle.  

Ultimately my goals were to return the TBR7 to looking like a dirt bike and get the bike set up for some off-road adventures. So I wasn’t going to change the headlight.

So, this motorcycle without a big dirt bike fender does look weird. Weird enough, I got nonverbal feedback.

Non-verbal Feedback To Riding A Motorcycle Fender-less:

• Fellow Dirt bike and dual sport riders just waved instead of flashing a thumbs up.
• Bug eaters (H-D leather daddies) started waving more than when my TBR7 motorcycle cycle looked like a dirt bike with its fender.

Very Bizarre Responses.

OK thought this was weird how people responded to what I did to my motorcycle.

My Own Response To Riding The TBR7 Front Fender-less:

• It was OK—no difference in how the motorcycle rides.
• I’m not fond of puddles as much now. Not that I went off-road much, but splashing through puddles sucked without a front fender.  
• Oh, I had a little rant about how I wasn’t using my TBR7 like she should be used. ( My TaoTao TBR7 Is A Dirt Bike! )

Now Down To Re-Fendering My Motorcycle.

You can say I’m a repeat, a-Fender?  

Sorry that was bad, even for a Dad joke.

As mentioned, the front fender made contact with the oil cooler, which kept the front fender off the motorcycle.

Other Chonda owners (Hawk 250, Brozz 250, TBR7s, etc.) seem to avoid this by mounting their oil coolers lower.

Some other bike owners still install their oil cooler higher, over skid plates, it looks, but then trim off the back section of their front fender. Saying the fender interferes with airflow.  

Yes, having the rear section of the fender in front of the oil cooler interferes with airflow. I accepted this by getting a larger oil cooler, and any airflow is an improvement to my motorcycle overheating problems.

Plus, I never ride in a straight line, so the rear section of the fender will move back and forth so no one area will be starved of airflow.

My Front Fender Re-Installation Solution:

First, I wanted to use the stock TBR7 fender without modifications. I didn’t want to trim the rear section or even drive additional holes to move the fender forward.

So my solution was the angle the fender front upward and the fender’s rear downward.

To do this, I had to create space between the rear bolt mounts and the fender.

Through trial and error, I picked up these spacers and found a good combination that worked.

I picked up a pack of nuts, washers, and bolts from Harbor Freight.

I picked up some plastic/nylon spacers from Lowe’s.

Then I went to work.

After a while, I came down to a combination.

For the rear fender mounting holes:

1. Select the longer bolt.
2. Put a washer on the bolt.
3. Insert the bolt into a rear fender mount hole.
4. Place 3/4″ of spacers on the bolt.
5. Thread locker on threads.
6. Install rear bolt till tight.
7. Repeat for the second rear bolt.

For the front fender mounting holes:

1. Select a longer bolt.
2. Put a washer on the bolt.
3. Thread locker.
4. Install the front bolt till the fender is mounted, and clearance between the front fender and oil cooler is sufficient, or the bolt stops.
5. Repeat for the second front bolt.

The Result:

Some front fender problems I ran into:

My front bolts are too long, so there is some additional upward movement of the front of the fender if you move it.  

The good news is the rear section of the fender shouldn’t move back towards the oil cooler, but the fender might flex forward.

Still a trial for this fix, I might try out different bolt size combinations or add/remove spacers, but this has worked for me.

Overall My Re-Fender Results, So Far.

My TBR7 has her front fender back on, the slight increase in the forward angle of the fender is unnoticeable, and my TBR7 250 looks like a dirt bike again.

I didn’t realize a nice added feature until the front fender was reinstalled. The fender helps prevent the front wheel from tossing stones into the cooler. So getting ready to play on my TBR7 like the dirt bike she is, although a dual sport since it’s street legal in most states( TaoTao TBR7 Review & Specs ).

My TBR7 Front Fender Plans:

Continue to test the fender setup. Hopefully will give you guys more information about how this worked out long-term.

Thanks for stopping by, and always interested in hearing your feedback.

Ride Safe, Ride Fun!

---

Click To See My Recommended
TBR7 Upgrades

---