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I'll be ordering one of those beauties fo' sho!
...and my personalized version. Insert your text here! I'd probably put my actual license plate number on it if I got one.
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DK Designs got back to me again:
"The Front Fender with White Pin Strips might be around $550+ Shippin.
We are still discussing with the paint shop. Currently is pre-order, or wait until we upload to our site.
For now, we have cylinder cover guards + breast plate in processing, will coming up pretty soon."
I told 'em again to let me know when they want the credit card info.
I also like the idea of a longer front fender but I’m put off with it being made from abs plastic.DK Designs got back to me again:
"The Front Fender with White Pin Strips might be around $550+ Shippin.
We are still discussing with the paint shop. Currently is pre-order, or wait until we upload to our site.
For now, we have cylinder cover guards + breast plate in processing, will coming up pretty soon."
I told 'em again to let me know when they want the credit card info.
That is a pretty large fender for all-ABS construction. The proverbial 'weakest link' is where it is bolted to the front forks. DK Design® knows this and have provided bolt-on bosses. These bosses need to be integral and larger to be worth the bother, though, like that evident on high-quality bolt-on carbon-fibre components - and carbon-fibre adds a fair amount more rigidity than ABS does. I suggest adding SS fender washers, inside and outside, when mounting the fender since the ABS will potentially flop around a bit in the wind, upfront - especially at higher speeds.I would also prefer a steel front fender, but I suspect that a steel version would be VERY expensive. If there's one thing that I've learned, even before taking possession of the R18, BMW parts are EXPENSIVE.
That is a pretty large fender for all-ABS construction. The proverbial 'weakest link' is where it is bolted to the front forks. DK Design® knows this and have provided bolt-on bosses. These bosses need to be integral and larger to be worth the bother, though, like that evident on high-quality bolt-on carbon-fibre components - and carbon-fibre adds a fair amount more rigidity than ABS does. I suggest adding SS fender washers, inside and outside, when mounting the fender since the ABS will potentially flop around a bit in the wind, upfront - especially at higher speeds.
It will not be long before Russ Wernimont® and Klock Werks®, amongst others, offer proper steel front fenders for the R18, and most probably with different aesthetic options as well. And they sell for less than $400 typically for Haley Davidson - as premium a brand as BMW is.
I really want to like the DK Design® stuff, but their products seem rushed-to-market and un-engineered. ALL their R18 items feature integrity hiccups IMHO; that includes this fender, their engine guard (commented upon in another post), their skid-plate (sump-guard) and front axle sliders.
If you hit something solid with that skid-plate, like a protruding kerb-edge, the first points of failure are likely to be one or more aluminium bolt-bosses at the bottom of the R18 engine casing, where the DK Design® studs screw into. The skid-plate is also too low and does not feature openings for oil changes. I suggest using SS threaded-bar, instead of the substantial studs provided by DK Designs®, along with three SS nuts each, to set and adjust the skid-pan height. Trial-fit first to determine each threaded-bar piece's best length and then trim those to the required length. Threaded-bar will function as well as the DK Design® studs but will bend instead of leading to engine boss damage. A skid-plate for a road bike should be thin, contoured SS, like those commonly sold for Honda Goldwings, not a thick aluminium plate, like those fitted on Adventure bikes.
Front axle sliders should NOT expand into the ends of the front axle for two reasons; 1) not to impart any additional stresses into this (critical) hollow front axle (hoop stress in this instance) and 2) since axle sliders need to be tied together with a bespoke rod through the axle - if not, they will pop off instead of slide along. Once again, all form and little function. I suggest sitting it out till R&G® or Sato Racing® offer properly engineered equivalents.
First adopters almost always pay twice. And at times, substantially more. I know (-: