Last week’s ride seemed to alternate between slush and mud. In the mud sections, I was surprised by the amount of muck that was picked up and redistributed by the front tire. In truth, the standard fender height handled the worst of it with ease, but I wondered if there might be something to the lift kits I’ve seen on the market lately.
This week I decided to assemble my own 1″ lift from the hardware store. Here’s what I bought:
(4) 1/4″ I.D. x 5/8″ O.D. x 1″ Long Bushings
(4) M6-1.00 x 45 bolts and (4) lock washers
The swap took a 10mm socket, about 5 minutes, and $10.88 (plus tax). Here’s what it looks like:
On my test ride today, I found the conditions to be somewhat similar to the last ride. As expected, mud and snow was cleared without an issue. I made every attempt to really put my “riser kit” to the test. My only real observation of note is that on the hardest hits, the lifted fender now taps the top section of the fork when it’s fully compressed. It’s not bad, and really didn’t seem to be an issue, but it was a difference between the stock configuration and my “upgrade”.
If you like the aesthetic of a lifted front fender, it might be worth a trip to the hardware store. If you’d like to skip the trip and have more or less the same thing delivered to your door, Bradley Performance has a similar kit for about $25.
If you’re really getting after it with your TW, and you feel like a lifted front fender is right for you (or you just think it looks cool), then the Tusk High Fender Kit for about $78 is probably the best solution.