Front mudguard

I had two aims:

a) to protect the instrument panel from water and mud splashes, and b) to greatly improve the front-end appearance without compromising safety. After reading the Admin’s post, I began looking for a solution offering good value for money.

Materials required

• 1 Gilera Ice 50 front mudguard (price €13 including VAT)
• 6 one-and-a-quarter-inch hose clamps (total price €6 including VAT).
• Drill with an 8 HSS bit
• Jigsaw with a metal-cutting blade

The front mudguard is an accessory for the Gilera ICE 50 (Fig. 1).

When I tried positioning it (Fig. 3), I noticed it needed modifying because it sat too close to the tyre. After studying the part and the C1’s front suspension (Fig. 2), I got to work. About half an hour later it was fitted, and I’d say the result is excellent.

First make an opening, initially rectangular (Fig. 4), then finish it in a diamond shape to fit around the rear of the front suspension (Fig. 5) (the front of the mudguard is on the right). The mudguard can be cut with an ordinary jigsaw and a metal-cutting blade. First I drilled a hole in the centre using an 8 HSS bit. Then I made a rectangular opening large enough to accommodate the “obstruction” — the aluminium suspension bar. As this did not provide enough clearance, I refined the opening into a diamond shape. The items visible at the bottom centre of Figs. 4 and 5 are the one-and-a-quarter-inch hose clamps.

You will notice that I fitted a second clamp to stop the first one slipping down, especially on uneven roads. (Fig. 6)

In the end, the mudguard fits in perfectly and sits neatly in place (as you can see in Fig. 7). It is stable, does not touch the tyre, and with my modification has about 13 millimetres of tyre clearance.

The second clamp is not essential, but I fitted it anyway for safety. To avoid scratching the swingarm, I also placed a rectangular strip of rubber, 1 millimetre thick, between it and the clamp. It is not visible because I cut it to size. (NB: each clamp comes in a bag that also contains a rear clamp which cannot be used, so for each clamp fitted at the bottom I used 2. Total: 4+2.)

The finished appearance is dramatically improved: the double mudguard brings the BMW F 650 to mind. Here is the result. (Fig. 8) What do you think?