Kawasaki KZ650 cafe-racer. Front fender. Part 1.

Regularly  getting some unsolvable issues like lost parcel (with precious parts in it) and so on, I began to get  slightly tired of the routine. I needed to make something more artistic than things I’ve been  doing recently. So I decided to make aluminum front mudguard for Kawasaki KZ650 project. However, for my tired mind the very  thought about driving through traffic jams to the nearest market where one may buy cut of 2mm aluminum sheet was disgusting. Hence I decided: to hell that 2mm aluminum, I’d better try to hammer front fender from 3mm aluminum I have in my supplies. Since I last time was hammering aluminum I’ve got couple of ideas how to do it better, and I anxious to test them. I took sheet of 3mm aluminum from the shelf, cut the strip of suitable width and bent it into some kind of half ring. Here it is, still mostly flat:

It’s hard not to notice that this aluminum of mine is painted in green. And I believe that some of readers from first look detected that such shade of green might belong only to Army, and they wouldn’t be wrong. I’ve got this aluminum from one of garage neighbors, who in turn found it along with some empty dilapidated wooden boxes of clearly Soviet military appearance in cellar of garage he bought.  Firstly I had a thought to sandpaper the paint off before hammering, but then I decided to left it as it is, so during finish sandpapering it would serve as indicator of smoothness.

So I started the work and it looked  like my ideas were true, as after first iteration future fender began to look slightly like hmm… fender:

Another proof of military source of aluminum: paint hardly came off under strikes of my hammers.

I willingly share most of tricks and tips I know or invent during my projects, so I hope you will understand that some of them (chosen) I keep for myself.  However I’ give a photo-hint of how to do the work on aluminum hammering.

After secondary iterations front fender looked nice. I hammered it to condition where all remained flaws might be removed by sandpapering, however I am about to borrow an English wheel this weekend  to finish the work properly. Current width of the fender is 130 mm and it perfectly fit 110/90-18″ tire. I suppose I’ll decrease width to 120mm after I treat it on English wheel.

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2 Comments

  1. Claw

    Nice shade, what about making whole bike with same paintjob ? >_<

    Reply
  2. gazzz (Post author)

    It would be “touch too much”:-)

    Reply

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