Drilling a champion body?

[mtn rider]

I plan to drill and add snaps to my Champion Kit for the installation of rock guards on the fenders. Has anyone done this and was there any cracking or splintering after the installation from vibration? Your comments will be appreciated.
Thanks Jerry AKA MTN RIDER
Pigeon Forge TN

[tfdeputydawg]

This is a personal opinion only. I would not drill the body. Nor would I mount the vinyl material guards. They will(over time) ruin the finish under them.
There are a couple ways I would suggest:
The 3M Stone guard film or the 3M spray on
Also, LineX has a semi-smooth bed liner type material that can be sprayed on and some colors can be matched.
YMMV

[1800 06 Champion Trike]

Upon looking closer, I see you don't have a Goldwing Trike.
I'll leave this post on here just in case someone else is interested in it.

I had my dealer install the clear film on my Champion.
I just didn't care for it, so I took it off.

After riding it now since it was new in 2006, I have no big chips and very few small ones.
I do have the aqua shields on as I think they help a lot.
I also have all the Baker wind wings- mirrors, fairing and big trike leg ones.
My big leg wings are keeping most of the stuff off the rear fenders.
This I can see by all the marks in them.
You might want to give them a try before you do any thing to the fenders.

[tfdeputydawg]

I had my dealer install the clear film on my Champion.
I just didn't care for it, so I took it off.

Curious minds wonder what you did not like about the Clear film???
I took extra steps beyond what the standard kit covers on my trike. I had all forward facing surfaces of the trike body covered + the front of the foot fairings and on top of the foot fairings where my feet could possibly touch, since I removed the OEM pegs.
In 3 years of service, I have had no problems and no chips!

[DTR 11TG]

Jerry, I don't know what type of rock guards you will be using, but the only real answer is that, any hole thru the body will create a weak point and make it possible to crack. I'd be the last to say that it will crack, but it can and I'm sure the location of the hole will have an effect.
As others have, I plan to have 3m film applied to my TG and a while back there was a thread here on TT about someone making a molded hard style rock guard that did not rest on the paint surface, maybe that's what you plan to use.
Good luck with yours and show us a photo when your done.

PS. any claims of no cracking should be made in writing and backed by THEIR money.pepper

[pcombe]

I have drilled some holes in the champion body to mount accessories.( fender rails,tour glide emblem etc.) With no ill effects, Dont get too close to edges as that MIGHT increase the chances for cracking?
I used masking tape when i drilled, The body is is not all that thin.
Consider rubber grommets when appropriate?



Hint: use the search on the forum to bring up 3M film, there is lots of info.

One warning?
If you lay a bra of some sort over the paint,expect that it will dull the paint through rubbing.

[roadking2]

Tape over the hole location, drill a pilot hole, then the proper size hole. Use sharp bits. Drilling through the gel coat is the real problem. That's where you will get cracks and chips. For future reference, if you are drilling a larger hole and it requires a nut and bolt, it's a good idea to countersink whatever fastener you are using down through the gel coat. The surrounding gel coat has far less chance of creating cracks around the fastener if you do that. Better to countersink the fastener than to crack the gel coat when you tighten it down. Got that tip from a long time boat owner.