No front fender is it legal in Ca.?

[V8Rida]

I have a V8 trike that I just installed a new Dunlope E3 tire on and it is a bit wider than the original tire was.I will have to make modifications to the front fender to gain sidewall clearance.
I would prefer to remove the fender altogether as I never really wanted it on there and the 350 Chevy engine blocks any road debris.
Can anybody tell me if it would be legal with no fender in California?
I have seen many VW and other home builts with no front fender but I don't know if they are legal.

[magusjinx]

California vehicle code ... division 12 ... chapter 5 ... article 5 ... section 27600 ...

Fenders and Mudguards

27600. No person shall operate any motor vehicle having three or more wheels, any trailer, or semitrailer unless equipped with fenders, covers, or devices, including flaps or splash aprons, or unless the body of the vehicle or attachments thereto afford adequate protection to effectively minimize the spray or splash of water or mud to the rear of the vehicle and all such equipment or such body or attachments thereto shall be at least as wide as the tire tread. This section does not apply to those vehicles exempt from registration, trailers and semitrailers having an unladen weight of under 1,500 pounds, or any vehicles manufactured and first registered prior to January 1, 1971, having an unladen weight of under 1,500 pounds.

Amended Ch. 215, Stats. 1970. Effective November 23, 1970.

I would contact their office and ask if this means the front wheel does/not need a fender ... I would think that in your case the motor would work as a splash guard ... But then I would want one to keep my engine clean ...


On another note ... Who built your trike? ... I like the front end design ...

[V8Rida]

Thanks for the info I will make some phone calls and see what else I can learn.
As for keeping the splash of of the engine I will soon be doing a lot of carbon fiber work that will include cowling the front of the engine.
I may widen my fender out and cut it down so that all I have is a very minimal splash shield.
My trike was built by John and Pete Solis Rods-N-Trikes in Liberty Hill Texas.
I will not say much here on the open forum but I can not and will not ever recommend anybody buy a trike from them there was some major safety issues with it and I am basically rebuilding the entire trike from the ground up to bring it up to my standards of quality and workmanship
The front end is very well built but needs a better shock and spring setup.I will be changing that to a coil over shock or air ride and
It is VERY heavy because it is built from solid round bar stock and it had no front breaks I just recently add the HD dual disc breaks.
I would be glad to post up some close up and detailed pictures If you are looking to build a front end and I can tell you what I would change about it.
Thanks again for the info.

[magusjinx]

Thanks for the heads up ... You can pm me with any mods you feel you had to make if you want to ... Solid bar stock? ... Heavy but sturdy ... I am looking at a 420 for my power plant ... It is a special type with no electronics ... Almost everything is mechanical so there is a bit of weight to it ... But nothing that I can't fix with duct tape and baling wire ...

Oh yeah ... Let me know how that front end behaves ...

[bgarrison54]

With no front fender, the V - 8 itself stop debris from the front tire. Do they make ""guards" for that?