1055 wrote:
...
I also though about the idea of fender mounted lights. Having driven cars with directional headlights, its nice once you get used to it. Although I would be concerned with the large amount of vibrations said features would experience, and the unsprung weight a headlight assembly would add.
Based on some input from a friend of a friend that has built many Super 7 clones, I would strongly advise against this. They keep a healthy supply of front fenders ready-made and painted because they tend to suddenly and violently rip off often, depending on the nature of driving and how windy it was that day. That said, they bolted their composite fenders onto a metal frame, and the points of failure seemed to always be at the stress point of the fastener. After some research by
wicky, he discovered that one is supposed to use a flexible adhesive to attach fenders to a rigid frame, like windscreen sealant (unless a like material is molded into the fender itself, which could then also be used as a mounting point).
My point is, make sure you are properly and reliably mounting your fenders before considering adding the extra weight of headlights. Even if the bouncing beams at night wouldn't bother you, it would be a difficult drive home should they suddenly disappear into the abyss next to the road in the middle of a nighttime cruise.
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