The tipping point arrived after a drizzly morning commute: I dismounted the 1200GS, hefted it up on the center stand, and my gloved hand came off the frame with new layer of road spray that spread to my clothes. A little bit of wet scrappy dirt by itself is no big deal to a GS rider (right?), the wet Seattle roads were building a grime layer on suit and machine, and it was time to investigate added fender protection.
 

“Support innovation, buy the original”

After a bit of industry research, I realized that the fender protection product segment is occupied by an innovator specializing in BMW twins, and a lower priced product with virtually the same specs. The decision point for me was easy: I believe in supporting innovation in the industry, as well as design originality, much like a Kickstarter project. So I went with the MachineArt Moto front/back fender combo.
 

Front side

The front fender extension is called the Advant 12, and adds a little more than 5 inches to the back side of the front fender to reduce the spray coming off the front wheel. It installs in about 5 minutes with 3 clips and a Torx screwdriver.
 

 

Back side installation with a Jesse luggage high pipe mount

I have the Jesse Odyssey II with regular mounts, which means that the left side mount overlaps with a key anchor position on the MudSling MAX.

 

 

After a quick consult with Andrew @ MachineArt Moto, I decided to carve out the overlapping segment with a Dremel.
 

 

 

I performed a few back and forth fit/cut iterations before the left side lined up snugly. I attached the two upper screws, zip ties on the bars, and examined the clearance between the extension and the Heidenau K60 tire…about a quarter inch clearance while on center stand, no rubbing while on side stand.
 

 

Let’s ride

As timing would have it, the next day featured another drizzly commute, so I was able to get an early preview of the extensions in action:

• Frame bar where I lift the bike onto center stand was dry.
• My boots were far more dry than in previous rides
• My commute takes me through a park with six speed bumps, which I took at various speeds to see if the rear tire hit the fender: no contact at low speeds, some contact at ~25-30mph. This translates to keeping the rear extender on for all street riding and light off roading, and likely removal for rougher off roading, so I can avoid a repeat of what happened last year on the ALCAN with the BMW rear spray guard.

 

 

Good stuff, glad I did this. Only wish I had these installed on my Alaska trip year, would have saved a bunch of Dalton calcium chloride from riding up on the machine.
 

Highly recommended.