A story about the last Maidenhead Fender Ornament,
Let me start off by saying that I am a true Valk-o-holic. Although I have put 120.000 miles on my bike in all kinds of Wx and dirt roads, the bike always needs to be in a perfect, shiny condition.
As early as 2010, I noticed the Maidenhead fender ornament was mentioned on this forum and I definitely wanted to have one as well.
This was the real thing. If you ride a Valkyrie, the last thing you want is to have a piece resembling a Goldwing or HD on your motorcycle, let alone on your fender.
So, I got in touch with Gary ‘Bearcat’ Ricker from American Fender Art and he explained to me that he casts these out of a High-Density Resin and it comes with bolts for mounting, The base is curved front to back for the fender of a Valkyrie. The people that were doing his chrome painting put three layers of UV protectant on each design.
So, I ordered one but after a year or so, the chrome started chipping off. I was not the only one, there were other complaints as well about the chrome finish.
Sad, if you want to show off with something unique and different and the quality and look is poor.
In the meantime the ornament got more widespread and I recall Dag Verpeide from Norway used to have a bunch for sale as well.
Anyway, Gary told me that he wasn’t satisfied either and the chrome guy he was using was no longer his chromer. So, he found a chrome company in Vegas that uses a different chrome paint and different process of painting. They have been in business for many years and have a great reputation for their chrome lasting a long time and is more durable under weather conditions. They have given him a guarantee that their chrome will last a long time.
So I got back to him and ordered another one. Unfortunately, this one fell off my fender after some time because the bolt bushings were not strong enough. And again, the chrome peeled off, not so much by highway rubble but from the sharp edges. So, I sprayed it black but, since I have a black fender, it lost its contrast and beauty.
Like I said, I am in love with my bike so I was feeling kinda uneasy.
Now, some months ago, I decided to order another one and have it sprayed with a special chrome transparent coating to try and protect the chrome from getting loose at the edges.
Gary told me he stopped selling that design as his chrome guy could never get it sprayed to his satisfaction!! Sorry!!
I pressed on, however and persuaded him to make his last one for me. And I transferred my card data for payment and shipping.
To my pleasant surprise, he did not want any payment for it and posted it to me free of charge.
With the message “I didn't charge you as I'm still not completely happy with the finished design. Also, I paid for shipping! I hope you enjoy this!”
Now that’s what I call a true artist and a real Bro with his heart on the right spot and 10W40 running through his veins.
So, out of appreciation, I decided to make some publicity for him w/o him knowing or any affiliation
https://americanfenderart.net/
