Fender holes?

[Sportster Jerry]

Hi, I have an unrestored, original paint 1969 xlch Sportster that I had judged at Oley. I had 1 point deducted for holes in my rear fender where a pillion pad was mounted when I purchased the bike. Before judging I removed the p-pad and mounted the original seat, but the holes where the back of the p-pad bolted through the fender were still visible. Is there anything I can do about this to avoid losing that point next time I am judged? Obviously I can't fill the holes and repaint the fender since it is an original paint bike. I have seen Triumphs with black plastic plugs in the holes on the front fender where the european liscense plate would mount, so I though maybe I could do something like that. I would appreciate any advice that anyone has.
Thanks!

[pete reeves]

There is not much you can do to hide the fact that there are additional holes in your fender. You could try to tidy them up by fitting a grommet or by carefully filling from underneath and then painting. However if it can be seen by the judges then they could deduct points for it.
You could argue that the pillion pad was fitted when the bike was first purchased, the drilling of the hole being part of a period accessory fitment.
Alternatively you could ask Kevin to revue the deduction made. A full one point deduction for holes drilled in the fender seems excessive to me, although I must stress I was not present when your bike was judged and I have not seen the offending holes.