Those fender brackets are pretty hefty for holding a plastic fender on. I guess they are made strong to be able to hold the fender at speed. BUT, I also think they act as fork braces too!!
Personally, I would not have cut the bracket.
I made some small stainless brackets to raise the fender. (I even went to the trouble of bead blasting the brackets to take the shine off them - so no one notices)
Now you've cut the bracket, I'd be doing as "Piper" has.
As they say in Thailand "up to you!"
