Mudguard madness

You have  an Indian made copy rear  mudguard. Anna was quite passionate about them being poor due to lack of the reinforcements. 

Whether these reinforcements have to be welded in place or simply in place between the relevant fixings I have no idea as I have a  Commando rear mudguard on mine.

As to lifting it, surely these handles are too far back for lifting onto stand use? (I use the subframe loop as a lifting point and it is comfortable to do so). I thought that they were for the pillion to hold on to? Others will know better. 

Regards, George 

Hi Tony, have you found a front guard yet?. 

I found the handles essential for lifting.  I had the original 1959 valanced rear guard and the repro I bought many years ago (from "Bantam John") has all the correct reinforcement plates.

Fred Williams used to make the best repro front guards, complete with the fluted front.  His were slightly tight on radius - his front guard would fit inside an original Norton one, but it's not a great problem.  He also made them for at least one other Norton parts supplier as I spotted them doing a deal at a Stafford Show once.  I don't know if he's still around as I haven't been to a jumble in a couple of years.  If he is, he might sell them direct from home.

I lent my original rear guard to Renovation Spares some years ago as a pattern.  That was when Peter was running the business but he retired.

Hi Tony , I think you are right to get the rust blasted off as chemical rust removers are not as reliable long term .  I would also check the guard fits well before repainting as they sometimes spread wider.  if missing you can get the cable clip made  and spot welded in. Our replacement for the Atlas was the right shape but had the stay holes in the wrong places ( AMC lightweight?) so these had to be closed off . We also had to find different stays and the special domed and cut spacer washers that prevent buckling damage from the stay nuts.   Just as well its all so simple !!. Its a bit of a nightmare fitting the guard over the slider studs ,so much easier with bolts ,but getting the old studs out is  another painfull issue.

When you fit a non original front mudguard on any Feather bed be aware of the chance that the rear of the front guard touches the frame under heavy braking!! You get a small dent in the rear of the front guard-no real issue, but the locked up steering on heavy braking can be an 'oh shit moment' ! I had that once round hide park corner-busy time!

Alan makes a good point. Its often found that the front downtubes are bent and the wheelbase reduced.  Probably makes for quicker steering till it locks up under braking. Talking about Hyde park corner, I had to make a violent swerve there to avoid pranging the Queen in her limmo, Her driver expects all to give way no matter who has the right of way.

What would have happened if you had a prang with the Queen's limo?  Would things have mattered differently if the Queen was on board?

You would have then been getting your mail in care of The Tower???

p.s. As I remember The Queen was a driver during WWII.  I would think that she would have a reasonable attitude as to who had the "right of way".

Mike

The ES2 rebuild case I bought a few years ago came with front fork sliders which I assumed were correct (stupid!)

On its first ride I hit a small bump and found that the mudguard had hit the speedo cable which was attached to the frame downtube on the front side. It put a dent in my newly painted mudguard - first ride out!

After lots of head scratching and checking, I finally found that the fork sliders had their bridge locating studs about 1" higher than the sliders on my Dominator. I don't know what they came from.

I solved it by shortening the bridge piece.

Great fun, these old bike - this one was last used in 1978 - it still had the license disk attached when I bought it.

Hi Michael ,  HM was on board !  But the escort  was doing too big a job trying to hold back 3/4 streams of traffic and was hidden from me.  Qeeny  would have been amused , We used to work in the palace and she was not beyond offering  a cup of tea !. Nice lady.  I have a 99 valenced guard for the 7" forks  going spare . Needs a little attention!.

Lionel's comment regarding Fred Williams' front mudguards might answer a question for me.  I recently bought a front mudguard for my 1960 Dominator. I was told it was genuine Norton and it did look ok.  I was (and still am) sure it's not an Indian copy.  However, when I fitted it, it has a tight radius and is close to the tire at the front and back.  It looks like it would be a better fit on an 18" wheel.  I have now fitted a genuine original one, which has a slightly larger radius - this looks a lot better.  Anyone want the "Fred Williams" one ?

Hi Robert,

I am keen to obtain an original front mudguard for my Dommie 99 which is otherwise 100% original. Do you still have one to sell? Tel me on 01590-675397. Many thanks.