Mudguards for 1959 Dominator 99

Vintagesteel.com.au

There were 2 types of front guard fitted  , one a blade (a bit skimpy) and a valenced  deeper sided type . The rear guard was usually of the valenced type.   Rears are very hard to find , fronts are  complicated by having 2 widths of forks around and guards to fit.  , yours should be the 7 " narrow  type.   I do have a valenced one to fit your bike  , Then you also need  stays, a bridge ,  special rounded cut washers and cycle nuts and bolts. Stays and bridge need care as most listed are not correct . Navigator fronts are  basically the same so good to find. If you do have a correct front guard they need carefull fitting so as not to  load up the forks and cause sticking ,they also limit you to tyres that are slim .

If you look at the pictures on Models ,heavy twins  on this site the two Deluxe models have the valenced guards.

Recently bought a set of "slimline" mudguards of e-bay from Vintage Wheels in India. They were advertised as chromed and pre drilled. When delivered did not have holes drilled and front mudguard is too wide to fit my 1963 forks with 7" centres. The company is no longer registered on e-bay! On looking at the pictures on e-bay a lot of the different suppliers appear to show the same images and it seems as if there are only a few manufacturers and a lot of distributors. It seems to be a bit of a lottery as to what you might get from India. If I can't modify my front guard to fit I might be looking to sell them on to someone with 73/8" forks

I have bought several  "vintage" newly made parts from India ,  Just about every possible error  was made in the construction, so much so that  its clear that the maker had little understanding of the  intended use  or safety  issues.  Happily I got full refunds and was allowed to keep the items to decorate my  wall  display of  "do not repeat "   mistakes.

I've been scanning the web too for 1958-60 wideline mudguards too. The indian manufacturers do not know the difference between wideline and slimline, very frustrating.

But they list model 7 and hinged types which not that many people need. I was thinking about getting their hinged type and modifying it. Anyone else done this?

Paul

Seeing Robert Tucks' advice to look at the photo of models, it looks like my wideline has a model 7 rear mudguard, shallow valance , not deep like the 99's. It has a hinge also, instead of one bolt for the rear section. Or was there a shallow and a deep valance for the 99 ?  It fits in the frame rails OK with 2 short tapered bobbins so can't be far off but the P.O. had re-drilled the mounting holes . It will look OK on, but is it original 99 or model 7 ?

Regards all

 A  hinged or bolted rear guard may be correct  for your bike  ,but it sounds like you may have an imposter !.We need to get someone more familiar with the late  wideline to chime in. Also my deep valenced front would not be right  or look right  for your bike . 

Fred made the best mudguards, but I don't know if he's still going.  I haven't been to any shows or jumbles in over 2 years to see him.   My bike is a 1959 99 and I still have the original guards, which are pitted but "sealed" with green etchant primer by the people who did the grit blasting (Trestan Finishers near where I live in Southampton). I wouldn't dream of getting any from India because of too many complaints about lack of fit.  The NOC sells them from time to time.

Your rear guard should be the detachable tail type with side valances.  Mine is from July 1959 and the date is stamped on the inside of the mudguard's tailpiece.  I know this from my own originals and a new-old-stock tailpiece I bought a few years ago.  It's stamped "Jun 59".

Due to lack of demand I doubt that there is anyone making any of these mudguards regularly.   I was lucky to pick up a pattern rear from Bantam John at a Netley Marsh jumble quite a few years ago and it is a pretty good copy, although the rolled valance joint is welded on rather than just folded.  It still looks the part and bears up to fairly close scrutiny.  Rare as Hen's Teeth I suspect!  I bought a front from Fred Williams and it's a pretty good copy.

Good luck, Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year

Fred is still on Ebay, if you do a search for Norton Tank Straps you will find him, but I don't  know if he is doing any mudguards. 

Thanks Niall.  I think the last time I saw him was at a Kempton Park jumble about 5 years ago. 

Didn't know he ever did eBay - cunning chap!  I've bought mudguard stays, bridges, mudguard and various other bits from him over the years.  Near Christmas my wife use to take him some of her homemade mince pies (with minced fruit in them!) which he loved, until he wasn't allowed to eat too much sugar!

Odd that he lists the straps as "refurbished" as he makes them, and everything else as you know.  At a Stafford show once I saw him passing some of his front mudguards to a well-known Norton parts supplier!  They would have marked them up a lot I expect.

Probably calls them re-furbished  due to the misstrust there is for the accuracy of pattern parts.  It sounds like he does excelent work.

My understanding is that the shallow valanced guard was fitted from 1955 to some time in '56. It's the same basic guard as used on the iron s/arm 7, it's about 6" wide with a hinge, and shallow valances.  After that, the rear guards were a little narrower, with a deeper valance and a bolt-up fitting, no hinge.

There's a Norton enthusiiast whose name is (I think ...) Fred Williamson, who makes metalwear for Nortons.  I have an open type rear number plate (as on bolt-up Dominators and featherbed Inters) made by him.  He makes a good replica of the short rear guard as fitted to bolt-up featherbeds, and might be interested in making the valanced guards for the later bikes.

I wish I could find his telephone number, but he can be found at Kempton Park, and probably other autojumbles

Paul

The tapered bobbins sound correct for the '55-56 rear mudguard.  I could take a photo of mine for you, but not for a couple of days

Paul

Paul - you should always read all of the posts before leaving one yourself.  You will see that I first mentioned Fred regarding mudguards and other metalwork which I have bought from him over the years and subsequent posts also do.