Mudguards (Fenders) for 69

I was going to get the commando fenders from Walridge that are on sale. However, Mike says the front one is a bit wider than the original 69, which means new stays, not a big issue, but I am wondering how much wider it is. I'm fitting a 300 19 Avon SM front tyre and wonder if it will look bad with the narrow tyre.

Also he said the rear 06-3887 has a different drilling pattern. But if it is the same shape and dimensions, I can deal with putting new holes in it and ignoring the ones I don't need. My 69 mounts with a curved bracket that spans between the upper shock mounts and there are a few small holes that I think attach to the battery tray. Can someone give me the dimensions on the 06-3887 rear fender. Mine is 6" wide, 30 7/8" from front to rear, and the circumference (very outside) is 43 5/8", and has a notch on the right side for the tyre pump. I'm fitting the 350 19 Safety Mileage on the rear.

Re-chroming my old fenders would probably be in the range of $350 each or more which is twice or more the price of a new SS fender.

Dave
69S project

dave i sugest you re chrome your arigonals as neither the front or rear are being repoduced, i am doing a 70 at the moment and the guards are quite different from the later models, e.g. the rear guard has a indentation on the right side to clear the tyre pump to me it looked like a dent untill a more noligall person pointed the fact it was arigonal and very rare.

also the early front guard is narrower than later models as are the guard stays, if you have good repairable origonals spend the money /time to get it right. i will have my guards back from the panelbeater in the new year i will try and post a photo though i have struggled with photo bucket when i have tried previously.
Al

Al,

Yes I knew about the indent in the rear fender for the tyre pump. It is a quick way to see if a new fender has been used on an older bike. Trouble with re chroming is the $700-800, that is a huge expense.

Dave

Dave,

I don't think a later rear fender should be a problem - I ran one off of a '71 on mine for several years before I rechromed the original. Going to a later fender and stays on the front may make it possible for the S exhaust to hit the fender under hard braking. I tried a pattern fender with the longer stays and discovered this the hard way - it's was quite exciting.

Nelson,
Are you saying that under hard braking, with the forks compressed, that a newer fender and larger stays that the front fender can contact the "S" exhaust? If that's the case, I guess I will have to go for the original stays and fender, which will mean re-chroming.

Dave

I don't see any problem of the fender contacting the pipes. I measured the same distance on these two fenders (stainless on the left and early chrome on the right) from the top of the fender to the center of the bolt hole on the center arch, as well as the same distance from the center of the front stay to the center of the bolt hole. The stainless measures about 4 7/8 inch wide while the chrome is about 4 1/2 inches





In fact if you look closely, the bolt holes for the front stay appear to be the same, just the stay widened. If you use your orginal, narrow stays and re-shape them it will actually pull the fender slightly closer to the tire.

Another plus for the stainless is it will allow you more tire clearance, thus a wider selection.

I don't have an "S" rear fender to compare, but I'm pretty sure all the chrome (except Production Racer) and stainless rear fenders have the same overall dimensions, just some different mounting holes.

Hmmm. I may call Mike and see if I just can't use the rear fender if I can return it. I think the front one will be ok, but will probably get the new stays. My front fender looks good from about 20', but there is a lot of pitting in the chrome and the underside is pretty rusty, and the bridge is in sad shape. My front fender measures anywhere from 4 1/4" at the center to 4 3/4 at the front. The rear one is repairable, but really rusty on the top, plus some dick head (me in a past ignorant life) has drilled an extra set of holes for the rear light to fit a larger tyre. I'm thinking I'll try to get the new SS ones and keep my originals in case my ship comes in and I can spend the bucks on repairing and re-chroming them.

Is there a source for the 6 rivets for the center bridge?

Dave
69S

When I got my S the front fender was badly mangled. I got a pattern fender and some later (painted) stays from a former Norton dealer. It worked fine for a long time, but a couple of times under very hard braking the fender would contact the exhaust. I still put a lot of miles on it this way. A couple of years ago I bought a decent fender and stays for an S off of eBay. It wouldn't clear the front tire. The stays are probably close to an inch shorter than the painted ones. This year when I restored the bike, I checked these stays against the originals and there was even a slight difference there. The originals were a touch shorter than the other supposed S stays. I got the originals rechromed along with the newer fender and it's working beautifully. I'll try to dig out the other stays and take measurements and post them and maybe a picture over the holidays.

Nelson,

I have my original stays and fenders, so there is no need to make any measurements. You can actually see the difference in the stays in the previous pictures. I am going to fit the 300 19 front tyre, so there should be no clearance problems with either the original or a new wider fender. The new stays may be another issue, it may not look good. I think I have decided to buy the SS front and rear from Walridge, if he will take the rear one back if I just can't make it work. If I get some extra money (ha, ha) I'll get my original stuff re-chromed at some point. The price difference is just too great, about $300 for 2 new SS fenders vs. probably $6-800 for re-chrome.
Dave
69S