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Dominator mudguards

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I threw the original mudguards for my '63 650SS in the bin in the 1970s and fitted some pattern alloy parts. I am now trying to rebuild the bike similar to original spec and much regretting my decision to discard the originals. I ordered a set of Indian made replacements. They were supposed to be pre-drilled and chromed but the parts have arrived with virtually no holes drilled and despite supposedly being suitable for a slimline I am having difficulty positioning the front guard between the forks. It seems too wide. Does anyone know if the diameter of the original guards changed in 1964 when the fork stanchions were changed or was the increased distance accommodated by adjusting the mounting bracket a bit. The Indian guard measures 41/2" between the fork indentations which seems to be the advertised size but this gives very little space between the guard and fork shroud. Have I just been sent a product with poor tolerances during manufacture or is this a guard for the wider post 1964 forks?   The Indian seller has offered to refund some of the purchase price if I keep the guards and get them drilled myself. Not sure if this will be possible without getting the guards re-chromed after drilling. He has not offered to take them back or replace them with a pre-drilled set. I don't know if I want the hassle of returning the guards or if the seller will give a full refund and I am not sure how successful I would be getting e-bay to obtain a full refund. If there is a size issue with Indian products I may have the same problem with the front guard if I order from another supplier. Has anyone any tips on marking up the guards to accurately drill the mounting and cable holes and is there a way of not damaging the chrome too much so that I don't need to re-chrome?

I know there will be people out there saying "I told you so" buying an Indian product and I realised that there might be some issues but I wasn't sure what the alternative options were. 

Hope someone can provide some helpful advice.

Allan Odurny

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You can drill the guards with a decent sharp drill slightly oversize.  I tend to use Cobalt drills most of the time now, but they are quite brittle.  VERY hard-wearing otherwise - best from Screwfix or  Toolstation.  Many advertised on eBay are not Cobalt.  Always tape the holes before drilling to  protect the chrome.  A decent anti-rust then silver metal paint should protect the holes and chrome afterwards.  If you're really keen you could coat them with plastic too.  As used in fibreglass repairs.

Getting the radius right on repro mudguards is a black art and doesn't seem to be consistent - even with our trusted and well-known metal-bashers!  Mine aren't easily accessible, but are for my Wideline so not relevant to your width problem.

Drilling them to suit your bike is likely to be better than having them pre-drilled by the Indian makers anyway.  Only time will tell if the plating is good quality triple-plate.  (Copper-nickel-chrome).  OR you could spray them with a clear-coat after drilling, like you must use on metallic paint (or anything else for protection).

It may just be hearsay, but I read elsewhere a while back that plating on indian repo parts is not to a high standard and probably just flash-plated, rather than triple chrome.

One of the metal bashers on the Club's Services list told me the following from one of their customers: chap riding along and admiring his shiny new tank, when from the bottom of his eye he saw something flapping about. He slowed down to take a better look, and as he rode along, the chrome was slowly unpeeling from the front of tank and rolling back in the wind.

As I say, I have no personal experience, and of course there is no other ready supply of such tinware new available on tap. When the devil drives and all that.

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They are handmade, and as such will be variable. I imagine that back in the day there would have been a set of forks hung in the tin-bashing shop to try them on until they fitted right, and they would not have been plated or painted until they did, the same with exhaust pipes, I have had some that were shocking, even though the makers made very grandiose claims of quality and fit.

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The width remained the same but the indents in the sides of the front mudguards were deeper for the pre 1964 forks. I have a previously used later one my 1963, and managed to make it fit after some hard work with a big vice and hardwood blocks for a press. Not ideal.

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Thanks for the advice. I will try drilling and shaping the ones that I have and hopefully not make too much of a mess of it.

Allan

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I have a bit of an issue finding the correct grommets for the brake stop switch/rear light cable exit and entry holes on the rear mudguard for my 650SS. I need to drill the holes myself and don't want to make the wrong sized hole. In the parts list No 067655 is mentioned, grommet battery box and mudguard. This has an OD of 7/8" and ID of 7/16". It seems a bit large for two small wires to the rear light. Norvil have suggested 060811 as an alternative. This is listed as an oil tank grommet for a Commando. I do not have any dimensions for this but it again seems a bit large on the pictures on the AN and RGM sites. Norvil have also mentioned 826320 with an OD of 3/4" and ID of 3/16". This ID may be too small (see picture). I have also found 064152, for a Commando rear light with OD of 9/16" and designed to fit a 3/8" hole. The mounting holes for the mudguard are either 3/8" or 1/4" and this grommet would seem suitable. 

It might be easier to go to Halfords and get some metric grommets and drill holes to fit but I am trying to keep the bike in standard spec to make it easier to replace bits in the future.  Unfortunately I no longer have the original guards and can't compare with those.

Does anyone out there know the correct part number or have an original mudguard on which they can measure the grommet size.

Hope someone can help.

Allan

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Doesn't matter who does the chroming, the chrome is porous and the nickel provides the barrier to the water trying to get to the steel. So if your nickel is lacking then wax that chrome to fill the pores on a regular basis and pray that the bond between the chrome and the layer below is good.  

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I bought a rear guard having finally given up thoughts of restoring my old rotted one on a '61 99SS. Which had been marmalised and welded a lot in antiquity, then stove enamelled cream over the original chrome (or what was left of it).

The quality of the chrome on the new one is good, but they completely ignored the careful drawing I sent them setting out the holes. So a lot were missing, and the cobalt drills had to come out.

I just greased the new holes )-;

 

 



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