F: Frame Rear fender fit issues

CoreyL

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Hi All,

1) I noticed that on my B Meteor the rear fender stay at the hinge seems to be attached reversed compared to most other Vincents I've seen. Does it matter?

2) there is a significant gap where the two sections of the fender meet (see photos). I'm not sure why this is. It seems like the front section is firmly located by the RFM mounting point and the rear (hinged) section is fixed by the length of the swing-down stand. Seems like the stand on my bike is too long? Are there other explanations?

Thanks,
Corey
 

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davidd

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Corey,

Yes, it does matter. The chain is on the opposite side to the twin and the Comet was designed to work with the lifting handle turned around.

Regarding the fit of the rear flap to the fender, I suspect it is simply how the previous owner drilled the holes. Getting the mudguards into the right shape can take hours. I think he rushed it, although it is possible that the mudguards were cut incorrectly.

This is a bike I built and I spent a long time on the mudguards.
100_1453.jpg

Here is a photo of the same bike with the stand up:
Pre sale Red Comet 2013 4.jpg

I don't think I would worry about it until you had a reason to remove those items. Your stand looks home made. I see a chunk taken out of it just under the brake arm and you have no diagonal stiffeners on the bottom wrung. I think it is likely that it is not the right length. That alone may solve the problem. I might look around for another stand or see if Mike Breeding has the castings.

Those look like San Remo rims!

David
 
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CoreyL

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Corey,

Yes, it does matter. The chain is on the opposite side to the twin and the Comet was designed to work with the lifting handle turned around.

Regarding the fit of the rear flap to the fender, I suspect it is simply how the previous owner drilled the holes. Getting the mudguards into the right shape can take hours. I think he rushed it, although it is possible that the mudguards were cut incorrectly.

This is a bike I built and I spent a long time on the mudguards.
View attachment 22210
Here is a photo of the same bike with the stand up:
View attachment 22211
I don't think I would worry about it until you had a reason to remove those items. Your stand looks fine, except for the chunk taken out of it just under the brake arm.

Those look like San Remo rims!

David
Hi David,

Thanks for the reply!

Your red bike is a stunner!

The rims are Weinmanns.
 

davidd

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I have seen Weinmanns, but not that rim exactly.

I edited the reply when I realized your rear stand was not original. You may have seen the post before that.

All the best,

David
 

CoreyL

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VOC Member
I have seen Weinmanns, but not that rim exactly.

I edited the reply when I realized your rear stand was not original. You may have seen the post before that.

All the best,

David
My rear stand is also odd in that the rear tab on the stand through which the fixing t-bar/bolt screws is not slotted like most I have seen. It has a hole drilled in it such that the t-bar/bolt must be completely removed before the stand will drop,
 

timetraveller

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Hi CoreyL, there are several things wrong with your mudguard etc. The rear stand is home made and is probably too long and, without the gussets, is probably too weak to be used seriously. You could just try removing the 't' bar which holds the stand up and pivoting the rear part of the mudguard forwards to see how near to the tyre it gets but it looks as though it would be too near. The wheel is quite a long way back in its adjustment slot and you can slacken off the adjusters, slide the wheel as far forwards as it will go and see if you could take a link out of the chain. If you can then moving the wheel forwards would help with the clearance at the rear. You have to judge to see if it is enough. Next, I am not too familiar with singles but it is possible that whoever fitted this mudguard etc. put the two halves of the hinge in the wrong way round. The part with the hole for the wire is at the rear on my bikes and you can probably change them round in order to get a neater wire run. Owners of singles can tell you whether this is correct or not. The main problem probably dates back at least 20 - 25 years when the only rear mudguards available had too small a fore and aft radius. I remember buying one and trying to fit it. After fastening it to the two holes, top and bottom, at the front of the rear frame triangle it was clearly too low at the hinge position. I heaved it upwards and put a permanent crease in it at the position of the top bolt. When I complained to the supplier I was told that that was all that was available. My feeling then, and now, about that is that it would have been better to admit that the things did not fit rather than supply stuff which would not fit. This situation persisted for years until finally the Spare Company found a source of correctly bent mudguards. The usual work round at the time, once one realised the nature of the problem, was to pack out the bottom front mounting about three quarters of an inch so that the rear of the mudguard was pivoted upwards and could be interfaced to the holes in the lifting handle. That matches on your so what has been done is not clear. It is probably not economically viable to buy a new mudguard and start again but it would be a great help to you if you contacted some local single owner and took your bike over and measured them up, side by side to see just where they differ. As David said, none of this is too serious, except you need to be very careful with that rear stand, and you can persist with what you have and enjoy the bike. Good luck.
 

TouringGodet

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I just re-fitted the touring guards on my Comet after repairs and painting. When I built up my basket case Comet, I bought a NOS rear touring guard, the holes for the hinges were not drilled. Before even worrying about fitting the pieces to the bike, I worked on getting the hinge pieces mounted correctly to provide a nice gap between the mudguards. It was 30 years ago now, but I recall a lot of careful measuring and trial fitting. One side of the hinge also uses rivets to mount it to the mudguard, so if you end up with elongated holes in the fender to get the hinge pieces just right, the rivet holes can be drilled last to anchor it in position. On my Shadow and Comet, the holes for the wires are on the part of the hinge towards the front of the bike, I think that is the only way that makes sense. The lifting handle does swap 180 degrees between the twin and singles, due to the chain guard, so yes, the wires on the twin come up the lifting handle, and angle slightly to the rear of the bike (in relation to the lifting handle) to get to the hinge, while on the single, the wires angle to the front of the bike to enter the hinge, but that is because the whole hinge is in front of the lifting handle on a single, and behind the lifting handle on a twin. For me, the natural resting position of the flap is such that I have to slightly push the flap towards the tire in order for my rear stand to clear the flap.

Gap.JPG
 
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