Misc: Stands Request for a Mudguard Measurement

greg brillus

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
The newer available mudguard sets are made of thicker alloy sheet than the originals. My take on the Birmabright guards is they were around 32 thou thick, the newer ones are at least 50 plus. This seems a good idea on account of the material not having the same strength as the originals which were a type of clad alloy, much stronger than the soft alloy ones now like malleable iron, this material seems to be no longer available. The only real issue is the overlap tongue of the rear flap that sits under the very rear edge of the forward main mudguard section, 2 ways around this is to either bend the trailing edge of the main guard upward to clear the flap tongue or simply trim this tongue off flat and square to the main guard. I have found the latter to be easier and much quicker. If you do not do one of these mods, the side on alignment of the 2 guard sections will be out significantly, and this looks terrible, the flap section sitting way below the forward section. Setting this up takes some considerable patience. Do not rely on the flap/rear hinge parts on their own to set this difficult alignment up. You also need to have the PR 27 number plate, the rear stand anchor plate and the stand all in place as well. This is because with the rear stand lifted to its correct height to do up the tommy bar, the rear flap generally moves backwards toward the stand, thus the gap between the 2 guard sections will "Open up" leaving a bigger than wanted gap at the guard/hinge joint. It is little wonder when you remove a set of old guards, that the holes, particularly where the rear hinge bolts on, to be elongated, some far worse than others. Although this looks ugly, it is not visible under the hinge, unless you really have done a big number in getting it all wrong. All good fun really. Cheers.
 
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LoneStar

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Not sure who else may be making them, or to what specification, but this is what I was told by VOC Spares some months ago re. FT150A:

"The material we use is the modern equivalent of Birmabright and slightly thicker at 1.5mm, and are very stiff and strong. That's why ours are more expensive.
There are some cheaper mudguards out there that are very soft."
 

greg brillus

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Well I don't wish to say the wrong thing, but the newer thicker guards are made from the same soft alloy the earlier thin ones were.......Modern equivalent it might seem, but it certainly is not as strong as the originals.......Birmabright used also to make the bodies for early Land Rover's is a clad type alloy very similar to aircraft alloy, but not quite so........It tends to suffer surface corrosion not unlike aircraft sheet alloy in that it develpes a "worm like" pattern that forms on the outer skin. As a side note, it is worth adding extra strength in the form of a doubler on the inner attachment point at the fixing on the rear frame just aft of the spring box attachment. This area is very prone to cracks forming in the guard.........It is worth cutting to shape a section of an old guard, or sheet steel about 1mm thick, around 30 mm wide and near enough in length to run across the full inner radius of the guard........you then bond this to the main guard with some Sikaflex adheasive or similar.......this will add plenty of extra strength here and should resist cracks unless you tend to go "Off roading" with your bike.........It is not easy to see in situ, so no eyes will be offended by it.
 

Texas John

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi Charles, In post #23 on page 3 of posts, you wrote "Greg and Craig, thanks for the information. Greg, I printed your post and edited into a checklist that I'll use when I make it to the garage later today."
Also, I owe you a document that Chankly Bore (Charlie in OZ) asked me to send you. My email is jsulliva at sbcglobal dot net. I lost your email when I retired recently along with some other docs I had saved.
 

Texas John

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Charles/MM, Your bike is a Black Shadow - does it (all BSs?) have the longer Rear Frame Member?
Now I am wondering how fitment is affected for my '48 Rapide with the earlier and shorter RFM? Appears I am a month or so behind you on getting my wheel built and mudguard fitted and falling behind as travel and other items get in the way.
 

Magnetoman

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Greg, I printed your post and edited into a checklist that I'll use when I make it to the garage later today."
Ah, that checklist. Unfortunately, I don't have a document in my Vincent folder, which means I simply took the post Greg sent, converted it to a checklist, printed it, and deleted it without saving. Sorry. Once I was finished with it in the garage I would have tossed it.

I haven't needed to worry about RFM sizes, but mine is readily accessible so if you or someone else tells me a measurement I can make to distinguish between the two, I'll be happy to do it. Also, I just emailed you so you should have my address by now.

p.s. I stopped adding to my rebuild post here in November when it appeared the Executive Committee might shut this Forum down to force people to the Club Express version, but I've continued it on BritBike at:


Nothing that has happened since then gives me confidence this VOC Forum won't disappear so I have no reason to question my decision. At the time, but in a different thread that was locked shortly thereafter and that I can't find now, someone wrote:

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I cant quite see MM's logic on posting to the BB web site but not on here, what I would do is complete the posting text, and before I hit post, I would hit copy and then post. Following that bring up this forum and paste and post again. to deny readers of his interesting screed is unfortunate and indeed reduces this forum appeal. I use that other forum when I want a Triumph answer but for real Vincent comment you need us. what was it Lawton &Wilson said? "Support the sort who support the sport"
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To answer that, if only it were as simple as cut and paste. To the extent what I post is interesting, it's because I spend a good deal of time writing and editing it before posting. However, the two forums use different formatting codes, as well as require separate uploads of the individual images. This means I would have to spend the time to separately edit each post to appropriately format it, and then I'd have to use my unbelievably slow internet to upload the photographs a second time. For a typical post that alone takes at least 15 minutes, and twice that if/when something goes wrong with the connection at either end.

I'd like to "support the sport" by posting that rebuild thread here, but I'm not willing to do it with the threat of this forum being shut down hanging over it. If that happens all the material that I spent so much time uploading would disappear. Don't blame me for it not being posted here, blame the VOC club officers.
 
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