51 Chief Front Fender Install

[indianrob]

I’m ready to mount the front fender on my ‘51 Chief telo fork. Does anyone have any hints, measurements and/or warnings? I watched Kiwi’s YouTube on the telo fork which provided a few cautions but no measurements. Thanks!

[tfburke3]

If you are installing finished painted and didnt mock up you may want to take some measurements between brackets and fender width at top mounting holes.If its going to fit between the brackets
then install fender and upper bolts loose and then get the brake backing plate set.
Tom

[indianrob]

Thanks Tom,

Luckily the fender is only primed but taking measurements beforehand will give me an idea of what the fit will be. I’ll take it slow and measure many times before drilling. The only predrilled hole is for the fender light(?) but that will provide a little help.

Rob

[tfburke3]

Hey Rob,I didn t realize you have an undrilled fender.I can give you some mesurements if you still need.
My original fender is mounted but think I could get close.
Tom

[indianrob]

Hi Tom, that would be really helpful. I think a close approximation for one of the fork leg mounting bolts would be a great start. I appreciate the help. Rob

[tfburke3]

On the backing plate side you need to center the hole for the cable mount standoff which looks like 1 1/16"dia.There is 7/8 from the bottom edge of the hole to skirt bottom,so 7/8 showing below hole.
On the front of the backing plate the skirt sits about 5/8 above the base circle of the speedo drive
When I hold a tape across the upper bolt center parralell to fork tube ,left side ,from the lower skirt edge to the upper front bolt center is 6 1/2"
Fender tip center to center line of fork tubes is about 24" but light is on so approx.
You may want to make a paper template of the backing plate that you can mount and then use it to help line up everything behind it.
Have fun
Tom

[indianrob]

Thanks Tom! I’ll give it a look this afternoon.

Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes not so much. But it’s looking better and better.

Thanks again,

Rob

[indianrob]

Thanks Tom, your measurements helped a lot. After much measuring, disassembly and reassembly I think I have the two holes for the brake backing plate drilled.

I’ve run into a couple of issues/questions that I need to address before I can move forward.

I’m installing what I think is an Iron Horse repop fender (pretty nice) I got a few years ago. It has reinforcing plates welded on the inside of both skirts. Unfortunately, both of the holes I drilled straddled that plate. I don’t think this is a problem for the cable mounting lug opening but the double thickness of sheet metal may be too thick to fit with the fork brace on the backplate mounting lug. If so I’ll carefully cut out a bit more of the reinforcing plate (I may do this anyway to improve the fit)?

The other problem is that the fender is 3/8” too narrow at the bottom mounting lugs. There really isn’t any room to add a spacer on the backplate lug and I want to keep the fender centered. So, is the correct approach to slightly pre-bend/spread the bottom of the fender skirts to take up the gap and then use equal spacers at the top fork mounting brackets?

I hope that all makes sense.

I’ll make a tracing of the fender sides once I have everything fitted in case someone might find them useful.

Thanks in advance everyone,

Rob

[indianrob]

I need to whine to myself for a second. I’m doing this work in a small spot on the floor of my shop. I’m almost 70 and I’m getting too old and a bit too fat to be climbing up and down from the floor to put on or take off the fender and or wheel. I’ll have more room by summer but I didn’t want to wait on this work. It seems like there’s never quite enough room. Whine over. ;^)

[PaulCDF]

Hang in there Man!
When I find myself in similar straits (and I do). I Thank God I am still able to do this part of our hobby
unlike so many we've lost or who are no longer able to enjoy the simple turn of a wrench
-Although my progress is SLOW I am still moving.
Good Luck!

[exeric]

That's not whining, Rob, that's reality for many of us. Fortunately, I know some younger guys that shouldn't be bitching about getting up and down and that makes me feel a lot better. I put an Iron Horse fender on my '40 Chief years ago and had many of the same problems you are dealing with (including a small shop). I think I-H made great parts and I have no complaints about their workmanship, but fitting up the fender was a ton of work and I was one of those young guys that should have kept my whining to myself. I know that Excelsior, and Henderson hand fitted their fenders at the factory, and I suspect many of the later Indians were also hand fitted. One of the great things about Harley-Davidson is the interchangeability of sheet metal, and barring damaged frames and forks, they always seem to fit without stress. I just wanted to thank you for stating what many of us aging enthusiasts (that do their own work) have to endure to stay active in this great hobby.

[indianrob]

Thanks everyone for letting me whine.

It looks like I have the mount and lug holes too high on the fender. I should move them toward the fender edge 1/2”-5/8”? That would also fix the interference with the reinforcing plate I think.

I can do that and have the current holes welded closed. Or have the welding done first.

Any opinions?

That doesn’t address the gap between fender and fork legs. I’ve tightened everything in place and installed the pinch bolt on the left side (no coercion required so I don’t think the fork legs are bowed). There is quite a gap at the bottom brace (and about the same at the top). I can gently spread the fender with a jack. Does anyone have a measurements of the distance between their fork legs - top and bottom? Is there anything I could have done incorrectly while assembling the folk to cause the extra gap?

It’s annoying to get it wrong but it’s a repairable learning experience.

Thanks for your help,

Rob

[tfburke3]

looking at pic 3 the upper mounts seem to high on the fender or fender is set to low.My front upper bolt hole is 1 1/2" form the hole center to the upper rolled edge,or bottom of trim.
As to the gaps I would see what happens if you try to spread the upper fender from the inside with a jack screw or wedges,or pull it to the mount with a bolt after you drill the holes.

Tom

[indianrob]

Yes, I need to move the holes closer to the bottom edge. I’ll also see what happens if I gently jack (scissors jack) the two sides apart - carefully and a tiny bit at a time. But I’ll need to ponder the setup for doing that without destroying the fender.

I’ve found a welder that will fill in my mistakes.

Thanks,

Rob

[tfburke3]

Hopefully your welder is a fabricator sheetmetal guy too.It may seem a small simple job to fill the holes but the potential to make that lower skirt edge wavy is something to consider.
I would make,or have made, a filler piece at least for the big hole and take the time to minimize the panel distortion,which could be another headache to deal with.
Tom