Indian Chain Guard Fitting

[rms337]

In evaluating the fit of both the Chief and the Indian chain guards, an finding that both of mine are pretty out of whack when trying to get them to fit properly. Years of being in others hands, I suppose. As you Indian owners know, at the top of the chain guard where it meets the fender, there is a curved lip that extends for a short length where it butts up against the rear fender. I am trying to find out if that chain guard lip is supposed to go a) inside the lip of the fender, b) outside the lip of the fender, or c) sit inline with and just below the lip of the fender.

I went though the tons of pics I have captured over the years, along with looking through books, and I have seen all 3 fits presented above. So now I am wondering what is correct? If you know the answer, and have a pic to share, it would be much appreciated. I am placing a pic of my guard below that desperately needs some shaping in this area, but I need to find out which direction to take. It was chromed in the 70's and then stripped. Can't say I would have kept the chrome either.

Hope you all had a good holiday. I have taken the week off work to get moving on these projects.


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[TH47Indy]

I also spent a lot of time checking other Chiefs and many hours getting mine to fit. I also saw many different alignments, but I believe the curved lip should go under the fender.

I also have to reshape the curved shape to fit the fender. My rear fender is an original, but not sure about the guard. Since there are 3 points where it attaches, a little reshaping and adjusting should get you a clean fit, but it takes some time, like everything else I did.

Here are some pics of where I started and then the final results.

Good luck.

[PRG]

Howdy sir,

Your pic depicts a Four cylinder rearward section of their two part chain guard, a Four fender is a different configuration than a Chief - for which I thought you were restoring a 42 Chief(?) - the major difference being a Four has a flattish front face instead of a battery positioning dimple and the rear bumper mounts flat, parallel to the ground, rather than the slight rearward turn up of a Chief.

The top lip on both Chief and Four should abut the recess on the rear fender flush, not tucked under or profound and portruding outward. These were hand fitted at the factory (admittedly, probably finessed with hammers and files) and if not original to each other rarely have this fine sweep where they mate. Nearly every repop I’ve seen/fitted had this lip behind the fender to make their installation more universal to most situations.

Important when setting up a Chief, especially if it involves the following: repop chain guard and/or not having the forward bracket yet riveted on, o-ring chain, larger final drive sprocket, repop headers, 52-53 cowl, you must fit a mocked up drive train to ensure clearance for some/all of the previous. O-ring chains and larger final drive sprockets require moving the nose of the guard outward fouling the rear leg of the headers.

[pisten-bully]

The top lip on both Chief and Four should abut the recess on the rear fender flush, not tucked under or profound and portruding outward.

Not certain I understand that, and I'm not certain that's the case with Chiefs, otherwise there would be an air gap between guard and fender and road spray would find the gap and trickle down the outside with road grime any time the roadway was wet. The sheet metal on my Chief is from 1946 and there's a small flange (let's call it that) which is indeed tucked into the inside of the fender curve on top....just like in Terry's pictures above (...wish they were larger photos )

But it's a hard location to photograph or to see in vintage photos....it's hiding behind the frame in the upper left corner. Chief and Four chain guards/fenders are different, however!

[TH47Indy]

Not certain I understand that, and I'm not certain that's the case with Chiefs, otherwise there would be an air gap between guard and fender and road spray would find the gap and trickle down the outside with road grime any time the roadway was wet. The sheet metal on my Chief is from 1946 and there's a small flange (let's call it that) which is indeed tucked into the inside of the fender curve on top....just like in Terry's pictures above (...wish they were larger photos )

But it's a hard location to photograph or to see in vintage photos....it's hiding behind the frame in the upper left corner. Chief and Four chain guards/fenders are different, however!

Sorry about the small pics, I should have checked. rms337, I can repost if you think they would be helpful.

[rms337]

Peter - Yes, although the picture is of my Four guard, I was asking in general for both the Four and the Chief since the lips (flange?) are similar and I am working on both a little at a time.

Terry - if you wouldn't posting the larger pics, that would be great. They are a little small.

I was talking to someone today that also has a history with these and although he has seen all 3 positions be used, he too mentioned what Peter did about these being hand-fitted at the factory, so we would likely see differences in fitment between original pieces. But, his recommendation was a slight bend back just to tuck it under but keeping some space as a buffer to help prevent the paint from chipping. While the fenders can be fitted now, I will have to wait until the engine is mounted for the Four (maybe spring?) before doing any adjustments on the guard. The Chief engine I am hoping to mount in the next week or so, so that should come sooner.

The discussion I had today also led to talk about the mounting of rear fender and whether or not it is mounted in front of or behind the ears on the battery tray of the Chief. Apparently, there have been originals shown to be mounted behind the ears. I always thought the fender was in front of (covering) the ears and is what looks best in my opinion. Anyone have any experience with that? I am planning mine in front of the ears.

I guess maybe it may be time to start a build thread now that I am actually starting to put things together...

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[PRG]

Howdy sir,

Harry is indeed correct on this one, crawled over tightly packed machines into the dark recesses of my shop and observed my particular 346 does have the guard flange tightly fitted behind the overhanging fender lip.

Your Four, no where near as critical because of its shorter run and generous clearances. If this fender not original to the machine you’ll have two points to focus on: the forward notch encompassing the top/lower case on the front chain guard may need relieving. The flat forward face of the lower fender right behind the trans (it mounts forward of the two frame tabs) is not really flat and may need to be relieved to clear the case, specifically the shifter fork access cover. It’s readily apparent a ball peen hammer relieved these at the factory, no two are identical.

[pisten-bully]

...battery tray tabs, front or rear? I believe the fender will fit better with the tabs in front of the fender, but I don't know for sure if that's correct (my tabs are in front of the fender ) I thought I remembered this being discussed before on this forum, but all I can find are these two threads:

https://forum.antiquemotorcycle.org/...03-rear-fender

https://forum.antiquemotorcycle.org/...quick-question

[PRG]

Howdy sir,

Tabs on front of my 346 and 348, on back of 440 and 441.