Arrowhead fender stay length

[tomkilde]

I've been looking for an original, vintage rear fender to replace the poorly fitting modern reproduction currently on my bike.  It's a 1961 model, which uses the one-piece "arrowhead" fender stays.  A fender in poor but restorable condition came up on eBay recently for a reasonable price and I grabbed it.  Dry fitting the "new" fender earlier today, I was surprised to find that the (modern reproduction) arrowhead stays were a little too short to reach the rear mounting holes.  Not sure what's happening.  Is this not the right fender?  Were the modern stays not made correctly?  Did BSA make different versions of these stays?  The two mounting points on the fender are about 18" apart.  Is that the correct distance?

[BSA_54A10]

The arrow head is a separate part and  not forged into the end of the stays
Mike Riley ( MikesBikes ) has the mould s for them and will probably sell you some ends to be fitted to the appropriate length tubes .

[WozzA]

This picture is of the original set up...  or so I was told    sorry I cant help with measurements.
Your guard looks to be sitting a little further back?   or his in a bit closer to the wheel?
I suggest to fit the guard where it looks right to you ...  Hope it helps? 

[spanersc]

Hi All.
Also the RGS's used an 'Arrowhead' stay which was a tad shorter than the standard A7/A10 models but looked very similar.

[a10rgs]

Moin,

I did a measurement on my mudguard and the distance between the holes is about 420 mm
and so are my arrowhead stays!
 
Regards
Uwe

[Swarfcut]

 An arrowhead stay to hand with welded on type mounting plate measures 18" top hole to arrowhead hole. So does a late type arrowhead mudguard with the unbroken lower edge bead. This guard also has another hole approx 16 1/2" (420mm) from the rear, which matches an earlier type flattened end stay. My guess is that your fender is correct and the short stay is the problem part, either spurious or from a different model. After all this time mix'n match parts are to be expected as in my guard here which has been drilled to take both types of stay in its lifetime. So take your pick from what fits. Earlier type guard using  the shorter bolt on mounting plate type stay has a flat in the edge bead to clear the turn in on this flattened end type nut'n' bolt stay. Look for this to identify the mudguard pressing. Later guard does not have this indent.... The edge bead is continuous.

 Swarfy.

[a10rgs]

Moin,

my arrowhead stay measures 420 mm between the holes and match the mudguard!
I think they are the same as on the RGS!
Sorry can't add a photo!?

Regards
Uwe

[Rex]

Your fender/mudguard looks to be a good fit and follows the tyre line nicely (something which seems to be a big problem on too many BSAs) so I'd cut, slug and lengthen your stays to fit the new 'guard if I was you.

[RDfella]

Tom, there's a spacer between the 'guard and the frame cross-member. If it's missing, the 'guard will position too high and too far from the tyre.

[tomkilde]

I took the fender to a shop that will repair its defects (a few cracks, creases and extra holes) before I paint it.  They will also lengthen the stays.  We compared my reproduction stays to a pair of original arrowhead stays the owner had on hand, and found mine to be shorter.  I now suspect they were patterned after the similar RGS stays and misrepresented as being suitable for a standard A10.

I have all the spacers, clamps, rubber blocks, etc. indicated in the parts fiche.  Except for the short stays, everything seems to fit like it's supposed to and I'm comfortable with the fender position.  Looking at photos of other late A10's, I am surprised at how much variety there is in the rear fender length, alignment, etc.

The chrome fender in a10rgs' post above looks like a pre-1960 fender, which normally uses the bolted two-part brackets.  It's got the flattened edge bead near the rear mounting point, and it's missing the hole near the front mounting point for attaching the seat.

[Beeza]

18” on my 62 BVSR, 1” shorter on my 62 RGS.
Thomas.