A rider ...

[cotton]

My spacer for the fender is 1/2" to 3/4". I angled mine but not sure of the original.

[pd]

Thanks for the reply Dwayne .

I think the factory used a straight cut spacer and the portion of the fender was bent in to parallel the brace .

I took the bend out of my fender without thinking about it , so now I have 'options' . Either use an angled spacer , like you , or re-bend the fender and use a straight cut spacer . I haven't painted my fenders yet and I might try the re-bend . If I can't get that to look decent , then ...

[oil-lamp]

The space and flat spot on the lower fender gives the break rod room to move and not against the fender. I would put the bend back in if it was me but decide before you paint.   

[pd]

Thanks for that , Reese .

I hadn't thought of that . The bike has been apart too long .

Looking closer at a few pics , I see the brake rod passes just below the spacer .

I'll re-bend the fender .

[Mike Sal]

When I got my bike it had no spacer & the brake rod was rubbing against the edge of the fender.  I made an angled spacer to fit the fender as I had also removed the bend in it when I welded up the crack that was in the area.  I'd have to look again to remember how long the spacer is, but I made it to help center the fender in the frame.

BTW.....this would be another good topic to have discussed in correct "category" on the website.  We've got a lot of good tips floating around in this thread which has become a "catch all"......  We've got to keep the new guys in mind.....someone who joins this week won't know about all the stuff we've talked about in this thread.

Just me 2 phenning's worth
Mike Sal

[pd]

Mike ,

Maybe we can simply send new members to this thread when / if they have a question . And , the thread is already in the correct category .
But , I know what you mean . It would be nice to have all the 'answers' categorized . Hopefully just a little better than the manual .

[Mike Sal]

Actually, fender questions, as well as the ones about throttle mechanisms, should appear in the "frame tanks, seat, controls" section. 
Mike Sal

[pd]

I did a little painting today after I re-bent the rear fender mount  . I got as far as the fenders and light fixtures . Not a 14 coat nice , but my rattle can job turned out OK .



That was dry to touch , and this one , too :





I'm not sure , but I guess the blue will look alright :



I'm in the process of stripping the tank to metal . Hopefully , that will fair as well as the fenders .

[Mike Sal]

Good looking progress.  I'm jealous that you can work outside.  We had snow again last night.  Are you going to pin stripe the fenders?

Been watching the '49er's get their butts handed to them & now the power outage.....I've not been too impressed with the commercials so far either......
Mike Sal

[oil-lamp]

That is truly a nice color goes well with the frame. I see your front forks have nuts on top too. I wonder if this was on a lot of models cause my Brothers bike that's a later model doesn't have them.   

[Mike Sal]

This may be another feature we can research......when did they use nuts on top of the spring towers & when did they not.  My bike (an odd '56......it has a "low" mounted brake switch, but according the serial number, probably should have had a "high" mounted switch) has the nuts on the posts.

I'll start a poll to see what turns up.
Mike Sal

[pd]

That could be an interesting tid bit , Mike .

[pd]

And , Yes , I plan on pin stripping the fenders .

[pd]

Rick ,

I'm curious as to how much you 'lowered' your float level .

The manual calls for 1 13/32  (+/- 1/64 ) . According to Mike Montgomery , Wayne recommends the same ( 1.406 which = 1 13/32 ) .

I bought this bike from Adam last summer (after Gary had died in March).  I put gas and oil in it and it started.  I put a carb kit in it, adjusted the float level (1.406" per Wayne), and resurfaced the face of the carb mounting flange, and it now runs much better...

[Ricks]

Rick ,

I'm curious as to how much you 'lowered' your float level .

The manual calls for 1 13/32  (+/- 1/64 ) . According to Mike Montgomery , Wayne recommends the same ( 1.406 which = 1 13/32 ) .

I bought this bike from Adam last summer (after Gary had died in March).  I put gas and oil in it and it started.  I put a carb kit in it, adjusted the float level (1.406" per Wayne), and resurfaced the face of the carb mounting flange, and it now runs much better...

I set mine at 1 15/32.  I was having flooding issues, changed the needle and seat, still the same.  I then read to seat the needle by pressing it into the seat with a pencil eraser. I did this, reset the float to 1 15/32, and it cured the problem.