Rear fender width?

I just spent the afternoon replacing my scruffy old chrome rear fender with a new stainless one from supposedly from Norvil. After I was done something didn't look quite the same so I took some measurements and found the Norvil one was 5 1\4" wide and the old chrome one, as well as another old one I had laying around are 5 3\4". I know it's only 1\2" but I'm not sure I like the looks of the extra space. Makes the fender look too small for the application. Is 5 1\4" an original dimension or is some one trying to save some production costs by fudging with the dimensions a bit?

I just happen to have a scruffy old chrome Commando rear fender and a beat up stainless rear fender lying around here,
and they are the same measurements that you quote - 5 & 3/4 for the chrome one, and 5 & 1/4 for the stainless.

Don't know what year the chrome one is, but the stainless one would be early 850.

So those measurements wouldn't be uncommon.
Does anyone claim that the stainless is a replacement for the earlier chrome one though ?

OK, you got my curiosity and just measured mine. It's the original chrome rear fender on my '72 roadster and 5 5/8" wide.

Rohan said:

Does anyone claim that the stainless is a replacement for the earlier chrome one though ?

Click to expand...

No, it's not an original replacement for the earlier model fenders but it was sold as a universal fit. I had to drill extra holes for the tail light assembly. I think where the extra loss in width might be that the stainless one is more rounded where as the chrome one is flatter on top. At any rate, it doesn't quite fill the rear frame loop as fully.

Just for reference, I have 2 original chromed rear mudguards from a 69/70 model and they measure nearly 6" across the folds and about 5 1/2" where the notch is for the tire pump. They are also C cross sectioned, not D like the later models.

The original stainless one on my 1974 850 measures 5 1/2 inches, but that is plus / minus 1/8 inch depending where I measure it!

Unless you've got a super fat tire, I'd have thought a slightly narrower mudguard would look better. I'd leave it be for a few days and see if it grows on you.