[tooseevee]

Fender is very much an American term. In the UK, a fender would be something you hang off the side of a boat to stop it hitting the dock/another boat or the metal surround that goes round the edge of the hearth on an open fire.

            Fender is still the universal American term for a boat fender; to 'fend  off' the boat from the dock.

            For some reason, the term fender stuck in America for the thing over the wheels of a car. Maybe because it fended off the mud rather than guarding the wheels? Who knows?

            We could have the same discussion on "dashboard", but let's not. It's off topic 

[Adrian II]

Fenders have their place, though I prefer the sound of a Gibson Les Paul.

A.

[Mr_84]

Well I’ve had a chance to view a few photos of other 500s and it would seem most if not all have the shallow guard , at least I know what i have now.
I was already thinking along the lines of 12many suggestion to flatten the ends off in a press and shorten to suit , shouldn’t be to hard.

As always cheers for the info team 👍

[Mr_84]

Think I may have to obtain one of the shallow guards , I like the look of ‘em and then I could swap between the two for something different.

Why is the 350 fitted with the deep valanced guard and vice versa ?

At first one might think the deep valanced guard maybe better at keeping road spray from wet conditions under control but that doesn’t explain why it is predominantly fitted to the 350.

Anyway on the wish list is a shallow valanced guard

[stinkwheel]

You could fit any universal 19" front mudguard in your choice of steel, chromed steel, stainless or alloy. Just need to drill your holes and paint if appropriate.

I always imagined the 350 had the valanced mudguard because it was the predominant model sold in India where they have a lot of dirt roads and general muck about the place. It may also have been specified by the Indian army who were the main user of them. The 500 Indian bullets are comparatively recent and were more made for the export market as a "sportier" thing.

[allanfox]

I use tap washers on my alloy mudguards, not split yet.