front mudguard;legal requirement ?

[The Yukon Sizzler]

Decided to strip my panhead duoglide into a bobber stylee .
In keeping with the bobber "look" I don't want to fit a front mudguard,but is a mudguard a legal requirement ?
Don't want some spotty faced plod pulling me over waving the road trafic act in me face.
If it is, what is the minimum dimension? does it have to cover a certain
percentage of the tyre?


(note the use of the word mudguard. A fender is something played by
Jimi Hendrix)

[BaZa ®]

First time THIS year......


No. And if the tester argues differently, ask him to quote you the relevant article from the Tester's Manual, a copy of which he should possess. If he refuses, you can then ask for a form VT17 ( appeal form); most will give in then 'cos they don't want VOSA (used to be the Ministry of Transport) on their backs! ;)

The only reference to mudguards is that, if fitted, they should of course be secure, and they can be failed if they are unsafe i.e. corroded or have sharp projecting edges.

[1200shovel]

I hate to disagree ( well actually I love it), but, they aint part of the MOT, but they are part of the construction and use regs. Plod COULD nick you for it, but tiz unlikely unless they are throwing the book at you.
More seriously though is the derrimental handling caused by the lack of fork brace, you will be relying on the wheel spindle to keep your forks in line as they go up and down and have the lateral forces applied to them as you corner, not to clever. You will also be putting excess loads on your wheel bearings not too clever either.

[jzk]

sorry to kinda jump in, but if you go down the bobber route, maybe you might be interested in these? i took them of my 70's shovel, which was bobbed and i took it back to stock fl. i've got the rear guard struts and one of those dogs dick rear lights too. they're sitting round gathering dust. open to offers or swap for somehting fl/shovel orientated?

[BaZa ®]

.........hey there are some guys here just waitng to join the club....




Want to join us? The Harley-Davidson Riders Club of Great Britain is the biggest independant Club in the UK. We've been going since 1949 and have 1500 members, so we must be doing something right. Download you membership form:

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[The Yukon Sizzler]

Originally Posted by BaZa ®

First time THIS year......

I had seen this issue raised before in previous threads baza, but my query
WASN'T MOT related. It relates to a point of law. After all , I've got the stock front mudguard to fit for MOT purposes if need be.
Getting pulled over by an over zealous,jobs worth constable, waving construction & use / road traffic act regs in me face is what I'm trying to avoid.
If I was to get pulled,it would be handy to know the exact letter of the law.

JZK I've pm'd you.

[BaZa ®]

Fact is:

Surely if it can pass a MOT without one then it is legal?

If ole bill gave you a ticket and you could prove it is not necessary to have one that's it sorted.

Send WildBill2566 a pm he will tell you for sure

[SX 150]

Originally Posted by BaZa ®

Fact is:

Surely if it can pass a MOT without one then it is legal?

If ole bill gave you a ticket and you could prove it is not necessary to have one that's it sorted.

Send WildBill2566 a pm he will tell you for sure

It doesnt matter if its passed the M.O.T. or not,- if you get pulled and it is deemed to be"not fit for road use," you get points for driving a defective vehicle.-- Been there, done that.
Saying that you've got to come up with a right w@nker of a copper to do you for that.

[SJC69]

Originally Posted by BaZa ®

Fact is:

Surely if it can pass a MOT without one then it is legal?

If ole bill gave you a ticket and you could prove it is not necessary to have one that's it sorted.

Now that's a sweeping statement that will really get you in the sh*t.
The answer is No, No, No.... as already said been there too, got the ticket etc.
The MOT Cert is/was just a piece of paper not law.
Another very good example of this is a M/C does not need a chain guard to pass the MOT, but any traffic copper will do you for not having one!

[BaZa ®]

I bow to your wealth of knowledge. That's what this site is good for we get there in the end. Seems daft though that if I ride out of a MOT station with a pass cert' I could still get nicked for having something wrong with my bike with 100 yards.