A Bit About Fender Stays
“…there are many different configurations of fender stays to be considered when selecting the correct ones for your application.”
If you were to lay out a dozen various Triumph front fender stays on the floor and stand back 10 feet, you would be able to see the obvious differences in length. The lower stays are clearly longer than the middle and front stays. You would also be able to easily discern between the black-finished and chrome-plated stays. It would require a little more scrutiny to distinguish between single-tab stays and double-tab stays from 10 feet away.
Subtleties
Even more subtle are the differences in length between some front stays and middle stays. Some lower stays have a bend upwards at the fixing points on the ends of the stays. This allows for clearance around the twin-leading shoe brake plate linkage or the front brake caliper on the disc-brake models. The point is, there are many different configurations of fender stays to be considered when selecting the correct ones for your application.
What the Parts Book Doesn’t Say
In general, the parts books are quite accurate in assigning the correct part numbers to the various models and model years, but there are some anomalies related to very early and very late production models, where transitions from one model year to the next existed. For example, some very early-production 1969 Triumph T120R models were specified with a chrome lower stay with straight stays at the fixing points. But the majority are seen with the single-tab chrome 97-3668 stay with the kicked-up ends. The straight fixing-point version of the chrome single-tab stay appears as 97-3685 or 97-3688.
If you are trying to select the correct fender stay to match a pre-drilled mudguard, it pays to do your research, as it’s not always crystal-clear which stay may be the right one. Even the spacing between the tabs can vary between original and reproduction stays. This is one reason why most of the mudguards we supply are undrilled. Having a blank canvas allows the restorer to drill the fender to match the pattern of the stays, resulting in accurate fitment.
While most early-mid 1960s models had painted guards with black stays, some models featured stainless steel or aluminum mudguards. By the late 1960s, chrome fender stays were the norm on the models supplied with painted mudguards, such as the T100R, TR6R and T120R models. Meanwhile, the T100C and TR6C models with stainless mudguards were fitted with black stays. With the vast catalog of mudguards we offer, a buyer can choose whichever combination of fenders and stays they want to use. There are a lot of choices whether doing a correct restoration or plan on straying from the parts book and achieving the look to “make it their own”.
Here are a few recommendations to consider:
Measuring a Fender Stay
- Width
- Distance from mounting holes
- Length
- Diameter
Part Number | Color | 1. Width | 2. Distance from mounting holes | 3. Length | 4. Diameter | |
1966-1968 500 & 650 Models | ||||||
Front Fender Forward Stay | 97-1681, H1681 | Black | 4.5 | 4 | 9 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Middle Stay | 97-1683, H1683 | Black | 4.5 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Lower Stay | 97-1678, H1678 | Black | 4.5 | 5 7/8 | 13.75 | 3/8 |
1969-1974 T100R, TR6R, T120R, (T150 – 1970 only) | ||||||
Front Fender Forward Stay | 97-3663, H3663 | Chrome | 4.5 | 4 | 9 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Middle Stay | 97-3664, H3664 | Chrome | 4.5 | 4 | 7.75 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Lower Stay | 97-3886, H3886 | Chrome | 5.5 | 6.75 | 14 | 3/8 |
1973-1974 TR7RV T140V T150 | ||||||
Front Fender Forward Stay | 97-4444, 97-4533, 97-4547, H4533 | Chrome | 4.5 | 4.75 | 6.5 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Middle Stay | 97-4442, 97-4534, 97-4550, H4534 | Chrome | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 3/8 |
Front Fender Lower Stay | 97-4535, 97-4552, H4535, 97-4447 | Chrome | 4.5 | 7 | 14 | 3/8 |