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[ClaytonDingle]

Hi can anyone tell me the distance from the cylinder head to the back of the front mudguard as it appears I may have a bent frame issue see attachment please

[bh.sprint]

I've not got access to the bikse at the moment but here is a picture from Stafford of Roger's bike. Brian H.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi looking at your photo i would check the forks at the head stock end to see if they are bent and look to see that the mudguard is fitted right unless the frame is rotten and weakened take the dummy tank off and look at the frame to see if it looks bent or the paint is cracking near the head stock

[Roger James]

There should be at least a 2 1/4" gap between head and back of mudguard. Jess

[Roger James]

Best place to look for the problem is on the underside of the frame below the headstock around the steering stop lock bolted to the frame, look for creasing in that area, there is no need to remove the dummy tank to do this. Early Leader steering stems were prone to bending as they were hollow inside, Ariel changed the stem to a solid bar, unless its been involved in a hard head on accident it will be the frame that buckles first rather than the steering stem itself but you will have to take into account the possibility the front forks have been changed at some time by a previous owner and might have a hollow stem. . Jess

[Roger James]

The attached photo is a good illustration to show where the frame buckles, obviously this was serious but even a minor buckle to the underside of the frame can throw out the steering geometry and frame is somewhat weakened. Jess