Hitchcocks Forum

I am inquiring about the fitment of army style pannier racks to my '92 Indian Export model Bullet 500. I have bought a set that require fettling from the fine hosts of this forum (part ref PANNIER2).
My question is, has anyone here ever used the racks as mudguard stays? There seems to be several styles of "Army" pannier racks - some fitted with the mudguard stay in place, others with a couple of brackets/spacers instead of the stays where the middle and rear mudguard mounts are located. What I was wondering was if removing the stays would introduce some unwanted resonant vibration which would inevitably lead to discomfort/wear/breakages. If it is a good idea then I shall be fabricating my own spacers/brackets.
My Bullet has the shallow rear mudguard and the arcing (as opposed to angular) mudguard stays. Saving a little bit of weight, removing unnecessary components and maintaining a degree of ruggedness is my aim. The bike is being prepared for an overland adventure (when the pandemic is under control) so simplicity, reliability and comfort are my primary considerations.
If it makes a difference I am mounting a "scrambles" saddle too.

Oh, and I am fully aware that 'comfort' and 'reliability' are relative concepts when it comes to a cast iron barrel, 4-speed Bullet. If I was more hung up about having either of them I would be taking a Toyota Landcruiser instead...

I can't see wht that wouldn't work with appropriate cross-bracing. If you think about it, the stays themselves are only held apart by the mudguard itself and by virtue of being attched to the frame at the front. You would probably want to keep the curved bracket the mudguard attaches to at the top stay mounting point then work something out to brace the carriers apart at the back and some brackets to attach the mudguard to (maybe even incorporate some sort of rack at the top?).

It's common to replace the stays with either a single loop that attaches to the top mount or even two "fingers" of alloy plate pointing backwards when making a trials/scrambler style bike. I don't think they impart any significant structural integrity to the frame itself.

An amo box fits neatly in the gap between the racks.

Thanks for the reassurance! I will be cutting drilling, filing, heating and bending bits of metal soon. I'll post the results when I have a few miles on the modifications...
As to fabricating the rear rack between the pannier frames - that's exactly what I am planning!