So I took this new to me old trials bike out for a ride today with a friend.

I noticed that the front end was almost bottoming out if I came off a ledge hard or what have you.. To the point where my fender would get stuck on the header and cause of some fun steering.

I know the fender mount is a little mangled and isn't helping but is it typical to have the front end that soft? I also noticed on the adjusters at the top of the shocks there is a C on the left and E on the right. What do these represent?

C = compression damping adjuster

E = extension damping adjuster

If it doesn't bottom out on the biggest drop-offs, you are not getting full use of the suspension

I would say you problem is with the mounting bracket hitting the exhaust, because even with forks fully bottomed, nothing should touch anything else.

Another possibility is that someone has moved the fork tubes up through the clamps a bit too much, causing the mudguard bracket to hit the exhaust on severe compression of the forks.

Another possibility is that the frame might be bent. There are more possible causes but I'm sure you will work it out soon.

I sort of figured it's the fender mount, I'm going to trim it a bit to make it work.

Thanks for the info on the forks though!