I'm after peoples personal experience with 3 degree rake triple trees & 2" over forks for a Softail. I've done plenty of research on this topic & found extremely varied results & opinions! I have a basic understanding of rake & trail & from the calculations i've done the trail for this setup on my bike is just under 4 which isn't ideal. I understand that this setup will affect my handling which i can live with as long as it's not unpredictable at low speed & dangerous at high speed...
The front end setup i'm looking at is a DNA conventional setup & i'm running standard diameter wheels & suspension height on the rear.
Any bodies personal experience with this triple tree & fork length would be greatly appreciated...
Cheers for the reply Walka, what brand of front end would you recommend? I'm working on a budget of about $2,000 - $2,500 for a full billet front end. I should of mentioned in my first post that from my calculations the front end specified will lift the bike 1" which i'm happy with.
Yeah i'd be keen to see a photo of your ride badcooky. I'll give you a call tomorrow walka & we can have a chat about what i'm after, cheers.
Hey Spero i,d like to know how u ended up , i,m tossing around the same idea , (FXCST 1990 ) did walka help out ?
cheers .
Hey Mootan, I ended up going with the Attitude Stilleto front end, 5 degrees in the trees, 2" over forks from Walka (VPW). I got the front end plus brake caliper & billet headlight all for just under $1350 delivered, I think for that sort of money it would be difficult to beat!
I'm stoked with how the bike handles, I think it's better than the stock set-up! The bike is solid (no wobbles) up to 150km's, cornnering is great too! It drops in a little quicker similar to a high radius tyre on a sports bike which I like. At very low speed (walking pace) the bike is slightly harder to keep in a straight line but certainly nothing to worry about,Ii find at that speed i've got one foot skimming the road anyway just to be on the safe side.
I did find the front end was very soft so I changed the fork oil to Screamin Eagle Heavy fork oil, this improved the dampening to that of my stock front end. I also had a small leak out of the drain plug (cap head bolt), when I changed the oil I used some thread tape on the thread which solved this problem. I also had to put a 1" flat washer between the bearing dust cover & the bottom triple tree, the bottom triple tree was binding on the bottom of the steering neck because of the offset in the triple trees. I also had to machine a new axle as the front end has a 3/4" axle where my bike/front wheel has a 1" axle. Apart from maching a new axle the front end was a straight up bolt on job, easy!
If you've got anything else that I might be able to shed some light on please let me know.
Cheers, Spero..
Thanks for the reply Spero , thats a a pretty dam good price from Walka , the bike looks great , any chance of a side on shot with the scoot in a vertical position. I would guess 2" with 5 degrees probably wouldn`t have lifted it that much. How high are ya risers on ya Burleighs 6"? (i did check out ya previous posts). Did u go for the Plain or the Ball Mill trees .
Thanks for ya time.
No prob's. Yeah I was really happy with the price! For the money I think the front end is great quality! I did mean to measure how high my bike was before the install but I forgot, I noticed the bike being a little higher when I rode it so I dropped the rear end about 1/2" to compensate. It feels great on the road now.
The trees are the standard ones that come with the front end, they're pretty chunky! 1/2" thicker than my standard trees.
I went with 6" risers on my bars, it's a nice comfortable riding position.
Here's a side view pic of my bike after the arse end has been dropped 1/2", not great quality but it's the only one I have.
Hey Mongrel you'll have to put up a pic of your bike when you get your front end on.
Hi Lads,
Front end on and test ridden - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I am loving the new look at the handling is great. The only change I noticed was that it is a little lighter in the corners - as in - it wants to fall into the corner a little, which is fine, you just have to get use to it. A roundabout for instance feels a lot different.
No adverse affect at high speed either. I hit 140 and no shakes. Took my hands off the bar at 120 and even with the affect of decel the bars were solid!!
SPERO - Did you do the Fall Away test? I haven't. I just nipped my neck up until there was no play, and locked it all down. My new front end does not run a picnh bolt system. The tubes screw directlty into the top tree.
Anyways... here the before and afters.
FWIW My arse was always lowered by a few inches - and didn't have to touch it.
BEFORE
AFTER
Mongrel your bike looks awesome! The front end really sets it off!
I didn't bother with the fall away test either, I did the same as you & just tightened the neck up until there was no play. I did find I had to re-tighten it when I checked it about a week later, since then it's been perfect!
I like the new look of ya bike Mongrel ! You done well !
Hmm Never rode with the sock off!! Fuck... now you have me thinking!!
