So i've never ridden a springer but am thinking of having a look at one.
2001 model, do they handle as badly as some suggest?
Havn't owned a HD for a while but looking at owning one again.
My last was an old evo softail nostalgia which was pretty ordinary in the handling department,
Would the springer be worse?
I have had this for about 7 years/50000km:
although at the moment her future is uncertain after a spill :
So I've bought in a replacement :
And I can tell you technically :
Springers have more vertical travel than telescopic forks
They have a "constant rate"spring to them
they are more "rigid"thank telescopic forks and suffer less flex
They are howeve heavier, more expensive and when maintenance is required, there is more of it,
Having said that, the '05 has 70,000km on it and the front end is still fine - bearings and bushes have no wear. Don't believe all the naysayers.
"Seat of the pants"- I love them and reckon they are a superior front end.
My 2 Bob's worth
Philthy
have 2 of them and love it
Mine handles well for what it is.
Can only speak of my own experience but my 99 Springer Definitly out handles my 08 FXSTC ... of course there ane many variables but as mentioned above by others they are a heavier front end for sure but i am pretty sure if you do a little history research on them you will read articals that state how much better they are than standard telescopic front ends , the main reason for change was the weight considerations .
I do get a slight buzz through the bars on mine but the main reason for that was because i changed out the top tripple tree to one that excepted normal handle bar risers which gave me a far wider choice of handle bar to choose from ... by doing that though it ment my risers are solid metal to metal with the tripple tree and i don`t have the same rubber vibration isolaters that most people have ... a couple of bar end weights and some foam handle bar grips have taken care of that issue for the most part though .
Nice bike bud whats rear fendor is that ? looks tough
picked her up yesterday 27\2\2015
today
Well It's been a while since I posted for info on the springers.
But finally picked one up last week.
Nice Bike Vic - congrat's mate.
I am sure you will enjoy it !
Cheers
Nice bike Vic .
Hey Bilko ... try chucking on a 6 pistom PM Caliper ... makes a marked improvement over the original , Lol .