A work in progress.............

Something you keep for life mate.

That is sweet

As above mate...Is that front guard on the standard fixings?? It seems to be a long way from the wheel..

Don't mean to answer for the OP, but I think that's standard for that year. I don't when, but some time before my '94 Springer, HD came up with a linkage system that allowed the guard to follow the wheel up and down, so it could sit closer to the tyre, as below...

That '88's looking real good....

Thanks for the comments guys, as I said it's a bit of a work in progress though I don't think that I'll be doing too much more to it really, about the only thing that I'm considering now is a headlight swap, have seen some very cool Skull Headlights online and might put one on but I'm not sure at this point in time, besides they are really pricey (over a grand), and I'm not sure it will look all that good anyway. Thanks again for the comments.

Colstah's dead right Sparra, the 88' (or 88 & 1/2 as it was called) was the first year of the reintroduction of the 'Springer' front end after an almost a 40yr absence from the Harley line up, and yeah I guess they were a bit to eager to get it out there to take time to fine tune the look, and even though the guard sits up a bit I like the look it's a bit more old skool I think, even though I really like the look of Colstah's 94' Springer's front guard, the high guard was just a quirk of the 88', but I can live with it.

Below is an original advertising photo of the 88' back when it was released

Very nice indeed , something about the Springers ...

Don`t mean to hijack the thread but Liamray or Colstah or any other Springer riders / Owners for that matter , can i ask how the vibes are in your bars , if any ... i have a 08 Crossbones front end on my 99 Softail Springer and in the build process decided to go with the V.Twin brand top tripple tree .

By doing this it gave me access to a far wider range of handle bar ... but by doing this it meant that my risers are metal to metal if you know what i mean ... there are no rubber isolation in the risers like most normal handle bar set ups ... i have had bar end weights put in and put on foam hand grips and it has helped a little but the Buzz / Vibration can get annoying at times .

My long winded question is do all Springers have an inherited Buzz / Vibration as oppossed to Telescopic front ends or am i right in thinking that my customisation is the reason for my issue .

took the rubber out and put in solids in because to much movement if any thing it feels better with the apes

I don't get any noticeable 'buzz' through my bars and they're solid mounts also.

Bluey and Liamray , thanks for response ... i think i may now have a path to work on and that is just maybe my latest choice of bars are to short in width ...when i first had the old girl built i had on some real wide beach bars that gave it a real 40`s and 50`s look and feel to ride and to be honest the vibes were never as bad as they are now .

Only problem was while the look was cool they just weren`t practical ... they were so wide and kicked back in so far that my elbows always felt like they were stuck against my body and felt really weird when cornering ... thats when i changed to a set of bars off a late 2000`s wide glide ... gave it a different look and feel but maybe at the expense of gaining the vibes , oh well nothing like learning something hey ... will post a couple of pics so you can see the width difference ... cheers .

You might be right about the shorter bars TJU, years ago I had a set of flat bars on a bike I owned and I use get numb hands from the Vibs, when I changed the bars to a set of mini apes the problem almost disappeared? So like I said you might be on the right track.

That's nice looking ride, if mine wasn't an 85th Anniversary model I'd love to do it in flat black, but I'm getting too old to be doing that sort of thing now, I just wanna enjoy the bike and personalise it a little bit. Again your bike looks great.

Thanks for the comments ... as soon as I sort this vibe / buzz issue out I can get out on some longer rides , because it sure is fun to ride , handles better than my 08 Softail .

TJU - for what it's worth, I changed my risers to a set from Accutronix (http://www.accutronix.com/p/risers/billet_parts/141.html), I had fitted drag bars and needed to get them up and away from the tank (when turned on full lock). I thought about going for a different triple tree top plate (as you did), but without being able to see what one looked like on the bike, I was unsure of the look.

So I went with one of the few after market options available for springers, that didn't need a change of top plate.

Anyway, to answer your question, I think there is a noticeable increase in the vibration through the bars. Or maybe I should say was, because I don't really notice it anymore, or at least, doesn't bother me. Probably rattling my hand controls to an early demise.....! (or the joints in my wrists and elbows....
I do have soft grips on my bars, maybe that helps....

Thanks for the info Colstah ... yeah I think I might have to rethink the top triple tree option I went with ... it`s not like I can't ride it at all , on the contrary I ride it quite often just wouldn't enjoy a lets say 3 to 4 hour ride with the level of vibes / buzz the old girl produces .

Maybe I got to used to the comfort of my 08 Softail , Lol ... will have a look at that link you provided , thanks .

Hope I didn't mislead you TJU, those risers in the link are not rubber bushed (and they're not the actual ones made for springers, although they are on that site somewhere).

I think they look good, but they don't stop the buzz!!

All good Colstah ... had a look and yeah not rubber bushed but always like to look at other bike sites to see where I might spend some money down the line , Lol .