Raking an XJ

[Kronk]

I was just wondering if anyone has raked an XJ11 out. I want to do about 50 degrees.

If so could you put up some pics please...

And no, I'm not ruining a perfectly good XJ.... PO was a tool... spray painted with flat black the fenders, tank, and exaust... fenders chipping, and chrome is shining through... tank is fading and running... and exaust is bubbled, and chipped... stenciled and spray painted a blue skull in the back fender... lucky 13 stickers all over it.... also he laid it down at 80km/h... drunk... without a liscence... on gravel...

It's in a condition that I might as well make it far from spec, and do something cool with it to make it a custom ride to save money

[bikerphil]

Here's a pic of a raked XS11, don't know whose. Better make sure either you or someone else is a competent frame welder.

[crazy steve]

If you've never owned/ridden a seriously raked-neck bike, a few words...

First, you're going to need roughly 8" over fork tubes if you don't want the front running downhill. Next, your new turning radius will be about the same as your average motorhome. Third, this will be a low-speed 'flopper'; get anywhere off-center of the steering and the bars will want to 'flop' to full-lock. Now, the upside is, your trail will be around 11-12", so once you're going down the road straight, the bike will be super-stable but won't like to turn. The latter two items can be improved by using custom raked trees (about 5 degrees with a stock offset should do it) which will bring the trail back down to a 'normal' amount.

This isn't a XS, but I took this one to 49 degrees...



This only has 4"-over forks, but I lowered the bike about 3" f/r and didn't stretch the backbone or the down tubes as is typical ('Stretching' the frame will increase fork length). You can't lower the rear of a XS/XJ that much without converting to chain drive ($$$), so you'll need longer. Yes, it has all the handling ills described above (0 degree trees), but wasn't built as a daily rider; I wouldn't want this bike as my only ride unless all you want is a barhopper. And Phil is correct; the fab/welding has to be excellent, as this puts a huge stress on the neck. All you'll have to rework the fuel tank, as at this angle the top tree/bars/risers get really close to the tank in not into it; I had to move the tank back on the frame about 1.25" to get clearance.

If you're going to do this, I'd make three recommendations:

1. Use a longer neck/stem. The XS stem is rather short, and longer will reduce the 'leverage' on the stem bearings. The one in the pic that Phil posted appears to having had this done.

2. Buy a set of raked trees up front. The improvement in handling will be worth it. If you want to add these later, it will change your ride height/fork length.

3. And give serious thought to swapping for a set of larger-diameter forks. The original 37mm forks on these bike are pretty 'flexible' as-is, so add 8" or so of tube length and they'll get downright rubbery. I'd look for something in the 40mm+ range to get some stiffness.

Good luck!

[Kronk]

nice ride steve