custom trees?

[tribaltalon]

i was talking to TC a while back about swapping out my special triples for a standard's triple trees, which would give me an inch or so more rake, i'm wondering if anybody would make custom trees that could give me even more rake. what is the limit as far as that goes before you have to rake the neck itself. anybody know?

[DiverRay]

I don't think anyone has ever done a lot with the trees. It is cheap and easy to rake the frame, and the trees would take a lot of machining. I would try the standard trees first, and then rake if it isn't enough.
Just my $0.02
Ray

[tribaltalon]

cheap and easy to rake the frame? reaaaaally now.. well i took a gander at the neck, and that thing is gusseted like crazy. looks like it could crash at 200 mph and still be fine. i definitely dont have anything that could cut that much steel. i'm basically trying to keep it as bolt on as possible at this point, because this is my daily driver, i cant go without it for months at a time while some builder dilly dallies on it. and i cant build it myself, i live in a townhouse, no garage, very small amount of tools, no time, etc.

[andreashweiss]

I have a spare standard triple tree if ya need one. E-mail to andreashweiss@yahoo.com

[DiverRay]

Hey, Cheap for some, and easy for others!!
I know what it's like to only have a "daily ride". I just keep doing the maintanence until rainy season. Then I do get to bend over for fuel prices!
If you don't like the looks of the new tree's, try and talk with a shop owner newby. sometimes you can get someone to do the rake in a hurry.

[DiverRay]

Sorry, should have been "nearby", not newby
Ray

[Pat Kelly]

I had a bicycle with a 'raked' tripletree. The forktubes were kicked-out flatter than the steering axis. While rideable (even with no hands) it had the disconcerting effect of the frame swinging opposite the direction turned. Turn the bars/forks/front wheel right and the frame would sway to the left.
This was a stingray that was the same proportions as Capt Americas bike in Easy Rider. Purple metalflake frame with a leopardskin banana seat that was lowered as far as possible. 'C' cell headlight, highrise bars with the little round mirror next to the handgrip.

[tribaltalon]

lol, while being an entertaining story, my bike is nowhere remotely close to the proportions of the captain america ride.. thank god. i think thats a hideous bike. i always dug the other guy's bike alot more.

[xs650mike]

Really...and Hopper's bike had a front brake too! Are we riders or are we posers?

Having ridden some friends' bikes with ridiculous rake angles and long forks I've got to say that I'll never go that route. One guy had springers (no brake) that flexed more than they sprung and no damping either so they'd bounce up and down after each ripple in the pavement, dunno why anyone would ruin a perfectly good Harley (well as good as panheads get) by doing that to it. He ruined it even more a couple weeks after I rode it by running off the road and down a mountainside. He was released from the hospital the next day but he never rode again.

[fredintoon]

treeswapping

Tribaltalon reckons to swap his Special trees for Standard trees to "increase the rake".
It ain't gonna do that, but it will reduce the trail by a few inches.
OK it's an easy swap and it lightens the steering real good for sidecar work but I reckon it'd be a dodgy ride on a solo.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[CruisingRam]

Now, on the spec page, isn't the trail on these around 5 and a half inches? That is almost a full inch more than most factory bikes I have dealt with- very stable at speed with more trail, but hard to turn at slow speed- how do you guys rate the handling on this bike then? At high speed I am going to say it is quite stable, correct?

[tribaltalon]

keep in mind i'm going with 6" over forks. its not just doing the trees. i'm hoping by doing the combination that it keeps the trail relatively stock.

[xs650mike]

I think you've got the right idea there, otherwise the steering will be heavy

[TopCatGr58]

Re: treeswapping

Originally posted by fredintoon
Tribaltalon reckons to swap his Special trees for Standard trees to "increase the rake".
It ain't gonna do that, but it will reduce the trail by a few inches.
OK it's an easy swap and it lightens the steering real good for sidecar work but I reckon it'd be a dodgy ride on a solo.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

Hey Fred,
At the risk of exposing my ignorance again, or just my "oldTimer's" acting up....I could have sworn that the Standards trees push the forks out further away from the frame vs. the Specials....due to the axle being on the bottom of the forks, and so to maintain the same/similar trail the Specials forks are actually angled to place the forks closer to the frame since it has the leading axle design?

Therefore, using the Standard's trees would position the forks further away from the frame than with the Special's, and with the leading axle lowers still there, wouldn't that INCREASE the trail in this situation, or at least help maintain it vs. reducing it?

I remember (I think) someone saying that just putting on longer forks decreases the trail...and that's perhaps why my 4"over Special is so FLICKABLE...very easy to steer? Okay, I'm done, let me find a carb thread!!
T.C.

[tribaltalon]

actually, what you're doing is keeping the special upper clamp, and putting a standard lower clamp on, which rakes out the front end. just putting standard triple trees wouldnt do much, it'd change it a little, but by using special and standard clamps, it rakes it out further. if that makes sense.