m1biscuit

i got a 1987 flhtc that is pretty stock. i took a stock seat pan and custom fit it to the frame so it sits lower and farther back. made a quiek release bracket for the tour pack so the entire bracket comes off in 3 minutes. i put a santee exhaust on it. i am finding i have to make a lot of parts because that year is all by itself. not many custom parts available. no biggie. i don't mind a little fabricating and wrenching. keeps the mind in check.

i am going to get a lowering kit for the rear shocks. i want to get a set of rakeable trees but want to see a couple pice of some baggers (dressers) that have been slightly raked.

does anyone have any pics or know where i can see one that has been raked a bit?

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Jack Klarich

Keep in mind that lowering the bike you give up suspension travel, lowering blocks for the rear shocks or eye to eye lower shocks will work but I did not like the ride, and dont forget to re adjust your chain or belt after lowering

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CAPITAL JACK( Nuff Said, We're Burnin Daylight, Let's Ride)

sprinklerfitter669

Sounds like you got a good project.
I would like to see some pics of raked baggers to.

Make sure you post pics of when you are done

ChopperDoc

I started a firestorm on another posting with this, so might as well get it going again.

Lowering the rear of the bike is not going to get you into any real trouble. Lowering blocks change the angle of the shocks and the rear suspension get a little stiff. Shorter shocks mean less travel but a better ride than the lowering blocks (unless you run over a bad set of railroad tracks, potholes, or big bumps).

Raking the front end is ill advised unless you have a good understanding of rake and trail. Trail is the most important number on a bike. Perse Performance used to have a calculator on their site but I noticed it is no longer there (and for good reason I would think). There are a number of sites on the web that have diagrams, charts, and text to give you an understanding of what changes what and what is safe and what is not. Once you understand the theory, you can do a little "what if" math and see what combination works best to get you to the look you want.

Best of luck with your project. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing - just do it safely.

my two pennies......

HDDon

Totally agree with the above post. I would not touch the head before I knew what the trail would be. By lowering the rear you will already the giving up rear travel and it will also change the trail. Raking the front end could bring the trail back to usuable range or maybe not.

m1biscuit

well first of all, i wanna say thanks for the quick replies. i am very new here and was surprise to see that people are alive here. lol. some other sites it seemed like a morgue.

anyway back to raking issue. i had a 78 shovel in a 59 frame with a wide glide. got taken out by a left turn cager. messed up my front end pretty bad. so i bought another one and with some insurance $$$ i bought that rakeable set of trees that would go on a side car rig. kept the same size tubes and put shorter shocks on it and voilla!! she was done. never really had an issue with the ride or anything. and yes i do remember readjusting the rear chain. i was just wondering if there were any pics kicking around of a project like that.



i am gonna figure out how to post pics here and show a few of my ride now.

thanks

karlsbike

That Shovel (re-) build sounds good - a sidehack set-up with long, raked forks looks exceptionally cool.
You could get your neck cut & rewelded (not as dramatic as it sounds, but use someone who knows how to do it). As explained above, albeit with different words;
- raking your neck increases your trail
- raking your trees (offset) reduces your trail

Your trees are probably 3 or 4 degrees raked, and if it were my tourer I would aim for a slightly increased trail - the tourers have small trail by design.
It is not exactly one to one here, so measure & draw it up on a piece of paper. Then you can play around with the neck angle until you get the right trail.
Come to think of it: offset bearing cups could probably be used for such limited angles, and this would be an easy way of getting stretched forks on a well-handling bike...

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All the best,
Karl
'91 FLTC/FLHR

m1biscuit

i coulda sworn J&P cycles had a set of the trees i was looking for. if i find a pic online i will post it so you know what i am talkin about. the way i wanna do it, there should be no cutting. all bolt-on. (i hope).

m1biscuit

ok, here's a pic of the trees i wanna get.

karlsbike

Not sure I fully understood how those come together, but if I did;), it keeps the bearing axis angle but increases the fork leg angle, i.e reducing the trail. Now with the FLH having a steep bearing axis angle, but positive offset fork tubes (tubes BEHIND the neck bearing axis), you got a few degrees to work on, still keeping it safe (think we have about 6", i.e about 3" to play with).
You got me thinking now: Add 4" offset bering cups (increasing the trial) AND 4" offset trees (reducing the trail), netting about 8 degrees more rake, and slightly less trail than original.
Add some longer forks to keep the bike level, and a 150/160 16" high profile front wheel with a small fender - sweet! As you may have noted, I am more into the Exile cycles style, than the current large dia/low profile front. Good luck - I want to see pix of your bike in the works...

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All the best,
Karl
'91 FLTC/FLHR