Who knows Harley brakes? School me?

[Nooovie]

So I've made the mistake of deciding to go Harley wheels on my XS. Now, I've read through countless of threads on various forums, and seemed like a pretty easy conversion. Easy... yes, if you have all the right info. Inexpensive... well, it could be... again if you have the right info. Unfortunately there is not one definitive write up on the swap... yet. That I have been able to find anyway. Well, I hope to put something together when I'm done for anyone undertaking the same swap.

Ok, I have my front brake on the springer pretty much resolved. But I need some serious advice on how to set up the rear.

I have a TC Brothers hardtail section, and now have a 2000 Dyna 16x3.0 rear wheel. Looking at pics of other XSs with HD wheels, I purchased a one piece rear calliper of of a 2003 FLT Road King, thinking it was the same (because at first glance it looks the same) as a Softail or Sportster caliper. Looking now at pictures of the two, I notice little differences. The one on the left is a Softail caliper and on the right (or below) is the Road King Caliper I have. The stem looks way thicker on the Road King now that I look at it...

The problem I am having is that my wheel will now not center, because the round part of the caliper bracket mount that goes around the axle on the Road King caliper is over an inch thick. Are the early Softail and Sportster mounts thinner? Without blindly buying one on eBay, I don't have access to one. Could someone measure the thickness of that part? or explain to me the differences between the two calipers? Are the Softail and Sportster calipers the same? Does anyone want to buy a Road King rear caliper?

Thanks for any info

 

[sreimer]

When doing custom work like what your attempting it common place to make spacerd and modify parts to fit. Another thing, hardtail? Not stock either. Why would you think that yours is done the same way as everyone elses?

Just look at the damn thing and decide what needs to move and move it! Problem solved

 

[jammerj]

First mount the wheel without the caliper, & figure out what size spacer you need. That's the thickness that the caliper has to be machined to. The other consideration is to make sure that the rotor is in the middle of the brake pads, other wise the rotor will drag on one side, causing other problems. So when you figure out the thickness of the mounting area, then you have to decide how much to take off of each side so that the rotor is centered. Good Luck.

 

[XSLeo]

The 2000 Dyna has a 3/4 inch axle, the 2003 FLT has a 1 inch axle. Sell the FLT caliper, get the Dyna Caliper. Why make it more work than it needs to be.
Leo

 

[AussieHard]

You are correct about no detailed or definitive thread on this topic.
Hopefully some can learn from what you share from your experience.

Best of Luck.