veedub1955
XS650 Enthusiast
Hi Im Nick from Denbigh, North Wales UK, currently building a hard tail XS
Here's how I converted my front end to a Harley Davidson 35mm showa forks off a Sportster (XL) or a Superglide (FX). I'm sure you can use the same principle to adapt any other forks to it, I wanted the front end to be narrow with a 21" front wheel and the calipers on this model look really neat and tidy
First of all comparison for lower triple tree and steering stem, as you can see the Harley at the bottom stem is much shorter and narrower
So I chopped the stem off each lower tree using a lathe, you could just grind the welds off if you dont have access to a lathe, there is a weld only on the bottom of each stem that holds it in
XS Tree, I made a bevel cut on each tree so you can weld it up good and strong again after, you will see the break in the weld as a ring once you have broken through
Then cut the harley one too, after cutting the stem I made a cut straight across the face of the yolk, this will serve as a good datum point for holding the yolk on a miller or boring machine, or to clock it in if you use a 4 jaw chuck in a lathe to enlarge the stem hole in the Harley yolk. Also note I cut the rear bracket off the stem that acts as the Harley stop first before putting it in the lathe
Now as mentioned above the XS steering tube is larger than the Harley one so you now need to enlarge the hole to 29.5mm or as I did on a boring machine, enlarge it for an interference fit
Unfortunately Ive lost the pic mocked up on the boring machine, sorry, you can use a miller, lathe with 4 jaw chuck or even a drill but you need this hole to be exactly square and have an interference fit for it to be a decent job, so take this to your local machine shop if your not sure
Now the top yolk amazingly is EXACTLY the right size for the steering tube, I couldnt believe it when it just popped on nice and snug! And is held in by the standard XS top nut
Then all built up using standard XS tapered bearings, looks the business
Now all I need to do is weld the steering stem up, fabricate 2 small steering stops, this also will be a neat job as you can use the XS stop welded to the frame neck, all I going to do is weld two small tabs on the bottom yolk and this will be spot on. I will add another pic of this when done. The XS front axle also fits the forks, it is mounted on in the pic, so if your going to use a standard wheel and sure it will fit OK
Hope this helps someone
Here's how I converted my front end to a Harley Davidson 35mm showa forks off a Sportster (XL) or a Superglide (FX). I'm sure you can use the same principle to adapt any other forks to it, I wanted the front end to be narrow with a 21" front wheel and the calipers on this model look really neat and tidy
First of all comparison for lower triple tree and steering stem, as you can see the Harley at the bottom stem is much shorter and narrower
So I chopped the stem off each lower tree using a lathe, you could just grind the welds off if you dont have access to a lathe, there is a weld only on the bottom of each stem that holds it in
XS Tree, I made a bevel cut on each tree so you can weld it up good and strong again after, you will see the break in the weld as a ring once you have broken through
Then cut the harley one too, after cutting the stem I made a cut straight across the face of the yolk, this will serve as a good datum point for holding the yolk on a miller or boring machine, or to clock it in if you use a 4 jaw chuck in a lathe to enlarge the stem hole in the Harley yolk. Also note I cut the rear bracket off the stem that acts as the Harley stop first before putting it in the lathe
Now as mentioned above the XS steering tube is larger than the Harley one so you now need to enlarge the hole to 29.5mm or as I did on a boring machine, enlarge it for an interference fit
Unfortunately Ive lost the pic mocked up on the boring machine, sorry, you can use a miller, lathe with 4 jaw chuck or even a drill but you need this hole to be exactly square and have an interference fit for it to be a decent job, so take this to your local machine shop if your not sure
Now the top yolk amazingly is EXACTLY the right size for the steering tube, I couldnt believe it when it just popped on nice and snug! And is held in by the standard XS top nut
Then all built up using standard XS tapered bearings, looks the business
Now all I need to do is weld the steering stem up, fabricate 2 small steering stops, this also will be a neat job as you can use the XS stop welded to the frame neck, all I going to do is weld two small tabs on the bottom yolk and this will be spot on. I will add another pic of this when done. The XS front axle also fits the forks, it is mounted on in the pic, so if your going to use a standard wheel and sure it will fit OK
Hope this helps someone
