Question about rake angle and triple trees

[solidstateirons]

I have been thinking about either having someone to work on my rake angle or getting longer forks for my xs.

Can anybody please tell me pros and cons on either one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[littlebill31]

With longer forks you have less turning radius and some other issues since you are changing the geometry.
Properly welding the neck to change the rake makes the bike look better as the bottom of the frame is level and parallel to the ground.
Just adding longer forks makes it look like you are doing some dumb wheelie all the time.

 

[solidstateirons]

With longer forks you have less turning radius and some other issues since you are changing the geometry.
Properly welding the neck to change the rake makes the bike look better as the bottom of the frame is level and parallel to the ground.
Just adding longer forks makes it look like you are doing some dumb wheelie all the time.

So in other words, you recommend me to have someone weld the neck and keep the stock forks. Do I need to replace the neck or i can use the stock neck?

Thanks for the help

 

[fredintoon]

Hi 'irons,
you shouldn't do that, neither. If you have the frame modified to increase it's rake angle you'll need to fit over-length fork tubes too.
And you bet your arse you should keep the original neck, it's where the frame ID is stamped.
Lose the frame ID and invalidate the registration, eh?
There's all manner of "how to" stuff to google about how to correctly modify frames.
Best you do serious research before you go apeshit with your Sawzall.

 

[solidstateirons]

Hi 'irons,
you shouldn't do that, neither. If you have the frame modified to increase it's rake angle you'll need to fit over-length fork tubes too.
And you bet your arse you should keep the original neck, it's where the frame ID is stamped.
Lose the frame ID and invalidate the registration, eh?
There's all manner of "how to" stuff to google about how to correctly modify frames.
Best you do serious research before you go apeshit with your Sawzall.

Yes I have been watching a lot of videos of how they do all of that. That is why I would have someone do it for me. I just want to achieve the look im after. I want the bike to be a long chopper. So now i have some idea, definitively keep the original neck cause of the vin number, second, have in mind i still need longer forks after changing the rake of the bike.

How does getting longer forks work? Is there any company that sell such thing?

 

[fredintoon]

Hi 'irons,
put a want ad in the list's classifieds, or perhaps someone has already put a set up for sale there.
The only supplier's name that comes to mind is Forking by Frank.

 

[littlebill31]

There are a couple guys on here that have extended forks. They would be a good source of info.
I also suggest, if you haven't already, to ride one with long forks. (I suggest that for any style bike). You never know if you'll like it or not. Personally, I can't stand to ride them, but some love them.

 

[solidstateirons]

Hi 'irons,
put a want ad in the list's classifieds, or perhaps someone has already put a set up for sale there.
The only supplier's name that comes to mind is Forking by Frank.

awesome. Thanks for the reference!

 

[solidstateirons]

There are a couple guys on here that have extended forks. They would be a good source of info.
I also suggest, if you haven't already, to ride one with long forks. (I suggest that for any style bike). You never know if you'll like it or not. Personally, I can't stand to ride them, but some love them.

Yes i agree with you! I will check that out, i have a couple friends in Washington DC that have extended forks, i may take a trip there and check them out! Thanks for the advice!

 

[member3480]

I have done many and you will change the ride of the bike any way you do it. Some guys rake too much and bike cannot be highway safe. There is a quick and not hacking up frame way to do it and have just a little rake without doing a lot of work. Just need a good welder or someone there ready to weld.
Both of these frames were cut just a little to give a little rake.
Contact me at DADDYGCYCLES@YAHOO.COM if you want info on how to do it
Rich

 

[solidstateirons]

I have done many and you will change the ride of the bike any way you do it. Some guys rake too much and bike cannot be highway safe. There is a quick and not hacking up frame way to do it and have just a little rake without doing a lot of work. Just need a good welder or someone there ready to weld.
Both of these frames were cut just a little to give a little rake.
Contact me at DADDYGCYCLES@YAHOO.COM if you want info on how to do it
Rich

email sent !

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

... ride one with long forks...
...You never know if you'll like it or not....

I have done many and you will change the ride of the bike any way you do it....

Absolute ditto! They're not for everybody.

Myself, after experiencing too many high-speed weave/wobbles on period ('70s) customers' bikes, I developed an aversion to light steering and 'flickability' at highway speeds. Some of those period street bikes had trail lengths under 3-1/2". Great for urban combat, too twitchy for me on long cross-countrys. My favorite trail length for highway was around 6", but that's just me. Nowadays, with modern suspensions and modern cruisers, that old-school thinking probably needs an adjustment.

More info can be found by forum searching on "rake" and "gooseneck".
Your best source would be DADDYGCYCLES...

http://www.xs650.com/threads/how-to-rake-a-stock-frame.42453/

 

[littlebill31]

I felt like at any slight move I was going to plow the front wheel.

 

[member3480]

Twomany we are showing are age LMAO
I have built some really crazy raked and extended bikes in the 70's myself. I did a couple Harley's that were 20 over with crazy rake that the wheel was in the intersection before I got to see the traffic coming. HAHA. I wish I had pictures because that's all we built and everyone in the Philly area had one of my bikes . We did Sportsters PAN & Shovelheads and the big seller was the CB750 fast and bouncing down the street. I got to ride a Sugar Bear springer that was way out there a couple years ago and for what its worth he did get it down where they do ride nice. Two inch or even up to four inch extensions are not that bad on stock rake but I still wouldn't try to do 70 mph . I had a CB350 all molded up and fourteen inch front end and me with no brains took it to the track and raced it. Sometimes me and my buddies wonder how we are not dead on some of the rides we built. If it didn't bounce at 40 mph you were not COOL. HAHA I have Drag Raced for over 35 years and I have had tank slapping more than once and its not fun so think before you get too crazy because if you cannot pull out of it you are sliding on the ground with the bike trying to catch up to you.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Twomany we are showing are age LMAO...

Haha, ..........oops.

As a child I used to argue against afternoon naps.

I take it all back.

Here's a pic of my 20"-over panhead.

 

[BobbedSled]

You can use 39mm Harley forks and in doing so you can get a whole host of offset tripple trees that changes the rake at the tripple trees. Plus hte forks look great and work really good. Good used set of forks is $400 bucks and raked tripple trees are pretty cheap and are used on ebay all the time too, Compared to cutting and welding and nt being able to undo it if you don;t like it switching to 39MM HD forks is a viable option. Good luck!

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

More chatter on raked triple trees:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/triple-tree-stem-lengths-front-end-swap-issues.44299/

 

[BobbedSled]

You can also get headsets with rake in the head tube cups if that helps. Cheap way to see if you like it perhaps.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Count me in as recently becoming interested, to my own surprise, as someone who is planning to build an XS650 chopper. I've been looking for the above info.

I have a flock of stock XS's already, and recently picked up an '81 barn find, thinking of doing something quite different with this one. For me , it will be pure nostalgia. I built 3 Triumph Bonneville choppers back in the day (1960-70's) and simply loved them for the style. Handling was always precarious; I once slid my chopper under the front bumper of a cop car while taking a left on wet pavement. Here is that bike, circa 1978: