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[Caveman TMCS]

Hi Folks,

We have a customer with a 2000 FXR⁴ (I guess they're all 2000 aren't they!) that needs some major front end repair. He wants a bigger rake and tried to do it himself. Yikes! We like most of our customers and we are worried about his safety. We thought maybe 3° or 5° raked bearing cups and 3° triple trees might give him a 6° or 8° total rake. We can find all kinds of combinations like that for other bikes, but not for the FXRs.

Did the FXR use a different neck without bearing cups? Are we looking for something that doesn't exist?

Can anyone make any recommendations for increasing the rake while still keeping him safe?

Thanks,
Caveman (former 1987 FXRS jockey)

[ltank]

Hi,
 Vulcan makes a raked fork cups with longer tripple tree fork stems for all FXR and Sportsters that do not have removable fork cups.

http://vulcanworks.net/Fork-Cup-Set-3-Degree-Rake-Harley-FXR-FXD-and-Sportsters-p-417.html

Fork Cup Set, 3 Degree Rake, Harley FXR, FXD and Sportsters
    Fits: All FXRs,1990-2005 FXD and 1988-2003 Sportsters with frames that do not have removable fork cups

•Machined from 4140 Tool Steel & Flash Chrome Plated
•Bottom bearing cup has a fork stop lug.
•Retains internal fork lock.

Raked cups produce no bad handling traits as do raked trees

Set includes: Stainless steel fork cups, Bearings, and a new Fork stem
 Hope this helps,
Ltank
 



 
 
 

[Caveman TMCS]

Thanks Ltank!

I love the Internet. You can find out anything here.

[ltank]

If you decide to use the Vulcan raked cupps let us know about the removal of the old parts and the intallation processofthe nw cups.Alignment proceedure and any issues.
The longer tree stem increases the distance between the trees by how much? Height of cups after installation. Most important question.How does ride? How does it look?
Any negative performance or handling issues throught the turns or straights? If the work good, I would like to use them  with a wide glide frontend. Photos pease!
Thanks,
Ltank

[Caveman TMCS]

We're not going to use the raked neck cups. I contacted Vulcan and was told that we can't combine the raked neck cups and raked triple trees. I'm not sure why, but it seems that Vulcan should know their product better than I do. The customer wants the big rake; he wants to go with a 7° raked triple tree.

Personally, I wouldn't do that to my bike. I can't imagine it having decent handling at all. A rake that big will make the trail negative according to RB Racing's Rake & Trail Calculator here: http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/rakeandtrail.html. You can see the JavaScript math calculations in their source code here: http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/javascript/rakeandtrail.js.

However, a 7° raked triple tree will be far safer than what was on the bike when in came in. The setup that came in was nowhere near close to fitting properly, had a lower neck bearing missing most of the rollers, and the stem had stripped threads that looked like they had a die run over over them at an angle. You could shake the front end with your hand. It was hard to believe that the customer had been riding his bike in that condition.

I want to check with the customer before posting any photos of his bike, but if he's okay with it, I'll post some examples of what NOT to do.

Thanks for your help,
Caveman (former 1987 FXRS jockey)

[ltank]

You mentioned the that the customer tried to rake the frame before it was at your shop?I ubderstand how the the old frames with the fl type necks are cut, add a wedge reweld and add side plates for strength. The FXRframe with all the gussets and renforcement, you would have to really do a lot ofcutting, rewelding and it would not be pretty.
I read in magizines that  people rake them but i am not sure how. Others replace the neck like the new fad on dressers but that removes the Harley VIN. How do they get around that to keep it legal? I pesonally would like about a 35 degree rake with the new 49mm wide glide front end. I understand that the  FXDWG has 3 degree raked trees?
Some say a 3 degee tree is safe. Are the harley trees really safe? If so then the 3 degree cups and the 3 dgree trees would give a 6 degree added rake.
Ltank