Hi,

I have been asked about the parts and information that I have used to increase the rake on my Superglide "Susie". Susie, is a 2005 Superglide, and as such, has a factory rake angle on the frame of 28 degrees. Basically, this makes the bike much more nimble than some of the other DYNA models that have more rake, meaning more degrees in the angle in relation to the ground. Now, the traditional way, and what has been done by Jim Reichard, a member on this forum, is to cut the neck tube and "push" the rake out, and then weld the head tube back to the frame, generally by "boxing the area in. Now, in my situation, I wanted to try to gain the extra rake without cutting on my factory frame. The reasons for adding this rake this is purely for "the look", as doing this will DECREASE the handling of the bike, but will leave it within the limits for the style of riding that I do, namely crusing. So, with that being said here is a list of the parts that I have procured for the swap/conversion:

*3 degree raked bearing cups for the frame head tube - purchased through eBay, ensure that you get
-thekit for a DYNA

*Hawg Halters (HHI) conversion kit to allow for a narrow hub wheel to be used with 41MM
-"Wide~Glide" forks

*21" narrow hub wheel (essentially a Sportster custom front wheel, I bought a new one all chromed
-oneBay for 150 bones, without tube or tire)

*Raked front forks

*Reichard racing triple tree adapter (Allows softtail forks to be used with a DYNA frame)

*Custom 2 piston front brake caliper with early mounting setup to fork with the forks mentioned above

*Custom headlight

If you look at the front of your head tube on a DYNA, you will see that the fork stop is nothing more than a 1/4" thick piece of metal welded to the front, where the boss on the forks hits to keep the front end from hitting the tank. Using the Reichard bracket required clearancing the bottom of this frame stop to allow the brakcet to fit underneath it and freey move as it is attached to the lower tree. The beauty of using the raked bearing cups, is that the portion that is clearanced, is part of the bearing cup, and not the frame, as the bearing cup hangs down below the frame at1 inch in thickness. Through the kindness of his heart, Jim Reichard machined the clearancing necessary to make his bracket work, and provided me with his special conversion bracket for the forks. Now, on to the front end. Yes, you can get raked wideglide triple trees to work with your existing, factory 39 mm fork tubes and sliders, but it is actually cheaper to buy a complete front end through eBay!! I wanted 41mm forks, and I had to have the "wide glide look"....with as much rake as I could get away with. I purchased a Rick Doss "waterfall" chrome front end with 3 degrees of rake. You will have to replace the stem on the trees with the longer stem that comes in the kit if you plan to use the raked bearing cups, as it is 1 inch longer, and plan on having to go to the nearby machine shop to have it pressed in. Remember your front axle diameter!! My 2005 has a 1 inch diameter axle, but the forks I bought have the "older" 3/4 inch axle, so I made sure that the wheel I bought to use was set up for a 3/4 axle, and that the Hawg Halters conversion kit was also for 3/4 inch diameter axle usage. Softtail forks have a standard tube length of 32 inches from the bottom of the trees to the center of axle. This is roughly 1.5 inches longer than a Superglide! Now, follow me carefully on this one.....the raked bearing cups actually lower the front end of the bike 1 inch. This leaves .5 inch of length to get back to stock height. The rake has an effect of lowering the front even more. I cannot, at this time give you an accurate indication of what the ove

 

WOW.....not one comment.

~Joe

 

I cant wait to see your bike done Joe !And see you a Susie riding again!!!

Jim

 

Would love to see some pics

 

As soon as I get to the install....I will make sure to post some up!

~Joe

 

How did ya get those %&#" old races out?
Mine are in there pretty tight

 

there is a tool. Try Jims or Georges garage.

 

traveler Great write up. Just a few ideas you may wish to conceder. When you increase your trail, your bike becomes more stable at speed. Dragsters use 45 degrees of rake. A FL has 6.2” of trail. If you wish a little different explanation [HERE] and trail/rake calculator you may wish to download mine [HERE]. You can reverse engineer to your own application. I do not advocate increasing the rake but I am not the motorcycle police. Individually is what makes motorcycling. Yes, I do go through that phase in 1967 & again in 1975. Hope this helps

[IMG]local://upfiles/29413/C611A19ED24F4C9ABBB1BDF0EECD76A1.jpg[/IMG]

 

wow traveler, thanks for taking the time out and posting this info, much appreciated. thanks jackyl

 

The pictures of my bike in black are with the 6 degree bearing cups and 3 degree softtail forks installed. Works GREAT! No ill handling at all. Looks like a wideglide with a silver motor and superglide rear fender

~Joe