ok i have a 1997 heritage softail and im making a retro type of bagger out of it
i currently have a fl front end with progressive lowering kit road king nacelle and a smt 21" wheel the wheel is made to fit just like the stock 16" wheel on a heritage
my question is id like to convert to a springer front end i have been looking at the pearsons springers real nice units
i dont want the stock rake/trail as a stock springer heritage because it doesnt look right?
any thoughts of how i achieve this?

 

I'm not sure I fully understand what you're asking. Are you looking to get a springer that has added rake?

You say you're trying to make a retro bagger, and you currently have an FL front end, do you just mean the stock FLSTC front end, or do you mean an older FL wide glide?

I've never had any experience with Pearson springers, and they look to be well made, but they also look like something I could slap together in my basement. Have you ever looked at American Suspension? I HAVE had experience with their D-66 Springers, and while they are a pain to assemble, they are an incredibly well built unit, and they come in a variety of rakes and can be cut to length, so you can have it as long or as short as you need.

Maybe go into a little more detail, and I'll try to help more if I can, but check out American Suspension in the meantime.

 

i have the stock flstc front end i trim the bike to a frame using alot of flat black red and white pin stripping raw aluminum parts round oil tank
i do have cycle vision bagger tail (hence the retro bagger thing)
soo anyways i have the nacelle and lowering kit for the fl front end but i've always loved a springer but when i see a heritage springer the wheel looks soo close the frame? like the springer is straight down i want it raked alil bit stretch that wheel out alil i have a smt 21" 5 star rim built to fit a stock 97 heritage fl front end soo it shouldnt be a prob but i only wanna run a fender for sticker purposes

 

ps on fender thing i been going back and forth because i think its awesome looking but any rain or anything and i'll be getting blasted haha

 

your wanting the rake of the FX springer it sounds. there's a few degrees difference in the 2.

 

yes back again def want that
check out these pics ps
what exhaust is that on ur maroon bike??

 

see how the 1st pic the front end looks too close to frame?

 

Yeah, I see where you're going now. The FL springer actually does have a few degrees negative rake, if you could see one up close, you'd see the angle difference between the neck on the frame and the top and bottom trees. It all has to do with the frame geometry, rake and trail and such, and that's something you should keep in mind moving forward. Too much trail and you will be wildly unstable at low speeds, too little trail and you will be wildly unstable at highway speeds.

Now, having said that, I don't know if Pearson offers any kind of rake options in their setups, but I think if you went with a front end with 0 degrees rake and with the same length as your front end now, it should be no different than your current setup as far as geometry goes. Like I said, the stock FL springer actually has a negative rake to bring the front wheel in closer to the frame, so if you get a springer with 0 degrees of rake, it will have the same exact geometry as your stock heritage front end.

As far as measuring for length, I believe you would measure from the bottom of your trees to the center point of the axle.

 

soo going 0 degrees rake my springer would be in the same location as the current fl front end i can deal with that, no im running a 21" wheel and i was gonna lower my frontend to bring it back to a level ride how do i figure out that because i havent lowered it yet?
sooo measuring is gonna be tough?