As many of you guys know I have been working for 3 years on bringing a 49mm fork on 1986~2013 FL's. These are direct bolt up and beside the fork tubes & sliders being thicker, there really is no difference in the way they look. Everything bolts right up, just replace with my trees, forks, and cartridges. You can see it for yourselves at Biketoberfest at Daytona next weekend.

I have been working late bringing this project to a close. Bar any machines breaking down, it should be done in time. This is the top of the tree & what billet it is made of 6061. I am putting externally adjustable compression, rebound, and spring pre-load an the cartridges, the same type I have been putting in the 49mm Dynas. Read how those cartridges make a HD an entirely different bike. This is how I am doing it.

Bottom triple tree made out of PH-7 stainless and steering stem than hardened.

Yes, you can use beer cans on them. The neck can still sit inside of the bottom tree unlike the 2014's and the sliders on the 2014's are shorter. This means that I no longer have to mill the sliders down to shorten them to lower or raise the bike and keep the same stroke or longer (up to 6+ inches. With my cartridges, the lowering is done internally and no cutting is necessary, just manipulate the spacers.

Top tree with the top cut and the bottom will be machined maybe today or within a day. The steering stem is 2 piece and made from PH-7 Stainless.

Of course it will be pocketed for weight savings and you can see that it has a top clamp around the fork tubes. There you have it, my shocks and cartridges inside of a 49mm fork. There is no better suspension in the world for a HD Dresser.

To answer a few questions:

1. Can just the cartridges pe put into a 2014 with 49mm forks? A: Yes, but the forks must be sent in for machining. These are not a simple drop in.
2. Can you put the 2014 FLT HD triple trees on a pre-2014 bike? A: Yes, all you have to do is cut the neck off and make a new one with the larger neck bearings so the new 2 piece HD steering stem can fit through it.
3. Is MM triple trees the same rake & trail as the 3009~2014's? A: Yes
4. Will my fork solution be a direct bolt up? A: Yes. Use your own wheel, calipers, fenders, axle et AL.
5. How much will my solution cost? A: About the same if you bought the sand cast mild steel HD triple trees. The forks are the same cost until I can bring a steel insert inside of aluminum sliders with radial calipers. Much better for reduction of stiction so the forks move easier and faster. Racing suspension does not necessary mean miles per hour but it does react fast so the wheel remains on the ground for traction and separates the road from the frame. Comfort and safety. I have a map on my welcome page of where I will be at Daytona. See you there.

The fork clamps work just like the ones I have been doing for 7 years using inverted and standard forks except these are designed to be direct replacement. Here are some examples I have done:


WideGlide using my triple trees and all of the components to make the Ohlins forks work using a stock or custom wheel. No hack job Hub spacers are used, direct bolt up.


My FXR with 30mm cartridges and a fork I built with my WideGlide trees & my Carbon Fiber wheels and Metal Matrix Ceramic 320 rotors and on my way to Rosco's Chilli Challenge with camping gear.

A nice little get around with a stroker motor making around 165 Ft Lbs of torque

A little lightened Dyna 131 CI stroker but made as a cafe racer using my Mid Glide trees, forks and my components I make to get it to work using OEM HD wheels/hubs & Carbon Fiber wheels.

A HA in Italy using my forks & custom made Ohlins shocks, and Carbon Fiber wheels. He had the very first 120 CI in Italy so I have been told as he works for Harley. Read the article LINK.

 

FYI if wishes which I never like to do, with the sue of fender lowering brackets I can lower the fork (make it shorter) by one real inch and still keep the the OEM 4.7" of stroke currently on your pre-2014 FLT. I can do it internally or I can give up to 5.7" of stroke and still keep the same OEM fork length.

Please remember that with the use of these cartridges , the ride will be completely different than what the motorcycles are experiencing no matter which internals you have including any aftermarket bar none except my inverted forks that can use my cartridges also.

 

I will be in space 14 at Daytona International Speedway, setting up this Tuesday ~ Wednesday, than open up Thursday 9am To Sunday until 12 Noon.

 

I am starting to set up today. See a real fork solution for your bikes.

 

I'm glad I saw your recent post about you triple trees , I almost pulled the trigger on the cce triple tree package for my 13 FLHX . Do you have these in production now ?

 

Got er' done at 10:30AM today, March 1, 2014. This has been a long ride and a difficult project to make the way I visioned the build well over 3 years ago. The bike performed exactly as I had thought it would. The rake, trail, and spacing is exactly stock for a 2009~2014 FLT. Everything can be made to fit with very minor modification to the 2011 existing parts in this case. Time for a lazy day tomorrow, might even sleep in all of the way till 7am. Wednesday at 3 AM I plan on making the track and set up outside of the track in my usual spot found on my Welcome Page. Many thanks to tj316 for his patience and being without his bike for five months. We worked non stop for the last 2 weeks trying to get TJ up to Daytona. His nacelle will go on once the bike is put back together after a serious detail job by his lovely wife I am sure (well maybe the detailer down the street).

The climax today went like this: Adjusted the sag than adjusted the compression & rebound. I was 2 clicks off on compression, rebound was good. The owner than had the job of being the first one in the world to ride a 49mm 2011 Road Glide with 30mm fully adjustable forks. He than road it back to my shop than we road it up and down on I-595 from SR 7/441 to the airport and back again. This is one of my favorite test roads.
Pictures:

 

Howard you didn't have to block my face out , you made me even uglier than I am , I will be doing a complete write up and review of my suspension journey shortly , today I will be doing a little riding and trying to get the bike ready for Daytona , it has been a long hard road and I want to Thank Bob and all the crew in the machine shop and Howard for getting it done , Tim

 

Tim, It makes you look like a Mexican wrestler and they also need to be anonymous. There is a reason why people are much happier to see your beautiful wife that you, as you must have impressed her with your big money and sterling personality, hence the mask. (all in fun)