I have had my Fatboy for a little over a year and there are a few mods I want to make. How hard/expensive would it be to put a chrome springer front end on, with twin disc brakes? Also I want to raise the mounting holes in my front fender enough to let the fender down so that it is just a hair away from touching the wheel. Is that pretty doable, have you ever seen it? Thanks.

 

Springer front ends and dual discs arent the best combo do to inertia forces, nor neccesarily needed. Drilling new holes in your front fender to reduce front wheel gap isnt hard at all, just get some 1/4 inch tubing to tape to the tire then mark the holes then drill away..............

 

If you want to put a Springer front end on a Fatboy, you also need headlight, fender, handle bar, front/rear wheels to make it look right. Worth it? Your choice LOL

 

all that work... and you wind up with a 'bones.....

 

So if I use a heritage springer front end to replace my FL it won't accept my headlight , handle bars , fender, and front and rear tires?

 

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to trade for a springer model? I would think that you would loss a lot of value on your present bike by doing all those changes.
Tom

 

ANYTHING can be done, its a question of money, time, and practicality.
If you put a Heritage springer front end on you WILL have to change the fender, headlight, and brake caliper at a minimum. You can get away with using your wheels and tires, but the down side might be that the heavier Fatty wheels will not ride well or bounce more because of the small shock the springer has. The headlight will need to be changed because the one you have is made to fit the front end you have and the springer uses a smaller bucket style with a central bolt on the triple tree setup.
The Brake caliper will need to be changed/replaced, and the rotor flipped over on the wheel with whatever spacers it might need because the springer uses a unique single piston caliper with an odd mounting to fit the skinny legs of the springer. The wheel will also need to be flipped over and the tire remounted to get the rotor, with whatever spacers may be needed to align it with the caliper on the right side.
The springer fender is also unique in that it mounts not to the fork legs like most bikes but the front axle. This allows it to follow the wheel up and down, but also adds to the unsprung weight increasing the loading on the shock.
In short while it is 'doable' its undoubtedly expensive (especially with new parts) and because of all the work involved probably very time consuming and not very practical.
If your really determined to have a springer front end my advise (for what its worth) is to either trade your bike in on a Heritage Springer, or hope you can get lucky and find a cheap wrecked bike with an intact front end to salvage all the parts your going to need from.

Good Luck, with that much work ahead of you, your going to need it.
BTW its NOT going to do anything for you handling wise. All its going to do is make the bike look like a Heritage without bags.

 

What I am saying is, the Springer front end looks good with laced wheels, it looks kind of odd with solid wheels imo. You can still use the handle bar, the headlight and fender are different. Basically you can do whatever you want, it is your bike.

 

OK guys, thanks, I guess i won't be doing all that. I thought it would look good, and if I kept all my stock parts I could put it back like it was. Thanks.