A question about rake and trail about a specific bike
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: SoCal
A question about rake and trail / raked trees / 95 FXR
Came across this bike on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=260578623139
That is one SICK bike. Not in love with the paint, but overall it's clean as **** and seems to have just the right amount of work done to it while keeping the stock look
One thing, though...
5 degree trees. I believe factory rake on that bike would be 32 degrees, no? Consensus seems to be that raked trees on anything short of what...36 degrees or even a couple more is a bad idea.
I asked the seller about this and he says it handles beautifully, and made a point about lowering increasing rake (obviously if you lower the back you increase rake and trail somewhat) but that didn't seem quite right to me?
Anyway...he emphatically states that it handles quite well.
Curious what the knowledgeable here think? I'm sure there are some bored dudes looking to share their opinions!
OH, and if the seller sees this...Im not criticizing, just asking. Besides...free publicity!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=260578623139
That is one SICK bike. Not in love with the paint, but overall it's clean as **** and seems to have just the right amount of work done to it while keeping the stock look
One thing, though...
5 degree trees. I believe factory rake on that bike would be 32 degrees, no? Consensus seems to be that raked trees on anything short of what...36 degrees or even a couple more is a bad idea.
I asked the seller about this and he says it handles beautifully, and made a point about lowering increasing rake (obviously if you lower the back you increase rake and trail somewhat) but that didn't seem quite right to me?
Anyway...he emphatically states that it handles quite well.
Curious what the knowledgeable here think? I'm sure there are some bored dudes looking to share their opinions!
OH, and if the seller sees this...Im not criticizing, just asking. Besides...free publicity!
Last edited by JustDave71; Apr 6, 2010 at 10:52 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,068
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From: Texas! Ya mean there's someplace else?
If the bike has been lowered in the tail, the rake will increase. That will allow raked trees to be added that are slightly greater than the usual 3 degree trees without getting into trouble with too little trail. Whether that is the case with this particular bike can only be determined by measurements.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: SoCal
As clean as it is...$12k probably isn't gonna happen. He indicated he might go down to $10k, but even that seems a bit steep.
If I had the money to bargain with I'd probably be looking into that sucker.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Palm Harbor fl.
FWIW I am running wideglide trees on my FXDC. The trees have rake in them(I believe 2 deg). Stock the trees have no rake. Anyways, the bike is stable and handles great with the small amount of additional rake. I think that it will be just fine on that bike having an additional couple of deg. of rake. With the bike lowered, it has a very reduced lean angle and as such you probably won't be able to notice any ill effects cornering cause you really can't get the bike over that much anyways. Also at low speeds the additional rake supposedly will cause the bars to want to fall more into the turn. Again this will not be all that noticable if you didn't have anything to compare it to as you will just ride the bike and adjust to its characteristics.
Last edited by rounder; Apr 7, 2010 at 09:05 AM.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: SoCal
FWIW I am running wideglide trees on my FXDC. The trees have rake in them(I believe 2 deg). Stock the trees have no rake. Anyways, the bike is stable and handles great with the small amount of additional rake. I think that it will be just fine on that bike having an additional couple of deg. of rake.
Hell...I'm not buying the bike anyway, but if I was I'd get an inspection first and have the inspector get the measurements necessary to get a general idea what the trail is.
Point is, general consensus is that 5 degrees on a stock bike is a flat-out no-no, but the seller says the bike handles perfectly fine at all speeds.
damn I love that bike.
I should take up a collection. Y'all wanna sponsor me?
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Ultimate HDF Member
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From: Queens, NY
hahah i think if you were actually interested, had the money in front of the seller, and had your reservations about the handling, a test ride would either confirm or put to rest your unease.
so asking questions is alright, but if it were me i'd wana test ride to be sure.
so asking questions is alright, but if it were me i'd wana test ride to be sure.
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Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
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Likes: 5
From: SoCal
hahah i think if you were actually interested, had the money in front of the seller, and had your reservations about the handling, a test ride would either confirm or put to rest your unease.
so asking questions is alright, but if it were me i'd wana test ride to be sure.
so asking questions is alright, but if it were me i'd wana test ride to be sure.
But...the wobbles that improper trail can cause aren't something that'd necessarily come up under test ride conditions, ya know?
It was just interesting to me that this setup defies common perception, at least according to the seller as far as handling goes.
so, toast...you gonna pitch in so I can score that scoot?
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
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From: Queens, NY
yeah, sure.
just so we're clear, any monetary contribution i make is to be considered a deposit. instead of a loan, think of it as child support.
we can draw up a contract
but in simple terms...X amount of dollars means X amount of rides yearly.
kinda like having joint custody of a kid.
sounds good?
just so we're clear, any monetary contribution i make is to be considered a deposit. instead of a loan, think of it as child support.
we can draw up a contract
but in simple terms...X amount of dollars means X amount of rides yearly.kinda like having joint custody of a kid.
sounds good?