hi all I have a stock 74 and was wondering if I should put a hardtail kit on it or leave it softail. I dont like how high the frame sits with the bike sitting level. It has a 2 over wide glide front end on it. I like the rake and the way that the front tire sits out so far but I dont like how the nose of the bike is higher. I like the bikes that the bottom of the frame sits level. Any thoughts on how to do this as cheap as possible would be great.

Droff85

 

The Santee set up for a 57'-78' runs about $210.00 bolt on or weld on style. Depending on year of WG forks you got, you can lower it 1"-2" with White Bros. or Progressives for another $100.00-$120.00 to try and level it.

 

technology enhance are riding abilities why go backwards just to look kool?

 

i have a 66 in a ridgid chassis i love the way it rides and handels even with my girder front end my budy just picked up a pauco (i thinks thats how its spelled) frame for his 76 ironhead with a stock rake and the only difference he has found is that his seat height is loxer but has founds it to be pretty comfortable i dunno i like ridged bikes and as long as you have springs under the seat it self its just as smooth a ride as many soft tais i have riden

 

i rode a rigid for years then switched back to the soft tail. i thought the riged handled good until i went back to the soft tail,night and day dif. the rigid was fun but handled NOTHING like the softail, handled much better and no more draging the pipes and pegs!

 

well I like the advice but I just cant stand the fact that the bottom of the frame sits about eight or ten inches off the ground. I like the look of the custom frames that sit about three or four inches off the ground. If there is anyway to lower and level the bike without having to swap the frames or put on a rigid conversion. The WG front end came from a Jireh catalog and is said to be the 85 to 99 forks. I can get a set of stock springs to go back in it for very cheap but I dont know if that will lower it enough.

 

what size tires are you running? i have a WG conversion on mine and it doesn't sit too high, imo. i have 16 in the rear, and 19 in the front

 

I have a 21 on the front and a 16 on the rear. Can you post some pics of what yours looks like? I will try to get some of mine on here if I can figure out how.

 

Best way to post pics is to open a free PhotoBucket account, upload the pics to that site, then copy/paste the IMG code [not! the HTTP code] from there into your message here.

PinionGear recently posted complete, detailed instructions for this.

 

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This is what my bike looked like right after I got it home and off the trailer. I have changed a few things but basically the same. What I am talking about is that the bottom of the frame is sitting nose up. I know it may be hard to tell in this pic. Also I am six feet tall and my feet don't completly touch the ground.