That looks similar to the springer I picked up last fall. I've the opposite problem with mine. Sounds to me like your neck has already been converted up in size, your solution could be as simple as reinstalling stock neck cups.

 

Sweet find!!

 

Coryb, All is not lost! I see it's an aftermarket springer which makes modifying much easier. I thought you had found a Harley springer ! Does the springer front end have a 1" stem? what size stem is on your Sportster? If they're both 1" then you just need the right bearing cups and etc. Installing a front wheel will be a hastle! You'll have to machine an axle. You will have to make a pivoting anchor to hold the brake in place and I hate to say it BUT you're going to hate the front end when you're all finished! Springers pogo as you drive down the road ,even a smooth road. The springs start to oscillate and it picks up to the point of bouncing. Harley used what they called a ride control and later shock absorber to quell the problem. I had a 12 over springer on my bike and I extended a '47 HD spinger back in the 70's and after that experiece I now have a Sportster/Fx front end on it! I've been building bikes since 1970 and honestly I wouldn't do the springer thing again. Why not install a pair of fork tubes of about 4" over stock. It will look great and will handle ok. But nothing handles as good as stock.

 

i too just bought a 1965 xlch, and all i did was change the bearings and grind down the shaft a little and it is on and crackin!

 

Keep in mind that your LIFE depends on you making safe modifications!

 

Take into consideration that by lengthening your front like that, you just dramatically increased the forces on that stem. Instead of the weight sitting primarily on the base of the tree, you now shifted it to the joint where the stem meets the tree. The wall thickness of the stem is engineered to compensate for that and by grinding it down you have just now reduced the amount of load it can carry.

Also, depending on how you 'ground' it, will make a difference too. Using a grinding wheel, you will not get a truly flat surface which will create more weak spots in the stem. Consider it like bending a piece of metal over and over till it breaks. It breaks at the weak spot or where it is thin. Every bump you take is just like bending it. Your crucial spots are where it contacts the frame at the bottom of the neck and where the stem connects to the tree. The rest shouldn't see much stress. Turning it down on a lathe would have been your best bet but recommended either.

Sorry to lecture but I am a mechanical engineer by day and I am more than a little concerned. I don't want to see anyone get hurt.

 

yes grinding creates thousands of tiny places for cracks to start, i have been in welding/ fabrication for close to 30 years, if you ever look at something that has been ground with a microscope you would see,buy the right parts and be safe!!

 

I am completely aware of structure and loss of tinsel strength when removing material, however the shaft is solid and i did not remove much more than a few microns of steel, i should probably rephrase my statement "i sanded the shaft in order to install new bearing easily". The new bearings i installed were the same OD., however they are 1/32 in. bigger on the ID. In any regards, good looking out and thanks for your concern. I am not even sure if i am going to keep running the springer front end on this bike, however i think anything is better than 35 mm extended tube front end , it seems they would snap like bread sticks, even with fork brace

 

Glad to hear that you made your forks work in a safe manner, ironically I have a '73 FX 35mm front end extended 6" over stock on a 1/2" raked frame on my old bike. I have been using this front end since 1976 ! Never had a problem but I'd like to get rid of that big banana caliper! It rattles and is just BIG! It's also a shame Harley mounted the caliper on the topside of the slider adding to the unsprung weight issue.

 

The 35 mm forks i have have the original fork legs which housed the drum brake and i am not sure if a disk brake is an option due to them being so narrow, i am currently using old style 21 inch wheel with mini drum brake on the springer front end