AME rake kits? They offer the kits in 9, 14, and 18 degree kits. The kits look pretty good coming with new tubes, trees etc. But before I get a kit I wanted alittle feebback.

 

I got one for my 05 Sportster... been having it on for over a year now and can say I love it...

It does change the handling of the bike though... especially a low speeds...

I can whip around my X-Bones a whole lot easier than my Sportster now...

I've got the 14 degree rake with 8" over tubes and it increased the wheel base about nine inches... thats a lot... I couldn't imagine using a 18 degree kit for everyday driving...

I've seen a couple of softails with the kits... they looked pretty awesome, but I have to remind you it will change the handling of the bike...

If you don't care much about turning around on a dime (like a stock bike) and you like the looks of a stretched bike then I would say go for it...

The Sportster handles great anything over 20 - 30 mph... in fact I think it handles better and sure rides better because of the longer wheel base... I had it up to around 100 mph and she was solid as a rock... straight as an arrow...

But still... I would consider all the things I have mentioned before biting the bullet... it will be around two grand when everything is said and done... maybe a little more...

Charlie D.

 

Fork rake kits generally are useless. They reduce the engineered trail of the bike making them less stable at ALL SPEEDS. And this becomes very apparent on rough roads, through turns etc.

If you want to rake or stretch out your bike out the proper way, get a professional to modifiy the frame by cutting the neck and repositioning it. I mean jeez you paid how much for your HD? Spend a few extra bucks and do it right. Rake kits are for hacks, and they actually ruin the lines of the bike as well.

 

I wouldnt be going that long. I would go with the 9 degree kit with six over tubes. I have done some more research and from what I read the 9 degree kit keeps it riding stock, but also alittle longer. But I do ride my bike everyday and was pondering upon that.
I dont feel like cutting the fram. I my self could cut and re-weld the frame, if I wanted to. I will prob just think about it for awhile.

 

9 degrees is ALOT. It reduces the trail on a stock 32 degree(or there abouts)Harley frame to practically nothing. You got idiots who think their steering is just fine and intact. It may be just fine on a nice smooth road while paying attention to the grip on the handlebars, but see how great your front end is when you have to react quick to say a potential accident with an oncoming vehicle, or road hazard. Or when something unexpected happens when you just happen to have a loose grip on the bars. It just isnt worth it. Again a "rake tree kit" most of the time is very detrimental, and for a stock Harley frame that "most of the time" becomes all of the time due to the steep factory rake. If the frame had say a really relaxed 45 degree rake or greater, then a raked kit can have some use to reduce the trail a bit in a positive fashion, but not with a Harley.

Cutting a rewelding the neck be aware requires a precision frame jig if you want it to come out right.

 

You are talking about a generic rake kit.........they will definatly reduce trail and are dangerous on anything other than a trike or sidehack.....However if you look at how the AME kits are engineered they do not reduce your trail.......I don't own one but I do understand how they work..........believe me if you put on an standerd 18 degree triple tree you would have negative trail and would be doing tank slappers so fast it would make your head spin.....They would be very unstable at high speeds. AME kits will keep your trail close to original specs. That combined with the longer wheel base will give you more stability at speeds......however it will not handle as well at very slow speed turns.

 

This and similar questions have been cropping up frequently as of late. Being an ol' fart who sometimes has too much to say -

1. The AME and Seeger kits are properly engineered to maintain a safe trail dimension.

2. These kits use excellent quality materials.

3. They scream "chopper" to the great unwashed masses.

4. They scream "shortcut" to ol' fart bike ridin' fools.

Why shortcut? Look at a stock HD. Start from a medium distance and just look at the overall bike. Nothing "jumps" out at you; the whole is a mechanical flow of parts coming together as one. Now, in the same way, look at a couple bikes with a few bolt-on parts. Some bikes with bolt-ons still flow; the parts are still integrated together as one. But sometimes you see something that suddenly "jumps" at you; it doesn't quite fit in the picture as it grabs your attention before you've finished taking in the whole bike. The bike is "wrong".

Look at an old chop, say Gump's Pan. Yeah it's got the Cap'n Amurrica paint to grab your attention, but look at the construction of the bike - it flows. Barring the paint, the bike is a smooth transition from front to back. (Not knocking the paint here, just wanting to concentrate on the construction part.) Repeating - the bike flows, and everything is integrated into one.

Find a pic of a bike with one of these rake kits installed. Notice that the eye will almost immediately stop at the neck area. There is something that grabs the eye and stops it dead. That's because the eye wants to see parallel (or nearly parallel) lines in the neck area - fork tube vs. neck post. These kits break that "rule" the eye has come to expect. Almost at the same instant an experienced eye will notice the "kludge" of parts located at the bottom tree/neck area. The eye says it doesn't belong there. What has happened to the "flow" of the bike? That flow has been interrupted, and that takes away from the wholeness of the bike.

But all that is just my opinion. If you like something on your bike then it doesn't matter what anybody else has to say about it.

 

About sums it up!!!!!!

 

One of the best advices i've ever seen on this board