A few questions
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Gray's Creek NC
A few questions
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.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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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..............
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Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Rochester, NY
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.
Last edited by In Memoriam Citoriplus; Oct 6, 2008 at 12:19 PM.
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From: Vancouver B.C. Canada
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.
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