hardtail my softail
Banned
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,500
Likes: 1
Ive seen them online bro its just a weld on rear rigid swing arm but take my advice i road my deluxe full down on the air and yea didnt like it one bit you should just build a ridgid bro that way you have a scoot for the long haul.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,598
Likes: 14
From: navarre ohio
you had no coice but a ridged till 1958.. there are quite a few of them bikes still on the road with most of the parts still on them(the parts that were taken off dont count)and i havnt ever heard of a broken frame unless it was jumped hard or had bad chop welds.. alot of them custom frames were pretty thin..
to make your softail a hardtail get two square bars,drill two holes in each bar at the strut hight you want.. there you go.. it wont ride exactley like a ridged frame, a ridged frame flexes and gives a differant feel.. riding a ridged is pretty simiular,you just have to be aware of the road.. if you hit a pothole hard once you will be sure to never do it again..
to make your softail a hardtail get two square bars,drill two holes in each bar at the strut hight you want.. there you go.. it wont ride exactley like a ridged frame, a ridged frame flexes and gives a differant feel.. riding a ridged is pretty simiular,you just have to be aware of the road.. if you hit a pothole hard once you will be sure to never do it again..
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,386
Likes: 35
From: Rochester, NY
Older ridged bikes were much lighter, lower powered, with different frame geometry, especially with a springer front end. They also used tires that were taller (cross section) so they 'gave' a bit more than anything we have today.
So while their ride was kinda stiff compared to today's Softails, with a sprung seat they were not nearly as bad as many think.
They could however be a a bit of a handful when curving around a bend on a rough surfaced road.
I think "my" ideal setup for a rigid bar hopper, cruise night bike would start with a new rigid frame, girder or springer front end, a stock 96" (or 103") "B" motor, a right side drive 6 speed Baker tranny, and lots of chrome. After that, anything goes.
So while their ride was kinda stiff compared to today's Softails, with a sprung seat they were not nearly as bad as many think.
They could however be a a bit of a handful when curving around a bend on a rough surfaced road.
I think "my" ideal setup for a rigid bar hopper, cruise night bike would start with a new rigid frame, girder or springer front end, a stock 96" (or 103") "B" motor, a right side drive 6 speed Baker tranny, and lots of chrome. After that, anything goes.
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 362
Likes: 3
From: South Orange County, SoCal
I have a buddy that is off in Afghanistan right now. He wants me to build him a bobber while he is away. I am interested in doing the softail to rigid, weld-on conversion that Fab Kevin installed. That way the original H-D paperwork still stands.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,114
Likes: 67
From: USA
Im going to drop my swingarm to the stops for now, and see how I like it. Doing so will also allow me time to research this conversion.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,796
Likes: 36
From: Toronto, Ontario
Spring seat will give you a break, you will need to get used to the bike jumping around on pumps specially in corners , for some (myself included) it is great fun, for others it could be not very enjoyable.
Smart thing what you are doing, try first.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 521
Likes: 3
From: Colorado Springs, Co.
I have a hard tail Ironhead, it doesn't ride so bad with the chopper shocks I have under the seat, but it's still brutal compared to my softail. I wouldn't do that to a softail frame, cause the only right way to do it would be to completely back half the frame with a weld on section, and there's no going back after that.