Is it better to cut the frame or buy kit to chop?
 

Hey guys. Fairly new Harley rider here. Sport bike guy coming off of a ZX-14, still got it though lol. I'm only 25 so I have to get the gas off my chest some how.

I really want to add some rake to my 06' Standard EFI but I'm not sure the best way to go about it. I know Seeger Cycle and Chopper Kit USA make the kits but I know it's much cheaper to have the frame cut. Local shop in my area has been cutting and modifying frames for the past 20 years with no issues.

My main question is, what is better/safer in the long run. I know about all the rake a trail calculators out there but my issue is safely. Can anyone weigh in?

it all depends on who good of a welder the shop has, if there are thin welds or dirty welds or hidden inclusions in the welds then the vibration will break off the welds.. It would really suck to have the frame break while riding.. I'd probably buy a new frame and switch over the driveline and tins if I were doing a chopper build.. You're gonna need longer forks too

Hell, I cut the rame of my old Honda chopper and had no problems. I did the welding and guessing at the rake, also. I don't think I'd do it to my harley thou. Somethings different about an H-D.
Coyote

Having built three custom bikes, my advice would be to get another frame for your build. No matter how much homework you do before the build, the build doesn't always turn out the way you think (something about the rake, stretch of the frame riding like shit and requiring another frame / build on a bike with only 500 miles on it. Ask me how I know this...).

One other suggestion if you do a build. Build the bike and ride it for a while in primer before you paint it. Saves the trouble of having to try to touch up / match a nice paint job when you decide you do need to weld another tab or change a mount after the paint is done.

In the end personalizing a bike is a lot of fun and produces a bike that truly fits your riding style and personality. Hope you have fun on this adventure.

If you buy a kit w/frame, now you end up with a "special construction" bike. If you mad the Harley frame, it is still a Harley complete with V.I.N.

Can be a factor with loans and insurance.

Bwana

We've used adjustable trees from Cyril Huze on a few of our customers' bikes here and I think everyone was pretty happy with them.

You're better off getting your current frame chopped/extended. I live near Redneck Engineering, who are pretty well known chopper builders and they do it pretty cheap and I trust them cause they do this for a living. You'll also end up cheaper than buying a new frame. The biggest problem is if you get a new frame, that vin is no longer there so it's no longer technically a Harley as far as registration goes.

i think they have been cutting and chopping frames before you were born. i dont think i ever heard of the front end falling off.

If you change the frame it is now a special construction...a major pain to title and insure. If the insurance company cannot look the value up in a book,they are not going to give you dick if it is totaled or stolen. If you know a shop that does quality work, cut it and move on.

I raked my 00 FXST myself 9yrs ago and did my Heritage a yr before that...never had any issues...I paid quite bit of money the 1st time to have a bike raked at a reputable frame shop and had the pleasure of watching them through the whole process and figured I can do everything they were and maybe better...so from then on I did all my own work...so IMOP its was better to cut my frame.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...ike09011-1.jpg