41mm fork tubes

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Aug 3, 2015 | 09:12 PM

MegaFauna

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From: Seattle

41mm fork tubes

Anyone running longer fork tubes on their 41mm FLH?

Mines a '10 FLHP looking for 2" over...

Will softail or wide glide tubes fit?

Aug 3, 2015 | 09:25 PM

bikerlaw

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From: Richmond, VA

Franks Forks, or Forking by Frank. Whatever they go by now. They are the industry standard. Been doing longer fork tubes since the stone age. They have everything you could want. But you will need longer cowbells as well. I have seen those on ebay and other places.

http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

Aug 3, 2015 | 09:28 PM

Mike

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From: Centralia, Wa

There are fork leg extensions that will get you the couple of inches you're looking for. Cheap and simple.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/c...rley-1984-2015

Aug 3, 2015 | 09:57 PM

MegaFauna

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From: Seattle

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerlaw

Thanks! Will call in the AM when their office is open. I'm gonna be running rubber MX style fork boots so no need for longer cowbells.

Also I've heard that those fork extenders can compromise stability/safety?

Does anybody HAVE longer fork tubes on their bagger?

Last edited by MegaFauna; Aug 3, 2015 at 09:59 PM.

Aug 4, 2015 | 06:42 AM

bikerlaw

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From: Richmond, VA

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegaFauna

I wish I had pics, but I don't. One of the guys I used to ride with has +4 tubes on his black FLH bagger. His name is Doc and a handful of fellow HDForum guys know him and has seen his bike as well. Its a cool look. One thing I do know is with his 4 over tubes, he had to install a headlight adapter ring to get the headlight to point back at the ground as there just wasn't enough adjustment in the light itself. The good news is with the bigwheel front tire craze going on, all this stuff is available and coming down in price, really fast.

Years ago, the fork slugs were a total joke. The new stuff is much better made. I would still want 1 piece tubes, but as far as safety, the modern slugs are fairly common and I have never heard of a failure.

Aug 4, 2015 | 11:33 AM

grbrown

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From: Bedford UK

I have a CCE kit which came with longer fork tubes, although the purpose of them is to replace the awful top tree and fixing. That is bad enough as a design flaw, without adding an extension tube! I agree that a single longer tube is preferable.

Aug 4, 2015 | 12:08 PM

Mike

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From: Centralia, Wa

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegaFauna

Also I've heard that those fork extenders can compromise stability/safety?

Tri Glide fork legs are two inches longer, as I recall. Frank's forks isn't the same company it was while Frank was still alive, unfortunately. Still might be worth checking into, but the word is, quality has taken quite a big hit.

Years ago, fork slugs had a bad reputation for breaking, with folks dying all over the place. The stories were mostly overblown, most guys are simply spreading stories that they'd heard anecdotally.

As long as the extension is about half the distance between the trees (or less), and are well made, they are perfectly safe. This has been proven out with hundreds (maybe thousands) of trike conversions, where the modern fork tube extensions were developed.

I wouldn't hesitate running a two inch extension, but would never consider running an extension that moved the joint under the bottom tree.

Last edited by Mike; Aug 4, 2015 at 12:25 PM.