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When I bought the bike, the front end had already been lowered 1 inch. When I dissambled the forks to get them chromed, theyhad a 1 inch spacer, as well as 2, 1/8"thick washers inside the tubes on top of the shortersprings. I left the washers out, and fabricated a new spacer which in turn dropped it another 3/4".
The spacer on top of the springs does not lower the bike, it sets the preload on the springs. It is the very small (what looks like valve springs) on the bottom that does the lowering. the longer the spacer the more preload/stiffer the front end is. When setting up a custom/aftermarket front end (Progressive, White Bros etc) you would match the spacer to your springs and rider/bike weight.
I fully understand that the 21" wheel makes the bike look a bit more custom and that, but other than the asthetics does changing the front wheel to a 21" do anything positive for the handeling? I know on the highway I like the 16" front on my SG much better than the 21" on my Deuce. I dont know why....but the 21" feels like it wants to follow the lines and cracks way more than the 16", and the 16" just feels way more stable at high speed??? Both are balanced and I get no vibration or anything....its just I dont like the way the 21" tracks at speeds over 85 MPH.
What you noticed between the Deuce 21" and your Bagger 16" is slightly different than what you will see with a Bagger 21" as it is wider than your Deuce. The rake and trail are also different along with the weight of the bike. The Bagger 21" is only marginally narrower than the stock front tire. Due to its profile it turns quicker than the stock tire.
The only down side to the 21" is that you have slightly less contact patch on the road and slightly less sidewall which equals ride quality. These are not huge differences but differences nonetheless.
The spacer on top of the springs does not lower the bike, it sets the preload on the springs. It is the very small (what looks like valve springs) on the bottom that does the lowering. the longer the spacer the more preload/stiffer the front end is. When setting up a custom/aftermarket front end (Progressive, White Bros etc) you would match the spacer to your springs and rider/bike weight.
Well, the ride is a slight stiffer...and the front end is lower.
I always figured when you go with a taller rom you use a lower profile tire and hence the total outside diameter doesn't change. Am I wrong?
Thats the case to a point, but going from 16 to 21, you are adding 5 inches of wheel so you'd need to have a tire 2 1/2 inches lower (only the bottom half effects the height). The stock 16 tire is like what, 4 or 4.5 inches high? You can't put a 1 1/2 inch high tire on a 21 to have the same ride height, so it's like 3 inches high leaving you with a 1 - 1.5 inch raise in the bike (2 1/2 bigger wheel - 1 to 1.5 inch smaller tire = 1 to 1.5 inch height gain). Rough estimates, will vary by tires chosen.
Well I have the 21 x 18 setup on 2 separate Bikes for a total of over 26K and I wouldn't change back to the 16 x 16 for anything, the Ride is better and more responsive with the 21 x 18
I really can't tell you the difference from stock because, I kept it stock for all of 50-100 miles. I hear lowering the front of the SG makes the handling better.
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