Howard, do you have a time frame on the availability of the triple tree? Also will you be changing the geometry at all or does rake and trail stay the same?

 

I should have reported sooner, that the kit arrived in good time from CCE. This morning my Amsoil was delivered, now waiting for bushings and seals so I can rebuild the forks. I will also fit new head bearings.

 

Thanks for reporting in!

I'm also wondering if Howard will have something soon on that triple tree? Right now, money is tight so I have a little while to wait, but when I have the money available in a month or two, whatever is available is what I'm getting. I also don't want to spend $2k on a new front suspension. I know the 2014 fork leg assemblies from HD are over $300 each. That is with no mods, just stock HD. It may turn out that after all is said and done that the way to go bang for the buck is CCE with Racetech or Ricor internals.

What I'm hoping is Howard comes out with a new affordable triple tree, then I can find lowers from some dude who went with chrome lowers, then find tubes from someone who lowered his bike. Otherwise, I just don't see how it will be affordable.

 

I am really sorry but the pricing is not cheap. The cartridges I use before the extensive modifications to make them work cost between $1,200 ~ $1,300 on e-Bay new. Than I must make many new parts to make them work and than re-Valve them + blueprint/modify the parts that are not made correctly from the factory so they will work properly for you.

Add a set of fork tubes, new 2014 bagger sliders, damper rod bolts, seals, bushings, fork oil, and modify the stock 2014 fork tubes (for 2014's motorcycles; only modify the fork tubes for cartridges is required) for this application.

I made a set of triple trees which is a direct fit as the pre-2014's. All parts are direct bolt up. My bottom tree is very similar to the bottom triple trees you have except for these few differences. It is made of PH-7 Stainless which is many times more stronger than the sand cast mild steel which your OEM trees are made from now, especially when PH-7 is heat treated. The clamp for the fork tube(s) is a conical shape for added rigidity. The clamps can be machined for up to a 55mm fork tube so my first show/conversion bike will be a XR1200 inverted fork modified to work on a bagger. That is harder to do than either a stock 49mm fork (which I will have {I hope} for Biketoberfest @ Daytona) or an Ohlins inverted fork. The core business is replacing complete forks/triple trees on 1986 ~ 2013's and just making the stock 2014 front fork suspension much better. There is not much difference to the OEM 49mm FL damper rod system than those found on the 49mm Dyna's. I read how some say that they are much better but look at the parts, how could they be? A very low bar of acceptance and not acceptable for a discriminating motorcyclist who knows better. The 2014's will handle and be much safer than the pre-2014's due to the clamped top tree & 49mm forks that have a larger cross section combating deflection.

The top tree will have a set of clamps for the 49mm fork tubes but is made to be compatible with all Dressers with the steering stem forward design found on 1986 ~ 2013's.

The 2014 has larger neck bearings so the two piece steering stem will allow the neck bearings to fit over it. The neck will still fit down into the the top of the bottom triple tree unlike the 2014 which must sit on a boss level with the front triple tree gusset. The new neck is a larger diameter so it will not fit without gusset interference. This new 2014 bottom triple tree design adds thickness due to the bearing boss so the new tree, unlike the older design, which would either take away from the 4.7" of stroke or make the bike sit up higher, one of the other.



You still can add the "Beer Cans" on my offering but is not needed with an inverted fork as these "Beer Cans" are the dust seal on the conventional fork.

Conclusion:
Is my complete fork option the same or meant to compete with the $250 drop in options? No. It will address the inherent problems found on the pre-2014's. I already have my cartridge option available for 49mm Dyna's for a few years so you can search for the performance difference between all of the other suspension available and mine.

Affordable? It is all about who is affording the forks. Just like the shocks I started selling, there is none better and I overcame skepticism over cost. It is your choice what performance level you are at as a discriminating rider or not. If you are happy riding your bike as is than you do not need this option or even the CCE offering. I have been working on this modification of using 49mm forks & clamped triple trees for a few years ago, before HD ever unveiled their offering on the new 2014's to address highway safety and deaths.

 

Just curious grbrown, have you installed the CCE kit yet? If so, what do you think of it?

 

Once the weather clears and it stops snowing I'll have a ride report.

 

I'm fairly new to touring bikes, have been riding Dyna's for years. I bought a 2011 Limited a couple of years ago and I tend to ride it like I ride my Wide Glide.

In my opinion, the touring bikes are made more for comfort than handling. The first thing I corrected was the rear wheel steer with the True Track stabilizer - a very noticible improvement. The next change was Progressive 944 shocks on the rear and monotubes up front - another very noticible improvement.

Now I can run a high speed sweeper with confidence, unless there are irregualrities (bumps or uneven pavement) in the turn - which forces me to slow down due to the flex in the front forks. It won't cause me to drop the bike, but does drop my level of confidence in the bike's handling.

Since the bike is ready for the 50K service I ordered the CCE upper triple tree, fork tubes and the tube caps designed to work with the Progressive Monotubes that will be reused. The dealer is doing the install and not charging any additional labor since the front end gets disassembled anyway at the 50K service.

Service is scheduled for 2/17, I'll report back with how much difference I feel the new upper triple tree makes.

 

Confession is good for the soul - no I haven't yet. I am in the middle of a lot of mods of which that is just one, also put off from visiting my garage with winter weather.

 

While it's apart, you may want to consider swapping the Monotubes for Traxxion Dynamics AK-20.

 

Okay, I had the CCE triple tree installed last week. Was it worth the money? To me it was.

I've always been uncomfortable with the way the front wheel seems to wiggle over uneven surfaces or cracks in the road. I picked up the Limited from the dealer last Friday after the tree was installed with the 50K service and noticed the more solid feel of the front end as soon as I made the right turn onto the street.

Once I got on the freeway, I intentionally rode over the cracks in the pavement and was a little disappointed because I still had a little unstable feedback from the front wheel. Before I left for work that night I checked the tire air pressures. The dealer had put in the stock pressures around 36 psig. I run the Metzeler ME888's with the front at 40 psig and the rear at 46 psig. Once I got the pressures up, the bike was very stable over cracks and uneven surfaces at speed. The only other change I had done was to add the poly riser bushings.

The CCE triple tree is pretty expensive, but it was worth it to me.