I did the chopper in my sig, first one by myself and been on it 7 years. Rides straight at 2 or 100 mph. Sounds like you have the ability.

 

I appreciate the info. I realize that you may not necessarily need to cut the neck for a 23 but it doesn't look right in my opinion. Yes saving money is nice but I like to do what I can myself. The only person I trust is me.

 

I am a welder too , and I would do it myself if I wanted my bike raked, remember "the big names" did it a first time too.
The problem I have seen with some of the kits, is they flop, I don't know what kit it was but it was not designed correctly, and the thing wouldn't keep the front wheel straight on a block stand, and the front end would lift about a half inch to three quarters of an inch when you turned the bars.

 

I think the option of the Tri Glide triple tree replacements of your stock triple trees is a good option ... made by the MoCo to fit on your bike ...

If it is not enough rake ... I'd say do it your own self ... post up photos of the work in progress and any warnings of what to and not to do ....

I am not a huge fan of the oversize front wheels ... sometimes they look okay ...

... I find it ironic that the guys with 19" and 21" stock wheels are putting on 16" wheels and the guys with the balloon front wheels are putting on not just 21" but 23" and 26" ...

Good luck with the project ....

R/
'Chop

 

Ive built a couple frames from scratch and Im still alive. My craziest one was an 8 up 8 out single downtube for a sportster mill. I should have pics of it in one of my threads somewhere. Like somebody else said......its not rocket science. Seriously have you ever seen some of the crap that rolled off a Biker buildoff or an OCC show? If your a compitent welder you can rake it safely. I would build a simple jig to keep everything aligned though.