Triple Trees...

Thanks, the threaded part is an insert with threads on both ends, the wide part goes into the shock toob and there's a narrow thread on the opposite end that screws into the top tree.
Thanks for the info!
Ya da man (I mean it this time) heehee. :rant:

I always do the safety dance (now that I'm missing one of my finger tips).
Real Harley guys limp and only have 9-1/2 fingers and 1 testicle.

Did you check the following measurements on these tree's and compare them to your stock ones? This will have a direct affect on how the bike handles.

1. Centerline distance between the fork tubes. If different, it will have an effect on axle spacers, axle length and alignment of the caliper with the brake disc.

2. Fork tube offset, this is the centerline distance between the steering stem and the fork tube. This measurement affects the amount of trail. Moving the fork tubes forward reduces the amount of trail, which reduces high speed steering stability. Moving the fork tubes rearward increases the trail and high speed stability.

Nah, why would I want to do all that? That's too much like work.

tommy is more of ill fu-k this up and ill fix it later kinda guy . ask a **** load of questions and then come up with an answer he can argue about . :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:. then ill fix it again perfect cause now i know how to do it . cause i fu--ked it up the first time real good so now i know . kinda like every other person on the forum including myself . so the answer to your question . no fn way did he check it!:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

was I thinkin Goin to have to cut back on the Rum before I get on the forum and ask dumba$$ questions. :roflmao::roflmao:

Psych, I was joking, of course I will check all that stuff. Man, you guys are too easy.
:roflmao:

Thanks Mr. motocycle instructor.
Can you explain how I pre-load the bearing in my FX style swing arm to 1-2 lbs. I've never done that. The manual says to use a scale.?!?

:roflmao:I just had to do it . AS FAR AS THE SCALE GOES TOMMY . im not sure what they are looking for . but when i check the pre load on lets say a pinion bearing on a rear . the amont of drag on the bearing reads on the scale of a torque wrench head and it will show it in lbs. 1-2 lbs is very light to read its less than snug if ya look at it ! i dont think i have one that reads that low!

That must be what they mean.
Thanks.

They make a inch pound torque wrench for low readings....but I'am sure u knew that

Ya i have an inch lb torque wrench . But this is a bearing pre load scale after I crush the sleeve for the pinion bearing . It shows me how much drag is on the race after load is set.

The scale their refering too is a spring scale, (aka fish scale). If your a fishermen you will have one in your tackle box to weigh your catch. The service manual should tell you where to attach the scale to check the preload. So you would install the bearings, sung the preload nut, hook the scale to the indicated attachment point and pull on scale.The 1-2 lbs is the amount of resistance generated before the bearing rotates or the swing arm moves. The manual will tell what movement to look for. More than 2 lbs and the bearing is to tight, less than 1 lb and the bearing is to loose. Again, your service manual should tell you where to attach the scale, in what direction to pull it and what movement to look for. Once you have the preload set then you bend the lock tabs over the nut.

Basically what your doing is setting the bearing end play, just like you would for a tapered wheel bearing. To loose and the swing arm will move around in the frame. To tight and you will damage the bearing.

Hope this helps ya!!

now i understand what he was asking about !

Thanks Ringo!
You are the man.
So are you Paul, (sometimes).

Ya know what they say, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile:roflmao:

Glad I could help. Many of the metric bikes use this same method for setting the steering head bearing load. Let us know how it works out for ya!

How is it done to set the steering head bearing load?

ya sometimes :roflmao:

It depends on the manufacture and model of bike. When you replace the steering head bearings you snug the preload nut. The front end of the bike will have to be raised just enough to get the front tire off of the ground. Again depending on the manufactures procedure, the front wheel will either be pointing straight forward or turned all the way to one of the stops. You will either attach the spring scale to the end of the front axle or the end of the handle bars and pull on the scale until the front end starts to move. The service manual will outline the procedure.

When it starts to move you look at the scale to see how much force, ( pounds or grams), it took to get it to move. So if the spec was 4-6 lbs, anything above 6 lbs would be to tight, anything below 4 lbs would be to loose. Again, it is mostly the metric manufactures that will use this method or a torque spec method.

Harley Davidson uses two different methods, one is called "Fall Away", and the other is " Swing By". The swing by method is used on all FL touring bikes and fall away is used on the rest. Swing By is used on the touring bikes because of the negative offset of the fork tubes. The fork tubes are positioned behind the steering head.

If you raise the front end of a bagger off of the ground and pull the front end to one of the steering locks and let it go it will swing back and forth and stop somewhere close to center. This design allows for a steeper rake angle of 26 degrees which makes the heavy baggers easier to maneuver at slow speeds. However, the steeper the rake angle, the less trail you have, which makes the bike unstable at high speeds.

To get the proper trail measurement with this design, HD had to position the fork tubes behind the steering stem. By moving the fork tubes rearward this increases your trail measurement and makes the bike more stable at high speeds. To make sure the fork tubes wouldn't hit the gas tank when turned all the way to the lock, HD welded a gooseneck extension to the front of the frame and attached the steering head tube on the end of the gooseneck. This allowed the fork assembly to be positoned far enough forward so the forks wouldn't contact the gas tank. So HD got the best of both worlds with the heavy baggers. A steep rake angle for low speed maneuverbility and correct trail for high speed stability.