| Author | Message | ||
     Essthreetee |
Howdy all...I got a question about my wife's sporty. She has an '03 Custom 883...question is can I lower the front end by sliding the fork tubes up into the triple trees a little more??? Or is there another way to lower the whole bike??? stock it comes with shorter shocks in the rear, and a 21" front wheel...she wants to try and get it lower...any ideas???? | ||
| Metal_doc |
There are front fork lowering kits as well as shorter shocks available. They are basically stock units for Huggers. | ||
| Djkaplan |
A 19" wheel would lower it and give you a little extra room to slide the fork tubes up. There are all sorts of shocks and lowering blocks available that could lower the rear even further. | ||
| Odie |
Lowered the wifes '97 883 with Progressive fork springs and Progressive shocks. Rode and looked very nice. | ||
| Timbo |
Essthreetee, Sliding the tubes up in the tripletrees will work, it will also give the benefit of quickening the steering, but don't go too far. I have heard of people going as far as 1 1/4" without problems. I had the tubes slid up 3/4" on my '98. If you go too far, you will sacrafice straight line stability. Also the front fender will hit the bottom of the lower triple tree if you go too far. If you already have the lower shocks in back, then the next thing to look at is the seat. Corbin and LaPera have some nice seats that will put her closer to the ground. Contrary to what might seem obvious, going to a 19" wheel will NOT lower your front end. If you look at the tire profiles of a tire made for a 21" wheel and one made for a 19" wheel you will see that the 21" tire has a much smaller diameter and the 19" tire is bigger. Also, if you put a 21" and a 19" side by side you will see they have the same axle height and overall height. Timbo | ||
| Odie |
Ah, I forgot. I also cut her stock seat down by about an inch and recovered it. She was very happy as she could touch the ground with both feet. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"Contrary to what might seem obvious, going to a 19" wheel will NOT lower your front end. If you look at the tire profiles of a tire made for a 21" wheel and one made for a 19" wheel you will see that the 21" tire has a much smaller diameter and the 19" tire is bigger." Not according to Dunlop, the only approved tire manufacturer for Harley-Davidson. http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=5 http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tirecatalog_tire.asp?id=6 | ||
| Fullpower |
the "badlander" seat by HD is really low, comfortable for all day rides, and is pretty inexpensive. Progressive brand springs are shorter than stock, and will lower the front a full inch. Lowering the the triple clamps is easy enough. Teaching the rider to keep her right foot on the peg is also a possibility. This frees up a lot more of her inseam to use on the left side of the bike, where it may be more useful. enjoy, dean | ||
| Matty |
Timbo is on the money. Sliding the trees allows you to drop the ride height without compromising ride quality with stiffer springs. I have a hugger and it's like riding with struts... front and rear =) The 19" front will not lower your front a noticeable amount. From the spec DJ linked to, the difference is only 0.375 inches. I measured my axle heights when I switched from a 19 to a 21 and there was no difference betweeen the two. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"The 19" front will not lower your front a noticeable amount. From the spec DJ linked to, the difference is only 0.375 inches." For comparable width tires, the 19" diameter has a 25.85 height, the 21" has a 27.20, a difference of 1.35. The height difference at the axle would be .675. a .675" difference in ride height is pretty significant. | ||
| Matty |
The diameter of the stock HD 100/90-19 tire is 26.45 (the Sportster does not use the 90/90-19) and the MH 90-21 is 27.20. That a difference of 0.75. Unless I've forgotten my geometry, the radius is what we need, not the diameter, since we are only concerned with the distance of the axle to the ground. That leaves us with 0.375. The fork seals affect sag more than that amount, so it's really not something a rider will notice. The spec on the website is an excellent reference, but I'm not the only one who has made this change and noted that there is no change in the front ride height. | ||
| Djkaplan |
If lowering the front end is what you wanted to do, then I would assume you'd use the smaller 19" tire, not the larger. At least that's what I'd do. It wouldn't make sense to use the largest 19" tire if that's what you wanted to do, would it? My suggestion lowers the front end of the bike by .675, is this not significant enough, all things (like sag and tire width) being equal? Why do you want to keep arguing when the numbers clearly prove my statement? | ||
| Matty |
Good point. The numbers do prove your statement, no doubt about it, but the real results disprove them. All I'm saying is that the difference the numbers show to be there, isn't... and that's a lot of money to spend for very little result. Why does the 0.375 lift I should have realized not show on my Sportster? I don't know, but I don't think I was that drunk at the time.  But why stop at 19? Why not 18 or 17? Switching to a 19 rim with a 90/90-19, or any other for that matter, is a very expensive 1/2 inch. Sliding the trees is cheap and reversible. Cutting the spring spacers is cheap and replaceable. New spring are an investment and replaceable.  Changing the front end with a handy spare S1 front end will drop it nicely! Looks spiffy to boot. | ||
| Timbo |
Daniel, This has been gone over extensively in the past on other Lists. I have seen this exact senario gone over several times, and personally, as in being there with friends who have compared differences and noted every variance, in the real world the difference is next to none, and is no where near worth the cost involved. That being said however, the 19" wheel with matching tire will give a larger contact patch and better handling...or so the theory goes... But that's another thread ENTIRELY! He only asked about lowering his wifes bike. Timbo | ||
| Timbo |
And Daniel, Not arguing...both Matty and I have seen the actual difference. Matty with his own bike personally. We are just stating our own experience in having done this. Please don't take offense. Timbo | ||
| Essthreetee |
HEY, HEY, HEY...I didn't mean to stir up something around here...OK, let me be more specific to the information I was looking for, and the best (also cheapest) ways to get the results. Wife does not like a "Raked" bike...she wants it to be flat and LOW looking/feeling. She has a stock '03 XL883C (Custom) with the longer forks and 21" wheel. I have access to a FREE 19" wheel if I want... The back springs on a custom are the same springs that come on a Hugger...Lowered. But the front is tall. Would lowering the triple trees be a GOOD way to lower the front end?? Or would I be better off buying Progressive springs for the front forks??? This is not a "Can't touch the ground" issue...nor is it a "Ridability" issue, or a "Better handling" issue (although that info is very fun for me to learn about ... It is merely a cosmetic and desired feeling issue for my wife. I figure if I can get the bike just like she likes it, then she will ride it more. Thanks in advance to all that have replied and to those that will. | ||
| Timbo |
S3T, Then sliding the tubes up the triple tree's would be the cheapest route (no cost), and you would'nt be sacrificing ride quality. Also, as stated before, you can always put them back to stock position if you want. I would start at 3/4", maybe 1", and see if it feels better to her. You can go further, but not too much further. Kinda like good drugs, a little might make you feel good, but a lot...and your gonna OD. Getting your wife to ride more is definately a good thing. Mine rides all the time. I got hers just the way she likes it.  Timbo | ||
| Timbo |
Additional info, My wife is 5'3" and that's an '03 Dyna. She can flat foot it with her boots on because I put 11.5" Works Performance shocks in the rear and slid her tubes up the triple trees 1", along with the low solo Corbin seat. She loves it. | ||
| Matty |
Man that's soo nice! I can't believe that's a dyna...lol! | ||
| Matty |
This is my plain ol Hugger with a 21. It doesn't look too low until it's parked next to a custom or standard XL.  | ||
| Matty |
Oops. Wrong pic.  Also of note, depending on how much you drop the front, you may need to switch to the Hugger kickstand to keep the bike from sitting too upright. This is a great topic and I think we have all helped put some very useful information on the table. Keep us updated! | ||
| Chainsaw |
...as long as we're talking Sporty's... Anyone know off the top of their head what the stock length rear shock on an '01 is? I'm looking to upgrade to some Progressive's, and i may go a skoosh taller. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"That being said however, the 19" wheel with matching tire will give a larger contact patch and better handling...or so the theory goes..." A 21" tire with the same section width and profile as a 19" tire will provide a larger contact patch (whether you notice it or not). | ||
| Timbo |
Ok Daniel, But every every 21" tire I've ever seen is skinnier than the 19" tires I've seen. I'm not saying that fat 21"s are not made, it's just that that's not what most people have. | ||
| Timbo |
Chainsaw, What model '01? | ||
| Timbo |
Chainsaw, Also, raising the rear will have the same effect as lowering the front. It will quicken the steering. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Timbo: 883C A bit more clearance and a better ride is what I'm after. | ||
| Fullpower |
yeah quicken the steering.... that should be almost noticeable on a sportster with 75 pounds of wheels rotating. | ||
| Timbo |
Chainsaw, If I'm not mistaken, the Custom came with 12.5" shocks. If you have a lift it's easy to find out, just jack it up enough to unweight the rear wheel and take one shock off. Measure it from the center of one mounting hole to the center of the other. 13.5" shocks would give you more travel and the progressive's will povide a much nicer ride than the stock units. | ||
| Fullpower |
no disrespect intended, my favorite hotrod is a stroker sportster 1458cc, 11.5 to one compression, N6 cams, S&S G carb, dyna 2Ki ignition, chain drive, and 480 pounds full of gas. quickest bike i have ever pulled the trigger on. But with a hundred pounds unsprung weight, and a 42 pound steel "flexible-flyer" frame, it has some handling issues. now the very coolest thing, would be to stuff that big S&S torque monster motor into an M2 chassis. with 21:50 gearing i am quite sure one handed roll on 3rd gear wheelies would be easy enough. wheeeee. |
