Which Trees

[1852cc]

Ok
I have decided on the Roadsmith conversion for my 02 Ultra with its big bag motor.
The question now is which raked trees to run:

1)Roadsmith 4 degree trees
2)ez-steer
3)CSC Power-trac
4) or some other set

Have read 4.5 degrees is max for a Harley, but CSC says their trees are 8 degrees for the Daytona Kit and others at 5.5 degrees.

I know there is someone smarter than I out there about this and can tell me which is the best way to go.
Mike

[ROAD DOG]

1852 WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THIS BIG BAD MOTOR 140 FT PDS AT 3000 RPM ?? WHAT BRAND & SIZE CAMS , HEADS, PISTONS , COMPRESSION, THROTTLE BODY????? I HAVE A S&S 124 EVO MOTOR IN MY 98 ROAD GLIDE CHAMPION TRIKE, WHEN THE MOTOR WAS IN MY ELCTRA GLIDE 2 WHEELER IT DYNOED AT 137 FT PDS 127 HP. IF YOU BEET THE BIKE BAD IT WOULD SNAP THE BELT, I NEVER REALLY BEET THE TRIKE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BLOW THE REAR END OR THE BELT,& I DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE A BELT ON THE TRIKE. IT GOES REALLY GOOD & gets the same fuel mileage as my 03 road glide twin cam champion trike 30 - 34 . I HAVE THE CHAMPION EASY STEER ON BOTH OF MINE. THEY STEER GREAT.

[1852cc]

Road Dog

It is a 2002 twin cam, with Jims stroker, pistons, jugs, s&s 585 grear drives, custom heads, fueling oil pump and lifters, race tunner.

Ya cant horse it too much, no power shifting, you are right about the belt, have 40,000 miles on the motor and the belt now, belt is a side car trike belt.

Running a d&d 2into1 pipe now, tunned for gas mileage now 127 ft lbs at 3000rpm flat line to 5200, has 98 ft lbs at 1800 rpm.
Has 108 hp, built it for torque not hp, really didn't care how much hp it made. Had to tune it down alittle gas prices were killing me, tunned for max smack was actually 138 ft lbs, but gas mileage was 32 mpg.

Heads like i said a custom, cumbustion chamber re-cut for this motor, little over 9.5 compression, stock intakes and really big exhaust.

Runs really good it is just a tractor, ride 2 up loaded down all the time used to pull a big trailor.
Still gets 42mpg if 65 or less the way it is tunned now.
I am sure it will make a nice trike.

[ultraboy]

1852, I'm posting an article today (I hope) on an alternate raked tree set. I did it, and it's great.

[1852cc]

pleasee let me know where it is and when you get it posted, please.

[ultraboy]

It's here:
http://www.triketalk.com/forum/dave-...html#post13645

[1852cc]

Ultraboy,

hmmm, very interesting, would have to have legs chromed. lol
but interesting thought for sure, looks like quite a bit more rake than ez-steer for sure.
Thank You
Mike

[1852cc]

Ultraboy,
Question what happened to your ride hieght on the MT, am sure it had some impact.

Not sure what impact if any there would be on a Roadsmith unit.

Mike

[Gorilla]

Dave very thoughtful alternative. I was lucky I was able to locate a set of Liberty Side Car Trees for $600 when I did my build last winter. Your resolution is right on. Very little modification over the straight on triple tree swap out of a kit and much cheaper. The longer forks really are probably just to restore the Tri-Glide to the normal height. My 07 triked with stock forks is lower than before, but is very comfortable, I would not change it. My standard brake lines worked fine. This is great info for out future builders. Ted

[ultraboy]

I did not notice any ride height changes. The forks were really not necessary, I did it for the he!! of it. I'm sure I'll be in there again, and will change them back to the stockers, but after chroming the lowers first, LOL.
I really don't know how much rake (in degrees) is there, but I believe it's about 4.5 to 5, and you don't want more than that on an FLH. It's not squirelly at 100+, I'll tell you that, and handles like a jewel at more reasonable speeds.

[Nana]

Great article, Ultraboy! You've brought in another excellent option for those with Harley's touring models! Thanks

[1550vt]

I bit on Ultraboy's TG tree conversion. I am keeping the stock fork legs and will let everybody know how it works out. I will take some before-n-after measurements on wheelbase and height to compare. My stuff is ordered. Let the grass grow....let the mail pile up.....let the fridge be filled with Budwiser.....let the wife ask me what-in-the-he!! am I up to now. I plan to start my tear-down this weekend while I wait for the parts.

[Gorilla]

Good Luck VT. I found the most time consuming task was taking the fairing off. And the hardest was getting the tubes out of the upper triple tree. I had one that was stuck in there. Must be careful trying to get it out because the tube cap can be damaged. Ted

[ultraboy]

One thing that Champion has included with their HD EZ-Steer kits are 'fork extenders.' I've never seen a Champion kit, but in looking at the Installation instructions for the EZ steer, they appear to be about 1-1/2" long at least. They show that there are two fork extensions, one set for '02 and newer, and one set for '01 and earlier. Perhaps Bazooka knows the length of these spacers. I still feel that longer forks are not an absolute necessity.

[1550vt]

Got it all gutted Ted. I have been down this road before.

Reksul, I ran the numbers on a rake calculator I have and the stock forks should not matter that much. The new trail with the TG trees, or a 1.5-inch extension would be around 3.9-or-so with the TG forks and around 4.05 with the stock 27.75 inch forks. The "old" FLH trail is 6 plus. For sure, since I have never had a raked trike, I will not be able to tell the difference. Likely as not, a few pounds of air in the front tire one-way-or-another would allow this variation anyway. I can always go back and add extensions if I want to. I am use to the stability of that 6.5-or-so trail and often tool down the road in a one-handed position, or just prop my hands up on top of the grips in cruise control....very casual, because the front end does not want to move that much. That's why the stupid thing is so hard to turn.....it dosen't want to! If the steering is as quick as I have heard some folks say it is, I will need to get use to it all over again.

[Gorilla]

VT it will still be stiff enough to lay your hands on the bars. You will love it. Ted

[1550vt]

I need to back-up and apologize to Ultraboy Dave for caliing him Reksul Dave. Too many Dave's on this site. Ultraboy knows all about my last post here, so he did not need to see all that. I must have been looking and responding to something I thought I read from Reksul Dave. Things happen to your mental coordination skills when you get old enough for all your hair to fall out and become SS eligible. My wife has been trying to put me in a nursing home since I was 50.

Anyway...timgala....good to here there may not be a big difference in cruise mode.

[1550vt]

Oh...I wanted to add a remark abour EZ-Steer vs. TG trees. I have never installed an EZ-Steer, but from what I can see and hear, they use a different style bearing, as well as other hardware, than stock HD guts. The TG trees just slip-on what is there now and use available HD parts. Material cost for the EZ-Steer at $1075 vs. TG trees at $400-or-so makes it a no-brainer for me and you have the added conveience of readily available parts if you need them quickly from any dealer scattered all across the country. The EZ-Steer may be a better looking set of trees as opposed to the TG cast units, but you are going to cover all that up with fairing anyway.

[1550vt]

AND...I forgot to mention Champion will sell the fork extenders for $90 each, which is around 1/2 the price for TG forks and you can reuse your current fender mounting hardware. However, I think that if I wanted the extra length I would consider just going with the TG forks since you get a brand new set oil-charged and ready to go. If you had lots of mileage on your existing forks, this may be the best decision.

[Gorilla]

I think have the TG around is a great thing for us HD conversion people. If the HD part won't work at least it gives you a good idea on how to make something work. I can see a lot of adapting TG parts to our conversions if necessary. Ted