Back in the 70s I rode a '73 Sportster with 6" over forks and no rake change and I loved the way it rode and looked. Damn, I wish I had that bike now. I would go with at least 6" over.

And I was on neither acid nor coke.

 

Well, based on what I'm hearing, and a bunch of my own study, I think I'm gonna go with the extensions. I know a 3" vertical rise is acceptable for me, but I'm not sure about anything more. Maybe... If I ever get my wheel back from the shop, then I'll see if I can hack that much. I'm trying to figure out how much 6" extensions would raise my front end. I believe with a 45 degree front end that it would be one for one, as in for every 2" added to fork that you get 1" up and 1" out. So what does it do with my stock rake of 28 degrees? 2/3s of that? So maybe with 6" added to the forks it goes out 2" and up 4"? I'm thinking it has to be close to that- maybe a little less than 4" up. Is that making sense, or is it crazy talk?

 

I had a 1972 XLCH that I purchased new in late fall of 1971. First mods I made were 6" over fork tubes and drag pipes. The bike handled just fine and I wish I still had it. No rake was added by the way. I rode that bike over 9000 miles in the summer of 1972 including a ride up Pikes Peak long before the road was paved, and never had any handling issues.

 

I put 4" over tubes on my Lowrider without changing anything else. Handles great looks good IMO. No more dragging parts on curves. I wish I went 6" over. BUT..have fun figuring out the kick stand mods-it's gonna lean WAY over.

 

Trying really hard to come up with some smartass comment about Viagra......

 

Whatever, dude- just know that when the moment is right I'm going to extend the tubes to my full 6 inches... And I'll try to figure that jiffy stand problem out when I get to that bridge... or just lean it up against somebody else's bike :-)

 

I say go for it. Its been done for decades by people and I never had an issue with the looks. If I had a spare Superglide lying around I would be thinking just like you but I would be debating between 4 or 6 over tubes.

Doer, I myself would love to see more pictures of that bike of yours. Its a bad ****.

As for the kickstand, all I ever did years ago when I was extending front ends was get a torch, heat up the kickstand and bend that sucker down a few inches till the bike sits straight again. Yeah, you mess up the chrome, but that never bothered me one bit.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/28-25-41mm-F...ht_2380wt_1037

I'm looking at these on ebay. Anyone see a reason not to go with them, other than they aren't long enough? It looks like they're the right diameter, and it says they come with new hardware. I'm not rolling in dough, so I can't go out and get any super fancy ones. It's going to be an uphill battle to get my old lady to agree to it to begin with. She keeps reminding me how much I told her we would save when I talked her into the bike. I get twice the gas milage, yes, but when you add in $100 for the jacket, $27 on the chaps, $170 for the helmet, $27 for the gloves, $80 or so for the battery, $88 and $115 for rear and front tires... Oh yeah, $12 or so for the balaclava... the **** starts to add up :-) That's what she's been pointing out recently. Then there's insurance and the payment. Dang, man, this is getting costly. Worst part is I agreed to not buy ANY beer if she'd let me buy the bike. I don't go through much to begin with, but fortunately she doesn't notice a 12 pack showing up every couple a three weeks.

 

4 inches over was the "standard" many moons ago. More than that without raking and it sat a wee bit high, looks and handling-wise. The 4-over raised the front just enough to help prevent scraping in turns/curves. Go for it.

 

Yeppers same here. back in 72, I put 6'' over tubes on the front of my 71 XLCH..

still rode solid, around 100 was the fastest I ever had her. didn't have a speedo.

This is the only pic I still have of her.





I will add the if U do the 6''ers without raking and U ride 2up it will do a Wheelie Soooo freaking easy... Really its Toooo easy..





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