Chassis, Frame, Forks and Tires
Title: 1949
pan frame with inline springer
48 to 49 frame neck rake changed? with the 2 over forks, trying to figure out the rake trail prior to getting it together, anyone ever run this combination or know enough about it to give some advice or tips.
I intend on keeping the 16" starhub stock size wheels
Post by Cotten on May 10, 2005, 3:06am
I seem to remember that mid '46 up was the late rake, but my Palmer's is at the shop.
The minute you extend a fork, it becomes trial, error, and personal taste. You won't know if it "works" until you ride it.
Note that an inline springer is easily tweaked to an offset, accompanied by an offset handle bar or top clamp.
The Factory did it: I've read the service tag from a re-worked fork, which the owner had me put back inline!
(PS: I am not taking in chassis accounts, so please don't anyone ask.)
Post by RJ on May 10, 2005, 6:11am
dh
Trail & error, if you don't do your homework
& personal taste, absolutely !
read this thread, might help ya
http://panhead.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=modified&action=display&thread=1074634150
Post by don fron on May 15, 2005, 11:10pm
having issues with login, I requested my password as it was not letting me in and the password they sent me does not work as well... so this may appear as a guest which I am not sure what that does either...
I appreciate the repsonse, and have read the link you supplied, I have my 16 inch rims and star hubs but they need rebuilt and respoked....then axles and spacers adjusters etc... so I am hoping that after my b-day in september it is rolling and I can begin measuring out the front end to see what it is at.
Post by harleydoug on Jan 8, 2006, 4:03am
As I have been told, the '48 and '49 frames were the same rake. The factory built about 750 springers in '49 at the special request of police departments who wished to use their sidecars with the '49 bikes. These were specially numbered with a "P" behind the VIN. It seems that the new Hydra-GLide didn't handle well with the sidecar. The neck rake was changed with the straight leg frame to fix this problem.
This info came directly from a police model service bulliten from 1949 that I read back when I was a kid. Yes, I looked a long time to find a '49 "P" bike.
The vibrations set up in the springer is actually harmonics in the frame, and can be dealt with by putting a vibration bar into the sidecar loops
Re: 49 pan frame with inline springer
HarleyDoug!
You are implying that there were either no civilian sidecar machines sold with a springer, or that all civilian hacks were sold with HydraGlide forks.
Either scenario is hard to imagine, especially in the days when dealers were eager to please.
....Cotten
PS: It is commonly accepted that the "problem" was corrected in '50 with the adjustable rake fork, four production years before the straightleg frame. To the best of my experience, the headstock did not change until modern times.
