raked triple trees

[francozero]

hi, i was wondering if any one here has any experience with raked triple trees on his/her roadstar...
i have ordered a adjustable lowering kit for the rear suspension... and instead of lowering the front suspension, to get the bike straight again, i was thinking of replacing my triple trees with a raked (ca 6°) one...
but before doing all this work, i would like to know how the bike handles with a rake of around 6°...
it could also be less than 6°, as i aim to install a adjustable triple trees, but i think more than 6° might be a problem...
any thoughts on this?..

[brianmac]

I have raked triple trees on my trike. No idea how they would handle on the bike. I can tell you this they're expensive. There was a set for 500 bucks and they went like hotcakes couple weeks back but I priced them and they're in the thousand to $1,100 range and I don't think they're adjustable. I think they just change the top and bottom one and the angle

[francozero]

i know they sell them very expensive... but that's not my problem as we manufacture our own triple trees...
they are fully adjustable too, unlike the ones found on internet... the one you see on the pic is for a harley, but we can make 'm for any bike brand...

[ItBeMe]

I got 7 on my trike and love it. You can get them $750 to $800 all day.

[francozero]

we manufacture our own triple trees... way cheaper than that, and fully adjustable too... from 0° to whatever rake you like...

[roadiemort]

No need to rake the front end with a stock 16" wheel on the front, you can't lower the bike enough and still keep it rideable anyway.

[francozero]

true... but i like to keep my bike parallel with the road... i don't like the rear being lower than the front... that's why i go for a raked triple trees...
i would like a 18" or 19" front wheel, but i couldn't find one that's affordable... don't wanna pay like €1000 for a wheel that will fit a roadstar and has 2 brake disks...

[roadiemort]

So why did you even ask the question if you already have the answers?

[francozero]

roadiemort i don't have the answers...
the question was how a roadstar handles with a triple trees with a rake of around 6°...
i don't wanna go true all the trouble of making a triple trees, dismantling the whole front end, just to find out it handles like sh*t... that's why i'm looking for some one who has (or had) one on his roadstar...
PS: i use the stock frame without any adjustments...
the 1st pic shows my bike the way it is now...
the 2nd pic shows how i want it to be by next summer... not exactly like it, but close and with more rake...

[Brad_G]

Looking at the pic of your bike in it's current configuration, what are the brackets for the passenger pegs?

[Father Pobasturd]

Don't mind Roadiemort...he can't help it.

[francozero]

Brad_G these are extension that lower the passenger pegs... my ol' lady is just a little over 1,5m... she couldn't get her foot high enough to mount... and it gives her more leg space once she's on the seat...
if i'm not mistaken, they're from highway hawk...

[Shores]

I had a rake on my 72 Honda rigid frame with a 12-in over front end and it handled okay but was definitely not for the twisties. The more you rake the front, the harder it will be to turn sharp in twisty and sweeping corners. Simple physics. you will see that a lot of Harleys have less rake than our road Stars and handle very good in the twisties. It depends on how you ride. If you're just doing freeways, then no problem. But if you do a lot of twisties and sweepers, you will notice reduced performance.

[francozero]

hi, thanx for the reply...
i used to ride a honda cb750 with rigid frame and 16" overstock girder front end... never had a problem with the handling either... but then again, the rake was in the neck of the frame... not in the triple trees...
what i really want to know is how a roadstar would handle with a raked triple trees... the roadstar is a heavier bike than a cb750 honda, so it might make a difference... especially with some extra rake

[francozero]

Father Pobasturd don't worry, i don't get nervous easy... i just think he didn't understood the question...

[roadiemort]

I understood perfectly, YOU forgot to mention that you were bobbing the bike, why do you think I was talking about your bike being stock, carry on, you too FP.

[francozero]

roadiemort ok my bad...
but imo it doesn't matter if i was to bob the bike or not... stock frame is stock frame... which fender, seat and fuel tank is on there doesn't make any difference in the handling... but maybe i should've mentioned it...

[roadiemort]

You just don't get it, your stock bike was setup for 2 up riding, so ya big difference.

[francozero]

roadiemort no i don't get it... i've been building bikes for over 45 years, but i don't get it...
wtf has this anything to do with a raked triple trees man...
do you ride a roadstar with a raked triple trees?.. if yes, tell me how it handles... if no, stop wasting my time dude...

[roadiemort]

If your to dense to realise I was giving advice on a stock road star then lets just leave it there, do what you want and enjoy your day. I had a 21" on mine without raked front end and it handled fine.

[brianmac]

francozero, 45 years? thats all? hahaha . whats your spin on roadstars(wildstars), u across the pond?

[francozero]

across the pond?.. dunno what you mean...
i've been building bikes from before i even had a drivers licence (16 - 17)... started with 50cc bikes and worked my way up from hondas to harleys...
i'm 66 now and i'm still doin' the same ol' thing...
i'm just not used to personalizing bikes with the stock frame... we have our own frames, that can be used for just about any bike in existance...
we took over a dutch company called "lowtail" and all their patents... their frames (without engine mounts), triple trees, front-ends, etc. were all already MOT-ed in holland... so we are free to install any engine mounts and necks we like in them...
but that's a whole different thing than working with a stock frame... and i want to keep my frame stock. so i can go back to the stock configuration if i want/need to...
so like i said before, i like to know how a roadstar, with stock frame and raked triple trees, handles before i start messing with it... i don't live in belgium/holland anymore as i moved to spain in 2007... therefor i don't have all the tools and working space anymore... i have to do all the work in the underground parking space, which is quite a hastle...
that's why i want to know some results before i start the job... if the handling is crap, than i simply want lower the rear end and bob the bike from there...
but ofcourse i would prefer to have the low stance on my bike... it just looks better... and to get the frame parallel with the road again, i would lengthen the fork leggs a couple of inches and intall a adjustable raked triple trees...

[DEEPHATE]

He meant in Europe vs USA "across the pond "

[tapeit59]

I have the raked trees from Champion! They allowed me to keep all my stock hardware! I also have 4 inch fork extensions! It does change the handling. I have had it this way for so long, I dont remember what it was like before.

[francozero]

thanx... that's exactly what i wanted to hear...
i'll go for the raked triple trees then...
winter is starting over here in andalucia, with some periods of rain... so i'll start working on it after the holidays... should be finished by next summer...
thanx for the info...

[BubbaKahuna]

How it handles will depend entirely on what front wheel you use, fork length and how far your rear is dropped.
There is no specific answer for everyone using a 6 degree rake.

Use a rake-trail calculator to calculate your desired rake at the triple.
You'll need to measure your wheelbase, fork length, front & rear wheel size and how much drop you have at the rear.
To handle the same as a stock Roadstar you'll want 32 degrees adjusted rake with a little over 4" of trail.

More than 5.5" and it will feel heavy in turns and will fight you doing anything but going in a straight line.
Less than 3" and it will turn super easy but will feel very unstable at anything close to freeway speed.

Resouces:

http://www.thompsonchoppers.com/rake...il-calculator/

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/rakeandtrail.html

https://www.datamc.org/downloads/mot...il-calculator/

###

Download a calculator (XLS spreadsheet) :

https://www.racetech.com/download/TrailCalculator.xls

[francozero]

thanx man... really appreciate this awesome tut...
i'll try to keep it at max. 4° then... the rear lowering kit is adjustable, and so is the triple trees...
what matters most to me is that the frame bottom stays parallel with the road... so with a rake of max. 4°, i'll probably don't have to lower the rear end more than 1"... and that should give me enough height for any speed bumps along the way...

[brianmac]

Wow did he leave anything out?