1978flh02a

1978 H-D FLH BUILD: PAGE 4

While all this is going on, a fellow gets to thinking about the cool guys that build their own choppers and the people with money enough to write a check to one of those "dudes" on television. All those really cool bikes get raked, or is that raped? I get so cunfuzed... Rather than go the instabiker easy way out of buying a set of "custom crap" or "drag queen" Chinese made raked trees, I choose to whack the neck off what was once a perfectly good factory four speed frame with a sawzall and weld some USA made steel plates into the mix for an additional seven degrees of rake.

The factory rake angle for a 1978 four speed frame is 30 degrees. Most "experts" say 38 degrees is the maximum safe rake angle. While quite a few custom bikes have a great deal more rake angle than 38 degrees, I personally would not want to be riding one of those things when some suprise on the road forced to you to manuever quickly to avoid getting whacked. So with 30 degrees factory rake, an additional 7 degrees added by the whack and weld process left a whopping one degree of safety margin over maximum safe level. In addition to the rake angle, proper "trail" has to be calculated and set up to match. The rear end of the bike better follow the front end.

All joking aside folks, all of my frame modifications were carefully thought out, researched, sound engineering principles adhered to and very professional methods and equipment were used for the job. Altering a frame is not a joke or job for just anyone with a torch and welder. A lot of planning (that means addition, subtraction and geometry too) was done prior to any work being done, all modifications were tested for proper fit and function, all welds were inspected multiple times and the alignment of everything was verified using the best techinques available. Three professionals double and triple checked the work after completion and sandblasitng but before powdercoating so no possible problems would be hidden under the final finish.

A NICELY RAKED NECK WITH SOME SERIOUS BURLY GUSSETS

After all the chopping, welding, grinding, more welding, more grinding, beating with hammers, goofy bystanders touching your stuff without asking, it is time for media blasting. Since I wanted a good finish I blasted my frame twice. The first time I used medium grade sand and the second time I hit it with some mixed crushed nut shells (cause sometime you feel like a nut) and the shells really slick up the steel. While you often see them sandblasting on a popular television restoration show with a blaster and a cheap face shield, a proper breathable air filtered helmet is mandatory if you want to live to be an old man. Really fine silica dust inhaled repeatedly will kill you. If your going to blast stuff yourself outside of a closed cabinet, use a real helmet with filtered air. The six c-notes are much cheaper than a new set of lungs. Notice that I taped the top and bottom of the head tube so as to not damage the bearing raceways.

IT ALL LOOKS MUCH BETTER AFTER MEDIA BLASTING

EVERY TAB, MOUNTING BRACKET, WELD IS PERFECT

Every single part of the frame was perfect before any further progress was made. All modicfications were made, factory welds checked, all welds rechecked and any cosmetec blemish corrected. All threads were chased with proper taps to ensure perfect fit with bolts and screws when I got to final assembly. After the major modifications were made, the minor repairs addressed and all details attended to it went on a professional frame table with every frame jig imaginable to be checked that everything was straight and in alignment. This frame at this point was as straight or maybe even straighter than the day it rolled off the fabrication line at the factory back in 1978.

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