HARLEY GIRDER FRONT END SHOCK FULL
Unfortunately most don't fit in between the narrow constraints of chopper forks to well since the diameter of the coils are simply to large to clear the steering neck and the fork cross-members.Ī full eighty percent of all of the effort you will put into building your Girder forks will be in selecting an appropriate coil-over shock (or shocks) and then deciding on the ideal mounting points for that particular shock between the top yoke and the lower fork cross-member. Even back then most builders realized that the friction shocks sucked to say the least so when newer hydraulic shocks appeared on the scene they were quickly adapted.įortunately nowadays we've got dozens of coil-over shock combinations to choose from. In the old days Girders had a central spring, usually progressively wound, and a pair of friction shocks mounted on either side of the lower pivot points. Here is some info from Chopper Handbook on springs/shocks for girders: Just pull the shaft out to full extension and measure center of eye-to-eye, no need to reassemble.
The first number is the weight (in pounds) needed to compress the spring by an inch (lighter riders needing lower-rated springs, heavier riders needing higher-rated), and the second is the travel length of the spring (in inches)." "Spring weight: Springs for coil shocks are rated using two numbers, eg 450 X 2.25. One girder I had before (not P&P) probably had a small dirtbike shock - not a variable-rate spring. I think your idea of using a press to test it is a good one - measure pressure every half-inch until full compression, and like Doug said - be careful. Hard to tell from your photos, but was that spring a variable rate - coils closer together at one end? Need to take that into consideration when compressing it to test for spring rate. The preload I have is set at the softest and it rode great, never felt a need to adjust it. What is your overall shock (center of eye-to-eye) length? The pivot arms do not need to be level - as that would vary depending on the neck rake - but the upper and lower pivot points on the girder legs should be the same distance apart as the pivot points on the upper and lower trees to prevent any binding - so spacers may be required above/below the neck to get the same spacing between the pivot points (8-5/8"). It doesn't look like yours can be rebuilt - no top nut on the body. It seems as though the shock I have is not an original P&P item - different spring OD and wire diameter, the preload adjustment has round holes, not notches, there is a 'segmented' nut(three notches like a pie) on the top of the body for rebuildability - with a capital 'R' on that, but no other obvious markings or part numbers. But I saw some scary stuff when using high capacity presses. FYI: A surprising amount of liquid comes out of a Baloney or Ham sandwich with cheese when under extreme pressure. One of my coworkers pissed us off with some unsafe pranks and payback was we smashed his lunch into his metal coffee cup with the press. At my old work we had presses that would go up to 30 tons. IE: 1/2" compression = 250 lbs or something like that.Ĭapt Obvious here, Please be very careful compressing springs, use a safety shield or some sort of safety retention.
Doesnt matter if its 1/2 Inch or an inch but find a spec that others can use against a scale. All anyone needs is a definable and repeatable measurement. I think a press is better suited as a stiff spring would be hard to measure in a Drill press without breaking it. I was thinking a Drill press which I DO have here (2 of them)īut it depends on amount of resistance. I dont have one here yet, (On my todo list and HaborFreight has some affordable ones on sale frequently), But my wife has presses at her work, Your idea of using a press sounds like a great idea to me. Several websites on frame geometry, rake, trail and all that jazz.
HARLEY GIRDER FRONT END SHOCK FREE
Most British has between 10" and 13" inchs eye to eye free length on the bodies FYI.Ĭant tell you about the pivot plates as I dont know.
But yes, I can look if I had specs for something similar. There is a seal at the top of the body and likely its already toast, but if not it will be soon. That shaft looks toast, if it were super rare and valuable it could be ground and industrial hard chromed and finish machined back to spec, but thats improbable here.