Springer forks and ride height

Hi again...

need a little help with some urgency...

I'm thinking of getting a set of springer for my build, now I know DNA aint great as i've read some reviews, but its what I can afford now and a set came up real cheap and brand new.... and over here in the UK its hard to find springers at a decent price..

Problem is.. im not too sure if the set I found will suit my build?

this is a pic of my bike..



the way its sitting the front is higher than the rear... should it be like this or should it sit straight?
as it is, the rear (where the jack is) is 5,5" from the floor (bike lift) and the front, roughly before where the bend starts sits at 7" from the floor.

If I measure from the bottom tree to the spindle it measures 21,5"

I asked the guy who has the springer forks to measure it and its 22" from bottom tree to spindle.
Looking on a website this means he has a 2 under set. as the website says that for 2 under it measures 22"

But i dont know much about geometry and all that and need to make a decision asap...
if its ok for the bike to sit as it is, then I guess the set he has is alright? as what I have measures 21.5" and the springer he has is 22"?

but if the bike should sit lower at the front then I guess I should really get a 4 under, as the website site says 4 under measure 20"?

thanks for any help!
sorry... 2 very newbie questions from me on the same day!

JP

I forget what the length of mine is (2 under maybe?) but it wasn't low enough for me so I flipped and swapped the rocker arms and gained more drop and a better stance. Just lookin at your bike, my opinion is that if you did that, it'd look close to if not perfect.

My DNA works, it's noisy if you don't lube the springs and rides hard on rough roads, but it's a springer and like I said it works. I look mine over every so often just to make sure it's ok.

Ha right! i see what you mean by flip and swap the rocker arms!
that could work!

im not too bothered of making noise, the bike is not going to be an everyday ride and i won't be riding far on a single day either....so i'll be on top of it in regards to maintenance...

Here's an old pic of my bike so you can see what I mean.

is it ok to do that though?

I mean, that part was made to be used in a certain way and you turned it around... is it still safe?
guess you wont know....

I've put countless miles one it. They've been flipped a majority of the life of the springer. On really hard bumps like a deep manhole or pot hole will bottom them out, but I expect that.

You may not even have to flip yours, but if you want that extra drop you always could.

by how much, roughly, do you think it would drop just by flipping them?

Im just looking at the pic and thinking "shit, that front sits high". and if the springer is the same length as the standard forks I have now, will flipping it make the front low enough?

I would say I got at least an inch. I didn't measure before and after. It sits low to me, would it help if I took measurements for you?

Unfortunatly I don't have any side shots, but here is another thats more recent where you can see the front end better.

yeh, if you could take measurements that would be ideal!

from bottom tree to spindle
and from rear (where your battery is) to ground

as it might be that the rear on yours sits higher than mine, and if so the drop on your front makes it look good, whilst if the rear on mine sits lower, the same drop on the front wont make it look straight... did I explain this right? lol

thanks!
JP

It's 18-3/4" from the bottom of the tree to the center of the axle.
On the underside of the frame where it is flat, the front measures 4-3/4" to the ground, in the rear it's 4-1/2".

damn it!

according to a website I've seen, 18" measurement is the equivalent of 6 under on the springer...

I dont think the ones I'm getting will work on mine...

You should be able to determine what size you need based off your measurements. Post up what measurements you have from the bottom of the front and rear flat area under the motor.

Well... I could do that, or..... try it out!

Just got back home after a 200 mile round trip to get the springer forks

Will try it out later today, but now having it here and measuring and looking at flipping the rockers, I think it will work fine

well... it looks good!!!!

kind of put it together.. had to use the old cups with the old races as I didnt quite get it how to remove the race from the cup... but they are new anyway
put all together, but couldnt get the bottom tree to sit flush against the neck... didnt take much time to figure out why as its all coming out at some point when the frame goes to paint anyway..

Now it measures, to the floor, 5" at the back and 6" at the front, just before the frame starts to bend up...

looks like 2" under the original setup

Looks good to me, flip'em and you should be right where you want.

you might know this as you have the same forks...

I couldnt get the bottom tree to sit flush with the neck.....is it just a case of tightening the but under the top tree, and that will make the stem come up?

i think i tighten it as much as it could go and still it didnt bring the stem up... might have not done it enough though