Opinion - Hard Tail Chassis?

[confab]

Every bike I ever owned had a suspension on both ends. Dirt bikes to street, I've never ridden a hard tail and I honestly don't know where I even could? I can rent a new Harley if I want. The dealer in Florence KY advertises them proudly.. But not a hard tail. It is a mystery.

How bad do they beat you up? Do they tend to get squirrley with wet or sand in a curve? How about 2 up riding, does your SO' complain?

Any thoughts generally on building one?

[BuddhahoodVato]

Why build the frame, buy one.
Ever heard os a old Schwin bike, same ride.

[confab]

Buying it would be the plan.. And I haven't ever ridden a 600lb Schwinn? I barely remember the one I had 30 years ago.

I was clicking around youtube and the Mrs. saw this bike and she loves it.. I like it. But, it is a hardtail and I have no experience with them whatsoever.

But that is a damn cool bike.

[Tattooo]

How bad to they beat you up? Do they tend to get squirrley with wet or sand in a curve? How about 2 up riding, do your SO' complain?

It really depends on how good of shape your in and how old you are............... But there isn't any better time than now to get one.... 5 Years from now might be to late...........

I've been riding a rigid since 1974 and they don't handle any different than any other bike as far as I'm concerned...........

Hell yea a SO' will complain............. A girlfriend never did..............

My first bike below...........

[confab]

Now that is an old school chopper..

I'm in pretty good shape. I have a physical aspect to the job, which helps.

I dunno? All my friends are buying baggers so their SO's will ride with them and they're all you see here. Nothing like that, ever.. Or the bike in the video, above.

OTOH? The Mrs. has her own bike to ride.. So, maybe it doesn't matter?

This guy has a really good start on a cool looking bobber. Something like that is very, very close.

http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54286

I see rolling chassis kits with MSO (Which I will absolutely, positively need in this state) in the low 2K range..

Add my drivetrain and it is a bike.

[JBinNC]

Building a klean and kool hardtail ain't easy. Because they are small and simple, each piece matters, and there is almost no place to "hide" anything. I think the challenge of building it would appeal to you. Rigids are the classic, quintessential chopper. You would enjoy riding it, if nothing else, for the novelty of it.

What, are you still here? Get on with it!

Jim

[1954bmw]

Every bike I ever owned had a suspension on both ends. Dirt bikes to street, I've never ridden a hard tail and I honestly don't know where I even could? I can rent a new Harley if I want. The dealer in Florence KY advertises them proudly.. But not a hard tail. It is a mystery.

How bad do they beat you up? Do they tend to get squirrley with wet or sand in a curve? How about 2 up riding, does your SO' complain?

Any thoughts generally on building one?

Confab, if you are looking at renting from Thorobred, you must be close to Ohio, where do you live??? I've got a Santee hardtail, I live in Delhi and GE is about 25 miles away, I'm getting old and if I rode to work, I was ready to get off when I got there. Mine has a wideglide front end and has a little flop to it, but once rolling you can take your hands off the bars. Frame mounted softail seat, forward controls.

[rockman96]

Rigid frames. Think of it as the biggest fucking mini bike in the world. They are awesome, you feel everything... You are are connected and one with the road. It's like living a George Thorogood song... you literally feel the beat in the road. A good, old style Rock n Roll song. And if you are hot rodding, the difference is that when you hit it, a suspension will squat and then go... A rigid will just launch (as long as you have traction.)

This being said, it will also wear quickly on you (and especially anyone on the pillion). If you are getting some age on you, only consider it for short runs, or in-town riding. But seriously, there is nothing else like it.

You can smooth it out to be tolerable with large sidewall tires, running lower air pressure... And maybe a sprung seat. At the end of the day if you have bad roads, hitting potholes is is gonna hurt whether you are on a suspension or a hard tail.

[RokDoctor]

I’ve built and ridden a dozen or so hard tailed bikes. Like the guys above I run a springer up front and sprung seat. I’ve had to experiment with which springs, but once the right ones are on, it’s the most comfortable ever.

[confab]

Interesting.. Thanks to everyone who replied.

I was thinking about Mickey Rourke's bike. It is a swingarm FXR, but it has struts instead of shocks. I may try that this spring and try it out myself and see.. Probably as close as you can get without actually hardtailing it and rolling the dice.

[confab]

Confab, if you are looking at renting from Thorobred, you must be close to Ohio, where do you live??? I've got a Santee hardtail, I live in Delhi and GE is about 25 miles away, I'm getting old and if I rode to work, I was ready to get off when I got there. Mine has a wideglide front end and has a little flop to it, but once rolling you can take your hands off the bars. Frame mounted softail seat, forward controls.

Yeah, actually. I don't remember the name? But it was the HD dealer in Florence KY. Just north of the mall. Used to be a Nissan dealer. They advertise them there.

I'm from Delhi, originally. (Greenwell Avenue) Now I live just across the Indiana border. Near the gambling boat.

[Hoghead]

Interesting.. Thanks to everyone who replied.

I was thinking about Mickey Rourke's bike. It is a swingarm FXR, but it has struts instead of shocks. I may try that this spring and try it out myself and see.. Probably as close as you can get without actually hardtailing it and rolling the dice.

Struts suck unless it's a drag bike. I guess what you are suggesting is fit struts to a swingarm bike to see if you can dig it?
OK.. but I love my rigids for the light weight , and a strutted fxr ain't that light.
Rigids save weight elsewhere, factor in the absence of a starter motor, no shocks , a lighter frame , smaller battery, and you can understand why my bar hopper shovel takes off like a bagsnatcher.

[Tattooo]

It is a swingarm FXR, but it has struts instead of shocks. I may try that this spring and try it out myself and see.. Probably as close as you can get without actually hardtailing it and rolling the dice.

Nope there is no comparison in the two........... But if your looking for the easy cheap way out have at it.............

[confab]

Nope there is no comparison in the two........... But if your looking for the easy cheap way out have at it.............

I just wanna see what it is like before I commit..

[farmall]

The fastest, easiest, reversible way to see if you like a rigid is buy an Evo Softail and run struts. That gets you hardtail frame geometry instantly. If no joy, put the shocks back one. Bam, done, quick, easy and dirt cheap. If you fall in love, have the frame hardtailed and you get the classic Harley cast steering neck and hardtail styling while losing a lot of weight. Softails are cheap because they aren't baggers and because purists don't like the side plates supporting the swingarm pivot, but those go away with a hardtail kit. You keep your Harley title and no DMV involvement is required.

Respected fellow 33'ers did thusly. According to TridentCycleSupply Fab Kevin and 47 Industries will mod your frame if needed:

http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50405

I was thinking about Mickey Rourke's bike. It is a swingarm FXR, but it has struts instead of shocks. I may try that this spring and try it out myself and see.. Probably as close as you can get without actually hardtailing it and rolling the dice.

Struts are one way to sample but do NOT duplicate the stretched wheelbase of some hardtails which is what makes some of them bearable.

That thing is fucktarded because it ruins the outstanding (for a Harley, which is like being the fast kid in the Special Olympics) handling, due to the rake change. If wanting that route do Dyna instead since the only reason to ruin an FXR is to copy Mickey and Dynas are cheaper and plentiful. The only difference from a chopping POV is the FXR side covers (not an advantage) which came with the frame so they used them. If you have an FXR the cash from selling it will get you a much better looking machine (I have two but I don't pretend Ugly Glides aren't.)

Both frames look like ass compared to traditional HD frames and the whole point of chopping is to produce a traditional HD or as close as practical, even if a different drivetrain is used. Again, fine to strut for a test.

Make your test a LONG ride with both of you on the motorcycle unless goal is a pure bar bike. Do at least 100 miles without dismounting and don't cherrypick smooth roads. If it's gonna be a pure bar bike then it doesn't matter and you can ride another scoot for distance work.