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I’ve got a 33.4 front end that I’d like to run dual disc brakes on but I haven’t seen it done before and I’m wondering if I’ll need to fabricate the mounts myself or if there’s already ones out there I can buy?
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You'll need to make those and determine what wheel will fit between the fork tubes while clearing the calipers. The old Hurst-Airheart go-cart calipers were often mounted to plates bolted to the fender mounts.
I can't imagine hating myself enough to fight with all that just to use a front end with nothing at all special about it and whose triple clamps don't look near as good as the 39mm style for which you can still buy new 2000-up sliders from the factory. (Sportster fans should probably hoard a few.)
One inexpensive way to "convert" is sell the old front end, buy a good used single disk front end then add the slider and whatever disk/caliper/wheel combo you like. -
Yeah, you’ve got a great point. I don’t think I hate myself enough either. Thanks for the info about hurst-airheart calipers though, I will give them a look before going the 39mm route.Comment
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They should be considered mostly decorative/retro kool and not actually "good" (early disc brakes are mostly considered "good" by those who never rode anything with modern calipers). Be sure you can still get rebuild kits then buy some as the Hurst-Airheart 150 hydraulic calipers are out of production if you use 150s.
Looks like 175s are also unobtanium now:
175 parts sheet: http://mail.tolomatic.com/archives/p...5_175h_CDB.pdf
Of course after getting working calipers (pads can be milled from larger pads for something else which is a very old cheap trick) then you still get to find a dual disc wheel that fits then figure out the rest. Decide how deeply you're in love with that stock front end. Maybe a dual disc Japanese wheel would fit but then ya have to find one with a rim style and tire size you like and make an axle setup to match.
Airhearts do look nice but I'd still go 39mm so I do. Much love for old HD engines but except purely for looks (the purpose of a chopper after all) a lot of the old stuff went away because it sucked. First the aftermarket dealt with the suckage then as usual the MoCo followed suit.
BTW the top 39mm clamp for rubbermount 39mms doesn't use bushings (which I dislike) and is a drop-on replacement for the older style. 39mm lower trees require a simple 1" wide (or smaller if your gas tank will clear your forks, so you might shave a bit off after welding one on for increased range but it's not necessary) welded tab or internal stops and a bearing cup swap (kits are cheap) to fit the later 1" ID Timken bearings.
39mm forks are sufficiently vintage looking they even look good on Norton Commandos (at least one racer runs them rather than the stock shite) and they're much more finished looking than the old parts they replace.Last edited by farmall; 01-17-2022, 2:09 PM.Comment
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I have a bunch of 39mm stuff laying around, in pretty good shape, if you're interested feel free to shoot me a messageComment
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