Problematic Chopper Stance?

[Jkunk]

Hey, just bought 8" over springer and am digging the really high and sketchy stance. I always liked the look of long front ends kicking a bike back and high, but see so little of them that way. I got a couple questions, Is there long term potential for poor engine lubrication and therefore potential transmission damage? And are there any tips or tricks for better engine performance having such a high stance? I havent had to adjust the float bowl or anything, she runs fine. the bike is my profile picture. Any info helps. thanks

[TriNortchopz]

How about a couple of straight on side pics?

[7and7is]

my personal preference would be that the frame be parallel to the ground (each to his own though), not sure if i am using the right terminology, but longer rockers with a sharper angle skyward would drop the frame down (similar to a sugar bear front end) and make the engine more level, though i dont think the stance of your bike is hurting or starving your engine of oil, but probably hurting handling performance, allthough i feel as you adapt to your bike you get faster as you learn your machine.

[Luky]

Most important is what is your trail measurement now?

[Tattooo]

Most important is what is your trail measurement now?

I don't believe that matters now... It's not going to be good.... He likes the bike as it is...

Not really any performance problems with it up in the air like that.....

If it's running fine as it is ride it....

[Luky]

How about a couple of straight on side pics?

Yes ,I would like to see a straight on side shot too.
Laying on the ground to take the picture makes no sense. Who wants to see the bottom?
Harley Davidson does that too. I guess it is a Millennial thing?

[farmall]

I would eventually replace the ancient (unless it's a lot younger than it looks) front tire/tube/rim strip and check spoke tension though.

[SamHain]

Yes ,I would like to see a straight on side shot too.
Laying on the ground to take the picture makes no sense. Who wants to see the bottom?
Harley Davidson does that too. I guess it is a Millennial thing?

Lousy millennials and their camera doo hickeys!

[BuddhahoodVato]

Hey, just bought 8" over springer and am digging the really high and sketchy stance. I always liked the look of long front ends kicking a bike back and high, but see so little of them that way. I got a couple questions, Is there long term potential for poor engine lubrication and therefore potential transmission damage? And are there any tips or tricks for better engine performance having such a high stance? I havent had to adjust the float bowl or anything, she runs fine. the bike is my profile picture. Any info helps. thanks

Naw, the stance will not affect the performance any. If it's elect start, stand it straight up when it kicks over, same ass when you kick start. Enjoy, practice your parking lot driving.

[Jkunk]

bitchin thanks

[shovel625]

Hey, just bought 8" over springer and am digging the really high and sketchy stance. I always liked the look of long front ends kicking a bike back and high, but see so little of them that way. I got a couple questions, Is there long term potential for poor engine lubrication and therefore potential transmission damage? And are there any tips or tricks for better engine performance having such a high stance? I havent had to adjust the float bowl or anything, she runs fine. the bike is my profile picture. Any info helps. thanks

At that angle nothing will be bothered. bitchin stance btw..... i know most everyone will hate this statement but build a bike that you love to walk up to and look at everyday. My grandpa had a mid 90s Honda Goldwing, and damn it that thing was comfy as hell, performed pretty decent for its size, but i hate the way they look. It would probably run away from my ironhead and shovelhead choppers on the highway, its way more comfy, but i love the way my choppers look and thats what i like to build bike for. Most stock bikes are not appealing to me, unless we are talking old knucks, pans and 40s indians.

[shovel625]

Yes ,I would like to see a straight on side shot too.
Laying on the ground to take the picture makes no sense. Who wants to see the bottom?
Harley Davidson does that too. I guess it is a Millennial thing?

makes no sense other than its visiually appealing from an alternate angle

[Tricky13]

Hey, just bought 8" over springer and am digging the really high and sketchy stance. I always liked the look of long front ends kicking a bike back and high, but see so little of them that way. I got a couple questions, Is there long term potential for poor engine lubrication and therefore potential transmission damage? And are there any tips or tricks for better engine performance having such a high stance? I havent had to adjust the float bowl or anything, she runs fine. the bike is my profile picture. Any info helps. thanks

Well i have known people have trouble with oil scavenging due to the angle, and if it too acute then the crank is liable to sit in the resulting oil bath and cause drag and maybe make it smoke, but other than the fact that the center of gravity is raised and the fork steering angle will induce flop and instability at certain speeds your fine

You can tell i am not keen on the look i'm sure, give me a bottom frame tube that parallel to the road any day, but as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and judging by your photo your a Picasso fan.

[farmall]

Ride.

If like, keep.

If bored, change.

[38ulh]

I like it. Very 70s, I would keep it as is and recapitulate. Something else will break before you have an oiling issue.

[Tattooo]

I like it. Very 70s, I would keep it as is and recapitulate. Something else will break before you have an oiling issue.

Yep, and this is Real 70s....

[MOTher]

A lot of guys these days seem to worry a lot about having too much trail and poor slow speed handling. Back in the day, we rode bikes with lots of trail. Sure, the front end wanted to flop at slow speeds, but unless you had really skinny arms or really short narrow handlebars, it wasn't a problem. You got used to it. If you rode every day, the bike still became an extension of the rider, and riding it felt very natural. And, a lot of rake actually makes the bike more stable at higher speeds.

As for oiling, the level of oil in the lower end will rise to the level of the sump standpipe. With a lot of tilt, that may cause the flywheels to ride in a puddle of oil. This is something that might cost you a couple of tenths at the dragstrip, so you'd want to avoid it on a racebike, but on a street bike you won't even notice.

One area where a stance like this could cause problems is that an exaggerated lean when parked will put a lot of strain on your kickstand. I broke one on the bike pictured below, pic taken 1973 I think. I replaced it with another stocker, and ended up selling the bike sometime later without having broken the second one. The bike below had a 10 over fork and 1/2" of rake. (back in the day we didn't call out the rake dimension in degrees, but in the size of the piece we put in the bottom neck webbing after we'd cut the neck from the bottom up and bent it back with a big bar.)

I agree with farmall, if you like it keep it and enjoy, if/when you get bored with it, change it.

[Davestune]

i went down at about 10 miles an hour in front ofa cop in the winter of 79 on my triumph chopper , front wheel got hung up in the trolley tracks in boston LOL
damn skinny tire chopper

[farmall]

i went down at about 10 miles an hour in front ofa cop in the winter of 79 on my triumph chopper , front wheel got hung up in the trolley tracks in boston LOL
damn skinny tire chopper

That's kinda like eating out a lot lizard after a crackhead gangbang then complaining her panties were the wrong color. Tires ain't saving shit on wet rail and living in the Northeast means you volunteered for a five-minute riding season.

Fortunately, our local representative can assist your final relocation to a place with better weather. You can even bring your trench box in case you romance my former mother in law and don't want to smother beneath a guntslide.