Wide Glide or regular(narrow) Preference? - Page 2 : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

Don Camillo · 10-19-2008, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardluk1

Is the new 09 dyna stiffer, None of use know and probably don't care. ITs heavyer.

It`s heavier (around 100lbs?), and the frame is better than on "old" FXD. I have (or rather my father has) 07 WG - bike handles great, difference beteen FXR and new Dyna is minimal but I feel FXR handles and corners better.

pwmorris · 10-19-2008, 12:18 PM

Personal choice:
If you want the looks that go with a wider looking bike go wide-
If you want a lighter better handling bike in corners and at high speed, go with the way Harley designed it-Narrow glide. I have owned both-I prefer narrow.

hardluk1 · 10-19-2008, 03:44 PM

I am done with the latest and greatest that hd has. To darn many great older bikes out there and each week i see atleast one low mile fxr in a paper called Iwanna. You know one more thang about dynas, they have shorter seating area. His old bike has more front to back room than my last e-glide. I really wanted to do a (upgraded) frontend when i bough my bike but be cause of money a just did new WORKS springs and it now is very supriseing how well a little 35mm can work . I will keep it. better than any hd i have road.

ocbishop · 10-21-2008, 05:44 PM

I should note that the handling issue that I believe that the narrow changeover would help with is in higher speeds. i have noticed the bike is not as tight in higher speeds of 80-90 MPH... and my wrench was the one that had put me onto the potential cause.

9192champs · 11-02-2008, 08:37 PM

I put a custom wide-glide front end and a 21" wheel on my 1986 FXR, and I love it. I use the bike mostly just for cruising, and there is a lot of traffic in my area. For the kind of riding that I do, the wider front end actually seems to make the bike more stable and comfortable. This could also have something to do with the fact that I am 6'4" and weigh over 200 lbs. With the original narrow-glide front end, the bike always seemed to feel a little too small and light for me... I felt kind of top-heavy riding it... if that makes any sense.

If you do decide to go with a wide-glide front end, I would recommend going with an aftermarket one, since most OEM wide-glide triple trees need to be notched for clearance if used on a FXR frame. Aftermarket FXST-style trees, such as the billet ones made by Ultima, usually fit fine without such modification. All that you need to do with them is to grind the fork stop tabs off your FXR frame and get an internal fok stop.

POPS87FXR · 11-05-2008, 09:35 AM

When the wagon wheel style wheel for the baggers came out in 2000 I fell in love with them and went through a lot of plans in my head on how I could run one, without going wide, turns out there was no practical way, so I put it on hold.

Then I found out that Custom Cycle Engineeering made a 39mm wide conversion that matches all of the stock tree demensions (except width)

So thats how I did it, I now have the wagon wheel with the sealed bearings, however IMO any time you go wide put a fork brace on it.
I could no longer run a front wheel speedo drive, but I have never really liked speedometers anyway, that's why I left the gas gauge on it.

I am also using legs and loweres from an 03 FXDX, what I found is that my lowspeed handling improved and high speed is fantastic.

lucille · 12-21-2008, 07:07 PM

Hi all, Just my 2$ worth...Ran a stock 39mm narrow for many years, with a variety of internals, and always a fork brace--good setup for a medium weight rider who likes to carve it up once in awhile..This setup with the fork brace will flex when ridden hard. Went to a Ceriani inverted mid-glide a few years ago, and was quite suprised at how it stiffened up the bike. This is without a fork brace. Would like to run a fork brace but haven't figured out how to do it yet. The mid-glide came from Italy, 54mm black tubes, and all your narrow glide stuff (fender,headlight,etc) will bolt up......Great web site!! Thanks That emaciated man with the carrot stuck in his ear, may not be eating properly....

LowRiderCustom · 12-21-2008, 07:39 PM

If you give me some measurements I can make a fork brace for you out of aluminum. I've made some parts for a local guy who builds custom Harleys and he likes my work.

lucille · 12-22-2008, 12:55 AM

Thank you for your kind offer LowRiderCustom. With conventional HD forks, the fork brace is static with the fender and tubes. On inverted, the fender is static with the sliders.....That's a great looking bike you have there......

LowRiderCustom · 12-22-2008, 01:25 AM

I guess I need to learn more about inverted forks, lol Thanks for the comment on my bike, and I thank the guy I bought it from for making it look so good.

econnor · 12-22-2008, 09:14 PM

Trying to teach a pig to sing annoys the pigs and wastes your time.

Ed

BIGBOPPA · 12-26-2008, 01:12 AM

Hi OCBishop,
I have an '86 FXRS, when I got it, it had original front end, with 35mm forks, but I put aftermarket wideglide trees on it, but still with the original 35mm forks. To me it is the best of both worlds, as I didnt change rake, fork length, wheel size or anything else that would affect the steering geometry, so handling is completely unaffected, but I like the look of the wider front end. A win/win situation in my books.

bigboppa

FXR-82 · 12-26-2008, 07:46 AM

I have an 82 FXR Superglide II, I bought it 3rd hand with a Marzocchi front end (off like a 1982 Ducati or something) and a set of custom made mid glide trees which seems a good setup.

I was able to source a set of 1986 FXRC 35mm Narrow Glide trees and a set of brand new stock 35mm Dual disc showa forks for an 84-86 FXR, new 35mm Screamin' Eagle fork brace, new factory H-D 84-86 FXR axle.

I'm going to change the factory springs to a set of Racetech springs for a 90kg person.
I have a new 13 spoke silver mag that I'm hoping the entire setup will work with the Vivid black p/n 44100-95 later model discs.

I've also got a new set of 87-94 FXLR 39mm trees and will build another front end from that.

I'd like to think i'm going to be reasonably happy with the way the 35mm front end will end up handling whilst trying to retain a neat factory look in the process.

I don't know that I'd ever put a wide Glide front end on any FXR of mine but that's just a personal choice. I did see a 35mm Wide glide, it looked pretty good, but not sure how it would've handled without a fork brace to stiffen it a little.

plugeye · 12-26-2008, 10:18 AM

imho, a 39mm mid-glide conversion is a good choice for an fxr.
still retains mostly stock appearance with added stability.

econnor · 12-26-2008, 12:53 PM

I agree w/plugeye, mid glide trees w/39mm tubes looks very good and is not often seen. The good mid-glide stuff is made by Custom Cycle Engineering in Oceanside, CA. Good guys and they do retail sales.