Front end length

[c4l4f]

I’ve got a Ultiama 200 series rigid frame 34 rake 4 up what’s the longest front end you can put on to get the chopper look but still keep it nimble I have heard 8 over but after that the steering starts tonget affected

[JBinNC]

34° rake and "nimble" are two things that are kinda mutually exclusive. The use of raked trees in combination with the raked neck of the frame will reduce trail, and that will restore some of the "nimbleness" that you are after. Look at a profile picture of the original Captain America chopper, and you can see that the trees are raked quite a bit, in addition to the frame rake. Sugar Bear uses his large rockers on his long springers to reduce trail and achieve the same effect. Those old chopper builders knew what they were doing.

Jim

[TriNortchopz]

...34 rake 4 up what’s the longest front end...

+8 is a good number.

See Paughco chart for 35 degree and 4" up; recommend +4" fork tubes:



as Jim stated, raked trees will reduce trail. A raked neck bearing kit or raked frame neck will increase trail.


a good read here from the CBH:

Rake and Trail

"The term 'trail' is used to describe another variable that greatly affects the handling characteristics of our motorcycles and in fact proper trail is far more important than rake in determining how well any given frame and fork geometry combination handles on the road"

https://chopperbuildershandbook.com/rake.html