Low Rider S/Fat Bob Fork Shims Install from Hairy Customs - RAISE YOUR FRONT SUSPENSION

[@erikmorales7612]

Just did mine! Followed your specs on torque! You're right does feel sketchy torqueing these down. 17 and 18 is right on the money! Thanks brotha!

[@RidinDad]

Happy to help man!! Enjoy the new setup 👊🏻🤘🏼

[@teddyr__]

Awesome dude. Can't wait to see what's in store next for the bike! Keep em coming 🤙🏽

[@RidinDad]

Big plans!! Thanks man!

[@v2cz]

I have just done the installation on my FXLRS 3 days ago, was struggling a bit with the shims :)))) Anyway, like your videos very much, keep it up! BTW, I have done this mod because I am looking for more ground clearance. It can be a placebo (those shims), but anything is better than nothing, I would say ;) I am 6.2 tall and riding mostly sportbikes, this FXLRS is something totally new to me, just for explanation ;) The suspension upgrade is ofcourse on my list as well, but not at the moment..

[@RidinDad]

You’ll love some new rear suspension. Complete change and very tangible! Thanks for watching and ride safe man!!

[@jstockwell73]

You might not notice a difference unless you go back to the tail of the dragon. Have you figure out a kickstand extension yet?

[@RidinDad]

Yeah it might be a placebo. For right now I’m going to try out a old-school extension block from my machinist. Cheaper than most others and I was ordering some stuff from him anyway

[@zavlov]

👊🏻 Cool video I live just north of you and... if you don't turn at least a fan on in that garage I'm not hanging around! I'll be inside enjoying the AC!!

[@RidinDad]

LOL it’s brutal man. Sometimes I’m so hot and sweaty I lose concentration at the end of the videos LOL. And that’s awesome man!!

[@zavlov]

@@RidinDadYour badass. I wouldnt spend a minute with some air!!

[@RidinDad]

LOL it does suck man. No sugar coating it!

[@roadwarrior22]

Hey man I got a front cartridge kit along with the rear suspension and they are recommending I get these shims to balance the bike out. Would this be something you recommend as well? The crash bar I also got may interfere with the fender if I don't. I just hope this doesn't throw off any handling. How are you liking them?

[@RidinDad]

I like it a lot. I don’t realize any negative affect and handling it all and if anything just a slightly raised height as far as clearance and stuff goes. And yes if you raise the rear suspension raising the front will just level it out back to stock. However I don’t think that there’s anything negative about having a lower front than a rear if you just do the rear suspension upgrade. That’s how I ran my bike for many months

[@bikesandbeagles]

Interesting. Seems like it has the potential to cause more issues that it's worth but I'll be interested to hear about your results once you get some miles on it with the shims.

[@RidinDad]

What issues do you think it may cause

[@bikesandbeagles]

@@RidinDad Well, my primary concern would be that your putting a tapered piece of plastic into a tapered gap that's held in place by friction. There is a lot of up and down force on the front of a motorcycle and while I haven't taken a physics class in around 30 years it would seem to me that all that up and down combined with the force applied around it could cause the shim to eventually work its way up. Of course this is complete my thoughts with no science, facts, or anything substantial behind other than my brain so I could be completely wrong but given it's the front of the motorcycle I personally wouldn't be willing to risk it coming to fruition while I was barreling down the side of a mountain :)

[@RidinDad]

The fork pinch bolts clamp on the top with no shims and on the bottom portion of the fork area as well. The shims only are on 1 out of the 3 points of contact essentially. There are tons of guys running these with thousands and thousands of miles. No issues at all.

[@bikesandbeagles]

@@RidinDad Yup I thought about all that before I replied. I highly doubt my concerns would ever be an issue...but my paranoid mind would personally always wonder so it's not a mod I would do but I am looking forward to your feed back in it.

[@RidinDad]

👍🏻

[@coltoncluck2210]

Just curious, do you have any vibration coming from your front end at all?

[@RidinDad]

Not at all

[@jerrycool3034]

Yooooo someone told me this in the fxlrs Facebook page to prevent the fender from hitting the crash bar. Glad to see a how to video 🤙

[@RidinDad]

Awesome man! Should help a little. Raises it about .5-1 inch

[@darthmaul7428]

Interesting, I honestly didn't know this was a thing lol

[@RidinDad]

Now ya do lol

[@The_IronMule]

I have a 2020 fat bob and can’t get the shims to fit without dropping the forks way to low. Maybe because I have ohlins the only thing different is the cap.

[@RidinDad]

Cap won’t make a difference. You can drop the forks down to be level with the caps like I did. How are the shims not fitting? Did you make sure the triple tree and forks were clean and no tiny debris or dirt were in there?

[@The_IronMule]

The fat bob has different triple trees that might be the difference but the fork tubes don’t slide down far enough to use the shims

[@The_IronMule]

This is exactly the same as what I experienced kzbin.info/www/bejne/kImcqKiLoKl3d9U

[@RidinDad]

No my knowledge the fat bob and low rider s have the exact same inverted front end. Those shims are marketed specifically for both bikes. Not just the low rider s. Is it possible you have the shims upside down? I’ve seen them used on several fat bobs. I don’t understand what your issue could be

[@m8greg]

What’s the difference between the fat bob triple trees/front end vs the low rider s

[@chrisvantassel8867]

Do you know the torque specs on the fork bolts?

[@RidinDad]

I posted them in the video did I not?? I even showed myself using the tq wrench and saying what I torqued them to. You’re talking about the pinch bolts right?

[@Rob-co6nv]

Where did you purchase the black forks and all the black hardware? I have a 2014 Fat Bob that I want to blackout the front end.

[@RidinDad]

I did not purchase anything different than stock for the parts you mentioned. If you have a 114 fat bob your front end is identical to mine. We have the same inverted front fork setup

[@Rob-co6nv]

Yes the set up is identical; but not the finish of the forks tubes. My bike came with chrome forks and I did not see the black available through Harley.

[@RidinDad]

It shouldn’t. All the inverted setups should be identical. Especially on the 114 fat bob. Block upper forks and chrome lowers with black covers. If it’s not you need to ask Harley why that is. They don’t even offer a chrome inverted fork setup typically

[@drainmonkeys385]

3m

[@drainmonkeys385]

That’s 3m vinyl wrap.. lots of people are doing that.. takes 3 minutes

[@timparziale8762]

Where do you get fork shims? Can't find them on the internet.

[@RidinDad]

I mentioned in the video I put the link for the product right in the description. It’s right there you just have to click it.

[@timparziale8762]

@@RidinDadThose are the wrong ones. I need different size shims and made out of aluminum

[@RidinDad]

Well you should have specified, otherwise I assumed you were talking about the ones in the video. There is one other company making metal ones but they are for this same exact style of fork tube. What different size would you need? The only reason you need these in general are for the inverted fork style because of how the fork tube tapers at the bottom triple tree Mount

[@timparziale8762]

@@RidinDad A previous owner of my old Honda Magna put smaller diameter fork tubes on it with rubber shims to make up the difference. I'm looking for metal ones to increase the size from 37mm to 41mm.

[@RidinDad]

Yeah I t don’t think you’ll find that ever honestly. You probably have a better chance getting something custom made from a local shop to you or buying a metal pipe and cutting, trimming, and shaving it to what you need.

[@michaelcullen9216]

I have mixed emotions about this mod; to me it only makes sense if you have an extended rear shock (which if I remember correctly you have). Okay so what is the affect of lowering the fork tubes in the triple clamps? It increases rake and trail which has the affect of slowing turn-in / handling (lots of fun to be had researching this BTW, it really is a fun subject). It also shifts weight rearward off the front tire; lessening front wheel grip. This is why sport bikes have less rake and trail (straighter forks). It is also why rider position on a sport bike has the rider further over the front wheel (weight bias). YOU, having an extended rear shock are actually returning the bike to closer to stock. The only real advantage I see with this mod is a slight increase in ground clearance; mostly toward the front of the bike. I doubt it gives you more than a degree or two of lean angle; although I haven't done the calculations so I could be off a little. One of the other things that bothers me about this, although it probably isn't a big deal for most people, is that you end up clamping the fork tube (with the upper triple clamp) directly on the threads of the tube caps. Which means when servicing the forks it would probably be best to loosen the upper triple clamps to avoid deforming the tubes when you remove the caps (with the pressure of the triple clamps). All in all (IMHO) this is more snake oil than anything else. But if it actually does do something; the effect will be to slow handling. That said; slowing handling tends to make the bike feel more stable. The inverse of fast handling (twitchy) being slow handling (stable). To a point anyway, because as I mentioned it also shifts weight back further on the bike meaning less weight on the front tire; meaning less grip. So there is a balance.

[@michaelcullen9216]

Honestly I think you'd gain more benefit from correctly adjusting preload, compression and rebound (if you haven't already).

[@RidinDad]

Yeah I can see where you’re coming from. Correct me if I’m wrong but it shouldn’t affect take at all no? The angle at which the forks are clamped is the same. Just extending one side so the rake degree shouldn’t change right? And yeah I don’t have adjustable preload or damping on the stock forks but that is a future upgrade I’ll be doing. New cartridge kit for sure

[@michaelcullen9216]

@@RidinDad Actually rake is affected; I'll explain. By changing the length of the forks you've changed the angle that the bikes frontend is sitting when compared to the ground. To explain think of it like this; if you put a level on one of your lower frame tubes before you extended the forks you'd get one angle; then by lengthening the forks if you put the level back on that same frame tube you'd get a slightly different angle. Now translate that change up the bike to the steering head and you will see that you have indeed changed the angle of the steering head. Rake is the angle of the steering head in relation to the GROUND. Hope that is understandable, it isn't my best explanation ever LOL. And yes, I understand that you don't have adjust-ability in the front suspension (without adding or subtracting shims anyway) but you do in the rear and it can have a significant effect on handling. :)

[@michaelcullen9216]

By increasing rake you essentially increased turning circle even though you've increased available lean angle. This has the affect of increasing steering effort. More rake makes the bike want to stay upright, hence being more stable. Generally it will make the bike "feel" more stable at speed. Granted the changes being made are relatively minor but the science says they are negative in relation to faster handling. Also as mentioned earlier, this also affects weight bias which can have a significant affect on handling. If you watch a motorcycle racer you'll notice they are rarely in the saddle. They are shifting their weight all around the bike to move the center of gravity (weight bias) where they need it for greatest stability in a given situation (over simplified but I hope you get the point).

[@RidinDad]

I completely understand everything you are saying and I also completely understand the meaning of a lesser or more degree of rake. I talked about it in one of my earlier videos comparing the rate of this bike to the standard Lowrider. So I completely understand the principles behind everything. My understanding was just always that the rate was the degree of the forks in relation to the frame not the degree of the frame and stuff. Which is why suspension changes never changed the rake according to how I understood it. I’m not saying you’re wrong in anyway I’m just saying that’s always how I understood it