Raking the frame

This page will show how I raked my sportster. Most Evo sportsters have a welded neck.(Stem tube welded to the down tubes and backbone with gussets welded over the top.) If your bike has a cast neck (Stem tube cast out of metal with the backbone and down tubes stuck in and plug welded) this method will not work.  Most older sportsters have the cast neck. A cast neck can be raked but not the way I did mine.

I have logged quite a few miles on my bike since I did this rake job and It rides great. Your results, should you decide to rake yours, my not be the same. Allot will depend on the quality of job done, the precautions taken and the welders skills. This is a major undertaking and anyone considering raking a bike should do a lot of research. It will make your bike handle differently. There is some very good information at J&P Cycles website.  http://www.jpcycles.com/shop/express4/techtalk.asp

If you have made up your mind that this is what you want to do, you will need at the minimum the following equipment.

1. A large assortment of standard hand tools including Torx sockets, allen wrenches, standard combination wrenches, standard deep and shallow sockets, flat and phillips screwdrivers.
2. A motorcycle jack.
3. A standard automotive floor jack
4. A sawsall or portaband.
5. A small die grinder with cutoff wheel and deburring bits
6. Mig welder capable of high amperage ( I would not use a 110 Volt unit)
7. Another helpful tool would be a plasma cutter for cutting the gussets, but a steady hand could cut them with a oxy-acceteline torch.
8. Bench grinder.
9. Welding blankets
10. Tape measure
11. Protractor(the plastic half circle thingy you used in grade school)

12. Torpedo level

Some other items you will need. Masking tape, bearing grease, wire ties, aluminum foil, a few blocks of wood  and a real good friend.(case of liquid refreshments for those who do)

I started by putting the bike on a stand. Disconnected the battery (this is very important -several electrical items have to be removed and welding on any vehicle with the battery connected is a NO-NO.) With the bike off the ground I drained and removed the tank. Removed the handle bars, headlamp, and front tire and disconnected the front brake caliper from the fork. If you are running a stock headlamp the controls on the bars plug up inside the headlamp housing. If you do not want to pick each wire out of the electrical connector leave the housing dangling at this point.I then Removed the stem nut and loosened the fork tube bolts on the upper triple tree.This is the point where the good friend comes in. Someone has to support the fork tubes and lower tree while the upper is removed. Under the upper triple tree there is a dust cover and upper stem bearing. I replaced these but you can reuse them (stick them in a zip lock bag to keep the grit out) Then I slid the forks out from the bottom.STOP...My bike and the motorcycle jack were tipping over backward. This is where the automotive jack came in. I stuck it under the rear tire. I replaced the lower bearing and dust shield on my bike because I changed to wide glide trees at the same time that I did the rake. If I were not replacing the trees I would have left the bottom bearing alone. At this point I pulled every thing left dangling back over the motor and tied it up with tie wraps. If you look at the pic you can see that the neck is bare at this point.

Now the fun part, using a sawsall (portaband my have worked better) I made a cut from the bottom towards the backbone. Cover up every thing that's aluminum or chrome because hot sparks and welding splatter will leave marks. I used masking tape to lay out the cut line. Be careful not to cut into the steering stem tube (see my crude illustrations)

I cut all the way to halfway of the backbone tube, staying close to the stem tube but not getting into it. While I was cutting I ground off the neck lock tab because it would not work after the rake job...and it was in my way.

Once I had the cut made I re-assembled the fork tubes with my new wide glide trees and temporarily reinstalled back on the bike.(yes it all has to come off again.) Then I temped the front wheel back on, brakes are not nesassary. I stuck my bars up too. While my friend held the bike steady I pulled on the fork tubes..... until my hemroids ran out.....there has to be a better way. A little brainstorming and we came up with the idea of letting the pressure off the jack and letting gravity do the work. Hey, that worked good. If you have biceps the size of beer kegs you can probably get the front end out there with the bike still on the jack. I'm just a little guy.

To measure the amount of rake you have at this point is easy. Take a protractor and lay the flat side against the stem tube, then take a torpedo level and put the bottom corner against the center of the level. Tilt the level until the bubble is center, then read where the level crosses the arc on the protractor. This is the degree of rake. In my case 38 deg. A little push down....Now I'm at 40deg. STOP. For me anyway. Most stock sportsters have around 29.6 deg of rake from the factory depending on the model. I would suggest no more that 40deg. To much rake will make your bike hard to turn at slow speeds.

Once I had the neck where I wanted it I temporarily welded some metal tabs over the pie shaped area that used to be my cut line.(metal tabs=big washers) Now, I "eyeballed" for any twist in the stem tube....Looked good to me.

Back up on the jack to remove the fork tubes and triple trees again.WAIT...Lets test fit the tank for clearance....Cool, every thing clears.Removed the forks/trees. Time to make the donuts..er..ah..gussetts I mean. The gussetts will fill in the pie shaped area. I used thin cardboard to make templates. Made a template for the bottom too. I used flat stock about a 1/4 in thick to make the gussets. I had access to a plasma cutter for this but they could be cut with a blue wrench (torch) I guess. Test fit...Grind....Test fit....Grind...Looks good to me. Bevel the edges of the gussets and the edges of your neck to facilitate a good weld while you have the grinder out.

If your not a 100% about your welding ability get a pro to do the actual welding. Some welding companys will come to you. Check the Yellow pages. I'm a decent welder and I'm too stupid to be afraid so I welded my own.... Maybe I can get my buddy to take the first ride? Nope he wont do it... Cranked up the heat on the welder.

Once all the gussets were welded into place I ground the welds smooth. A little touch up welding it fill in the low spots. Ground it smooth one more time. Now I had it ready for a light coat of body filler to cover my grinding marks. ready for prime and paint. That story later. For reassembly refer to a shop manual for torq specs and such.

Thanks to my good friend Jamie(a pic of his bike is on my home page) for helping me with the rake job, it's NOT a one man job. It can be completed (to the primer stage) in a Saturday though.

HERE IT IS IN PRIME AFTER THE STRECH
GOIN FOR THE TEST RIDE