The Chopper Compendium

looking good Curt

The server guys may have updated the https certificate, they have been bugging me for a month but I didn't do anything about it.
Right after Al's interview mentioned above our traffic skyrocketed for a couple of days but didn't last long.

Al called me to give me a heads-up. Good interview but the host apparently still does not understand the whole idea of home-building.

Great!!

That looks like fun. Great bikes!!

Nice looking ride.

Remember you and the bike well. Very happy to see both of you back again.

perfect timing. You thought right. On dropped rockers the stay arm should be at the same angle as that formed by the rear leg pivot point and the axle center if at all possible. Forgot to mention that earlier.

Modern wisdom says that he angle of the brake stay arm needs to be at the same angle as the angle between the rear leg and front leg rocker pivot points but I've seen this 'rule' violated so many times that I don't put a lot of stock in it anymore. Having said that I will say based on my experience ...

Most are adjustable for stop angle

The basic external stops (which I much prefer over internals) all follow a similar theme where a horseshoe shaped plate bolts to the top surface of the lower tree and then has studs that extend upwards to intersect the steering neck reinforcement plate.

Under cutting on tubing welds is one of the most common reasons for failure primarily because it reduces the tube wall thickness right in the middle of the HAZ which is the worse possible place.
Hopefully this little gif will illustrate the situation

No problem so long as there is no weld under cutting in the tubing which is a problem seen on springers, girders and leafers.

Back then we were all running much thinner tube legs than we do today so bottom fractures in the HAZ were common. With todays thicker material and Tig welding the heat damage is less.

On the old days some of the guys who were building springers used conventional welding at the connection between the top of the bottom tree but used gunsmith solder at the bottom connection so there was no appreciable HAZ at that location. The perch should be welded top and bottom as it's under sign...