Brakes

[cyclobutch]

Bike ('89 1200) came with the standard set up which feels a little unenthusiastic in pulling me up. I found a floating disc, now fitted - which appears to make no difference. Next up I will be trying a two piston brembo calliper (as fitted to the left leg of a Guzzi T3), I'll probably be fooling with bracketry on this for the rest of the summer.

But a question. The forks on this bike feel quite spindly and softly sprung. I'd imagine it wouldn't take much of a brake here to overwhelm them. Should I be investigating beefing them up a bit somehow?

[Bigs]

A 4 piston Hawg Halter with Lyndall Z+ pads and a fork brace. That should do it.
   Bigs

[andyxlh]

Hello!
I agree with Bigs, a fork brace is the way to go. The early sporties had a 35mm fork leg which is very spindly and were discontinued in the '88 year I believe. Yours should have the 39mm fork legs, with the black steel lower triple tree. these are much more sturdy. Make sure you get a fork brace for the correct diameter legs.
You can also get progressive fork springs for the front which help a lot, as does replacing the fork oil with something a bit heavier (or at least not 25% water!!)
Re the brakes, I was looking myself for something a bit better and was considering making up a bracket and fiddling with the line but came on a 2000 up style 4 piston caliper to fit the 84-99 fork legs on ebay. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chrome-Front-4-Piston-Brake-Caliper-1984-99-Harley-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b094c63dQQitemZ140401493565QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
For $130 it looks like it would save a whole lot of hassle and is a lot cheaper than the billet aftermarket calipers I believe. This is the same as the late calipers which are pretty good, but I haven't actually tried this product.
Cheers
Andy

[cyclobutch]

Ah yes. The legs are indeed 39mm OD; interesting to hear you folks talking metric. That listed calliper looks good, sadly shipping to the UK sticks another $47 on that price, so I'll not be going with that for the moment. 

[mayor]

But a question. The forks on this bike feel quite spindly and softly sprung. I'd imagine it wouldn't take much of a brake here to overwhelm them. Should I be investigating beefing them up a bit somehow?

like Andy said, try changing out the fork oil for a slightly heavier grade before you switch springs.  The performance or race fork oil from HD or Belray 20w fork oil should stiffen it up some. 

[PC_Hater]

Cyclobutch,

It's a Hardley. Made by Americans for Americans to ride in America.
I have a 1200S because it is the first Hardley ever made that works straight out of the box. You can fiddle with it to make it better, but you don't have to spend money just to make it work properly.

I would be expecting to have to fit new fork springs with a stiffer spring rate, increase pre-load a bit, and use 10W or heavier fork oil.
Then being a tight-fisted Yorkshireman I would fit Tokico 4 or 6 piston calipers from a bike breakers, buy a piece of 0.25" steel plate and make a bracket.

The previous owner of my bike fitted a pair of 4 piston Brembos. Yay!!!
But he removed the Ohlins rear shocks. Boo!!! But I did get the bike cheap on eBay...

Start by looking at Progressive Suspension or RaceTech.