QuestionHi, I,ve got an '87 Softail which I want to make hardtail, i,ve been thinking about just buying a rigid frame & building up a chopper from scratch (i had one years ago) but because i haven,t got all the funds i need yet i,ve thought about making my softail a rigid by removing the shocks & having shortened steel struts instead for that low look , what i,m curious about is can it put the standard softail frame under some kind of stress or would it be ok to do so. I,ve been told it should be alright but i came accross your site & thought i,d ask anyway. Many thanks for your time. Aussie.
AnswerThe softail frame is probably strong enough for it, but it was designed for suspension components, and subjecting it to the hardtail stresses might cause other problems, especially in handling.
A good source for information like this is online motorcycle forums. For every make/model of motorcycle, there are at least a few groups on the internet who share information. Find a group that's all about the mid eighties softails (or hardtails), sign up, and start asking questions--undoubtedely there's someone out there who's already tried it and you can learn from his/her experience.
Pat
