Hydra glide triple tree

[DANPATCH]

I have a couple of early triple trees . Some have a 3/8 coarse thread pinch bolt for the tubes and some are 7/16 fine thread . Any body run into this before

[bmh]

Yes, 54 and earlier are the 3/8-16 thread, 55 and later are the 7/16-20.

[1950Panhead]

I believe 49 is 3/8-24, 50-54 is 3/8-16, 55-57 is 7/16-20.

[bmh]

49 actually used 45710-48 Fork bracket clamping stud and not a pinch bolt. The threads in the lower bracket are still 3/8-16. The 7804 nut is 3/8-24 as are the outer threads on the stud.

[koanes]

Does any one have a breakdown by year changes to Panhead lower trees? I finally found the correct trees for my 50FL, but rummaging around in my projects and spare parts, I am unsure if the lower tree that was on my 60FL is right. The 60 was a nice original when disassembled for restoration, but the lower tree was shiny black and the top had the right patina to match the rest of the bike. Specifically, when was the relief machined in the casting for the slider cover attaching hardware, and when did the machined notches appear on the fork stop area. Also, did the offst stem and oval boss for the stem hole at bottom of the tree begin with the Duoglides? Thanks for any help.

[Chris Haynes]

The notched fork stop is part number 45684-65. It appeared in 1965 for machines still using the 3.5 gallon tanks.

[koanes]

Thanks Chris, If the notches first appeared in 65, I definately have the wrong lower on my 60.

[koanes]

A friend with a nice original 58 says his has machined notches at the fork stop area. He's had the motorcycle for 35 years and believes it to be unmolested. Maybe they went back to unmachined stops for extra clearance on 65's with five gallon tanks. The tree on the right in the picture is the 49-54, the one on the left is an offset stem tree with the machined relief at the slider cover screw area and no cut at the stop. I imagine this has all been discussed on some other forum, if anyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.