Springer front end and speed?

[Scootmeister]

Speed and MBs are strange bedfellows. Fun might go up incrementally at high speed, but risk goes up exponentially. When you get beyond the speed bicycles were originally engineered for, the chance of a failure, especially the brakes or tires, goes up. You can mitigate some of the risk with upgrades such as better tires and tubes and larger discs and good solid calipers. You can increase traction with wider tires or a better tread pattern. My Stiletto Rat Bobber has a 4 1/4" wide OCC tire on back and a 3" wide 24 on front, both take a pretty good bite of asphalt. When I upgrade my brakes I swap out bicycle cables for scooter cables which are much heavier. I also go to full length levers for brakes and clutch to give more leverage. You can mitigate frame failure by picking good steel welded frames with large diameter tubes. There are several discussions on this site about the importance of beefing up fender connections. I use Whizzer braces which are heavier metal than conventional bicycle fender braces. Some braces are little more than tin and will break with minimal vibration and stress. Personally, I would rather "cruise" at slow speeds and take in the sights, but I've been there where the need for speed made me push the limits of my MBs.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I'd say it's surely possible. re: 60mph bike. I don't think you will like riding it at those speeds for extended periods though. To each his own, but build heavy if you are going to do that! A couple guys on these boards (One goes by 5-7 Heaven in Hawaii) ride on the fast roads at 50something. Ask them about durability of parts.

Thanks for props, happycheapskate, but I have NEVER hit 50mph. Maybe the bike can do it, but fear is the limiting factor. My present ride will do around 44mph, non GPS-verified. The speedo might be inaccurate. I don't care, because I'm not going for any record. The speedo is mainly for me to keep within posted speed limits.

Roads on my travel route are short and junk, plus there's the police to contend with. I do not have a safe place to ride @ 45mph. However, since I have VERY low gear ratios, it is pure joy to zip all the way thru the 7th gear, which is cruising between 30-35mph @ 17.72:1 gearing.

I don't have a springer fork, but I DO use a ROCKSHOX 29" fork on my 26" bike. Brakes are AVID BB7 203mm discs. Tires are SCHWALBE 26 x 2.30, rims are dual-walled ALEX w/32-hole 14g SS spokes.

Durability of parts? After 18 months, one rear spoke broke @ the very tip, at the hub. That spoke was damaged, due to a missing spoke guard and a jumped chain at the cassette. I've broken several chains until I found the proper chainring alignment.