upper and lower trees

how are the upper and lower trees different on the '55 and '56 k than the '52 thru '54?

my reprinted parts manual for "k" book shows the part numbers as follows:

45701-52B (fork stem & bracket assem.)....52 to 54 up to motor no. 2250

45701-54 (fork stem & bracket assem.)....54 to 56 up to motor no. 2250 up

The rake built into the trees changed.
Robbie

my lower tree part number is 45707-52 with the upper that matches / i have found sliders that are 22 15/16 inches long with springs that are 20 inches long. based on the part number, i'm thinking that my trees are of a later sporty, maybe late 50's early 60's and not a k model. i do have access to some more sliders that are 1 inch longer than the ones i have...would the combination of my later trees with the longer sliders work on my 56k? i know it won't be an exact number match for the bike, but will it look and ride correct? any thoughts would help.

The trees you have are for the early K-models. Trees with the 52A casting number are correct for the later K/early XL. Like RUBONE said, the difference is the rake. If you used the longer tubes with your early trees you could get away with it, but to be correct for your 56, use the later trees with the short tubes.

Jack

i'd like to make sure that my sliders (22 15/16) are for a 1956k. do you know the exact meaurements of both tube sliders?

The only OEM fork tubes I currently can easily measure are a pair of bent ones from a wrecked 58 XL. Parts books list them same as 55/56 KH. They measure approx 21 13/16 inches . Sounds like the tubes you have are the early K model ones. They were brought back as stock on the C/CH and as "special 1 inch extra ground clearance" on the XL/XLH.

That 45707-52 on your lower tree is a casting number not a part number.

Jack

ok

besides the sliders being bent...are the insides of the tubes usable or better yet might you be willing to part with them? i'm looking for the inside parts, fork shock absorber tube #46100-52, front fork shock sbsorber #46095-55, springs and any attachments. if you have the parts i need, i could alway machine cut the slider tubes 1 inch so i could have a true 56 front end. also, do you think my lower tree would fit correctly on these parts?

since that is the casting number, where do i locate the part number for the lower tree?

since that is the casting number, where do i locate the part number for the lower tree?

It is only in the parts books, not physically on the part. Sometimes when a part changes the number only has a suffix added to it so the best way to ID if you are not sure is to post GOOD photographs on here so there is a better chance get it right.
Robbie

[Pa]

since that is the casting number, where do i locate the part number for the lower tree?

It is only in the parts books, not physically on the part. Sometimes when a part changes the number only has a suffix added to it so the best way to ID if you are not sure is to post GOOD photographs on here so there is a better chance get it right.
Robbie

And sometimes when the parts changed...the number remained the same. Pa