They were quite simple, really, with long helical springs located in the fork tubes, more than 5 inches of travel, using a high-viscosity synthetic oil for damping and added cushioning effect. Telescoping forks had been around since the late 1930s, were obviously the “coming thing,” and Harley did not want to be left too far behind. Rumor was that The Company had wanted to include the new fork with the new engine in ’48, to give the consumer a big double-whammy of newness, but cooler heads decided to take this a step at a time. In truth, the factory had come up with the design right after the war, but the economics of using up the extant supply of girder forks, and developing a production line for the new ones kept the girders in business until 1949. That changed in 1949, when the first Hydra-Glide appeared-with a hydraulic telescoping fork.
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