No reason why a springer has to be longer than stock, is there?
I like the look of a springer, too, but IM betting the handling isnt near as good as regular forks, cuz springers were on the vtracks when the forks went to oil & seals. What we have now was sufficient improvement over what they used to do to beat it out of the marketplace. So, which one handles better? But that doesnt mean a springer is unsafe. Doesnt mean you wouldnt love riding with one. Heck, dual disk brakes are better than singles, but we ride a single disk setup. Its good enuff, just ride accordingly.