So I was always planning on rebuilding the stock forks on my RD400 with Race Tech springs. There's an 89 FZR-1000 rolling chassis available in my area for very cheap. Would the FZR forks be a considerable upgrade over the stock RD forks? Anything I should consider before picking it up? I know the forks are 43mm, so I'd need to use the triple clamps from the FZR. I'd like to keep the 400 wheels. I'll be using a blue dot caliper on the front. Anything I need to be aware of? I'm sure this swap has been done before. Thanks!
Reach outbto Mark aka M in SC, I think he did use FZR front end on hybrid 350.
Quote from: Gill on October 22, 2019, 11:07:40 PM
Reach outbto Mark aka M in SC, I think he did use FZR front end on hybrid 350.
Ok, awesome. Will do!
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yup. i did it. total pain in the ass. and the forks are way too long. (eventually got shorter radian? (like 1 year fit) uppers to get it right 10 years later)
get the emulators for the rd forks. even the knockoffs from mikes xs. Does it work well? yes. Are the FZR forks really any better than rd forks with emulators? barely.
do the big brake conversion though. thats totally worth the effort.
yes this is an aircooled rd frame.
stock length fzr forks:
(http://www.2strokeworld.net/wp-content/uploads/LC-HYBRID/2018-updates/forks-cleanup/lc-fork-and-damper-18_1_zpswdmk6xkm.jpg)
pics from me swapping the stanchions last year.
(http://www.2strokeworld.net/wp-content/uploads/LC-HYBRID/2018-updates/forks-cleanup/20181124_2136342_zpslqbfoxvc.jpg)
finally got em flush.
(http://www.2strokeworld.net/wp-content/uploads/LC-HYBRID/2018-updates/forks-cleanup/20181129_1835072_zpsoq94vbjf.jpg)
Thanks Mark! I appreciate the wisdom. I'll be rebuilding the RD forks then. I still need to send you pictures of the RM250 stator, keep forgetting about that.
Quote from: m in sc on October 22, 2019, 11:16:11 PM
yup. i did it. total pain in the ass. and the forks are way too long. (eventually got shorter radian? (like 1 year fit) uppers to get it right 10 years later)
get the emulators for the rd forks. even the knockoffs from mikes xs. Does it work well? yes. Are the FZR forks really any better than rd forks with emulators? barely.
do the big brake conversion though. thats totally worth the effort.
The only Mike's XS emulators I've found are the 35mm ones for the Daytona. Are there 34mm emulators I'm not seeing? Also, are you saying that for a street setup I could use the emulators with stock springs for a decent suspension upgrade? I was planning on running RaceTech springs, but my budget for this build has been pretty slim. If I can get improvement that way and just use the stockers, I'll probably do that for now. Thanks!
YOU CAN RUN THEM. THERES A SET FOR SALE right now, see 'for sale ' section. stock springs will work fine, you can always swap the springs later
Ok awesome! I saw those this morning, but the 35mm forks gave me pause. I'm supposing the inside threading is the same for both forks.
You can buy those same Taiwanese emulators for FZR forks too. I found them on a HD site, no idea where, but they were the right D to fit the damper rods in the FZR forks. (YSS makes sets too that are a fair bit less expensive than RT ones).
I actually thought the conversion to FZR on my RD350 was really easy. The hardest part for me was machining a new axle, which I did because I wanted to use the stock RD wheel bearings. It probably would have been easier to go for different wheel bearings. Then I had to bore the one fork lower to fit the larger 17mm axle. Otherwise you just have to turn some spacers to center the wheel, and then either shorten the stem or turn a spacer to handle the extra stem length. Oh, and I machined a disc spacer, but that was fairly easy.
I find the FZR forks to have a bit too much trail, so I run a good bit less rake. But it handles great. The extra length of the forks isn't an issue as I run my clip ons above the bars.
Ill say this much, i dont regret doing it but i wont do it again. maybe with an USD set of forks but doubtful. the actual machine work wasnt hard IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS.