Upgrade to upside-down front forks

[w_pienaar]

Have any body attempted an upgrade of the front forks to a set of upside-down front forks? What are the options available?

Cheers

William

[Druid]

Later Fireblade forks fit.

Using the "Search" facility turned up this useful thread

[thehazmatguy]

You are welcome to PM me about this if you want. 90% of this work is really easy. It is the final 10% of work to make it a polished "it came this way from Honda" look.

The 929/954RR front end bolts right on, the triples fit fine. The only "custom" issue is that you need raised clip-ons so the handlebars clear the bodywork. You can use washers to shim the ignition switch into the right place. Keep in mind that you have to change EVERYTHING. Wheel and spacers, fender, brake calipers, rotor, brake lines, axle, forks, triple clamps....

The final 10% includes:
-getting a 929/954 ignition switch/lock set and making adjustments in wiring (lock set so everything matches one key) No shimming is needed if you use a 929/954 ignition switch
-grinding bump stop on lower triple to clear the VTR front fairing mount for additonal turning radius.
-moving radiators back for added clearence of larger triples.
-cutting 2 inches off of the back of the larger 929/954 front fender to clear the front cylinder head

Hints: Install tapered head bearings. They are much more durable, and I have never had any headshake issues. Assume used forks and triples are bent, take them to someone to have them checked and straighted. After that, put new seals in the forks. Spend extra cash and buy rotors that you KNOW are straight, not from a clown on ebay that tells you they are straight.

Downside: Bike turns MUCH quicker. Probably due to shorter fork tubes and/or less trail? I love it, makes the bike a real canyon carver. My last GF didn't like it, but she has a ZX9R so what the hell does she know. Also, you do all of this work, and nobody notices!

[thehazmatguy]

I should also include this:

If your bike is straight now, this project could be almost FREE!!!

A straight VTR front end should be able to get a premium price if you sell it. Not many people wreck VTR's (at least here in the US) so good bits are hard to find.

929/954RR front ends are a dime a dozen. Squids seem to wreck those bikes on a regular basis and parts are easily available on Ebay.

The only thing that I can think of that is expensive is the clip-on handle bars. Several companies make ones that work. Gilles (drool) are beautiful but $$, Two Bros. makes them too. I got mine from Cycle Cat. The Cycle Cat bars looked the most "stock", have replaceable stainless steel handlebar tubes and the tubes are drilled for Honda switchgear. Also, the Cycle Cat bars have an easily and infinately adjustble bar angle for + or - 5 degrees.

[gulingen]

http://www.vtwo.demon.co.uk/firestorm/bladeforks.htm
Maybe something

[thehazmatguy]

http://www.vtwo.demon.co.uk/firestorm/bladeforks.htm
Maybe something

This isn't for a USD forks, and also doesn't allow for the bigger brakes of the 929/954rr.

[VTR stunter]

Thehazmatguy.

I am looking at big upgrades for the VTR (including forks, brakes rear suspenion). Any chance i would be able to get some close up pics of your 'sweet ' bike.... preferably the front end as the bike shop and i need to see what it looks like under all that fairing for when we go about it .

Thank you for your time mate.

Pics can be sent to busacrazyguy@hotmail.com

[thehazmatguy]

Thehazmatguy.

I am looking at big upgrades for the VTR (including forks, brakes rear suspenion). Any chance i would be able to get some close up pics of your 'sweet ' bike.... preferably the front end as the bike shop and i need to see what it looks like under all that fairing for when we go about it .

Thank you for your time mate.

Pics can be sent to busacrazyguy@hotmail.com

Sure! I can do that for you. I am planning on taking off the bodywork pretty soon anyway. I have a new alarm on my bike, and I have to run the wires for the ignition kill.

Is there anything that you need me to take a picture of in particular? How soon do you need these pictures?

[delmeekc]

I can get some yokes, 2" bottom with 4 bolts either side, and 1" top yoke (approx) made to fit a complete busa front end. I can get a stem made exactly the same as a VTR stem and risers if needed. PM or email for a quote. There are 10 sets only and they are from a cancelled order so someone else has paid the deposit.

Del.

[VTR stunter]

Sure! I can do that for you. I am planning on taking off the bodywork pretty soon anyway. I have a new alarm on my bike, and I have to run the wires for the ignition kill.

Is there anything that you need me to take a picture of in particular? How soon do you need these pictures?

Hi mate, thanks for doing this for me, if you could send pics of things you think i need to see, maybe something thats a bit difficult, and some general pics of the front without the fairings.

I'm happy to wait for when you take the body work off for the pics.

Much thanks,
Grant.

[thehazmatguy]

Sorry it is taking so long...

It has been very busy here... I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgot about this!

I am trying to put together a full text and picture page for the conversion>

Maybe you guys could give it a proof read? Do you see anything that doesn't make sense??

Here is some of the text:

[thehazmatguy]

Handle bars

VTR clip-ons will not fit the CBR fork tubes.

The clip-ons ended up being the most expensive part of the entire job. Probably because this is the only part of the conversion that pretty much requires parts not made by Honda. On the stock VTR the clip-ons fit above the top triple clamp, and on the CBR they fit below the top triple clamp. The VTR clip-ons are also a much smaller diameter. CBR clip-ons that are higher than stock are fairly easy to find, and you will need about a 2.5 inch rise above stock, possibly 3 inches.

I chose Cycle Cat bar risers for the CBR929 with a 2.5 inch rise above stock. They are a bit expensive, but well worth the money spent. The quality is unmistakable, and they aren’t overly “Blingy”. The angle on the (stainless steel!) bar tubes is adjustable with a sweet little eccentric cam set up. I also can’t say enough good things about the customer service at Cycle Cat. I had called/e-mailed them several times explaining my special circumstance, and they were very easy to work with. They even agreed to make me a discounted set with no brake lines (part of their kit) and agreed not to drill the bar tubes for the CBR switchgear (this turned out to be a non-issue, the holes for the switchgear are the same for both bikes). The extra effort was really impressive because after all the work their customer service did… I couldn’t buy the bars from them directly! Cycle Cat provided me a special one-time part number, and I could order it through any Cycle Cat distributor. Is that cool or what?

Also: (1) Anodizing. My bike is a daily driver, and sits in the Arizona sun everyday. The Black anodizing on the bars started to fade after just a couple of months, and really looked bad after about 6 months. This isn’t really a fault on Cycle Cats part, anodized parts fade, and black anodizing fades the worst. Anyway, I called Cycle Cat. Even though the bars were out of warranty, and cosmetics aren’t covered, they agreed to take them back and re-anodize them! I couldn’t take them up on the offer, at that time my bike was my only transportation and I couldn’t figure out how to ride my bike without handle bars. I think it was very, very cool of them to make the offer though. (2) Bar Ends. Cycle Cat provides very slick, simple bar sliders (Delrin?) with their clip-ons. One of mine worked loose and fell out… and a replacement pair is $65????? Cycle Cat really needs to re-think that. I bought a generic pair of Delrin bar sliders from Pro-Tek for $28, less than half of the Cycle Cat

Other possibilities: Gilles, Two Brothers, and Heli Bars.

Gilles Tooling stuff would be sweet, if you live in Europe this might be your first choice. Gilles is hard to get here in the US, I think Lockhart Phillips is the only distributor here. LP customer service is absolutely terrible. I used to work at a motorcycle shop, and LP is the worst. They never seem to have things in stock. I try not to give LP my business. Also, LP doesn’t import any Gilles products for the VTR (like their rear-sets).

Two Brothers. Great product and great customer service. Consider these guys for the bars for sure.

Heli Bars. Yuck. They are ok if you like farm equipment…. But their stuff looks a little too agricultural for me. There are just too many negatives for me to recommend Heli bars. If you bend one in a wreck, you can’t just replace the tube, you gotta get a whole new set. And they are not adjustable, not a good idea for a custom set up like this.

[thehazmatguy]

Ignition switch/barrel

This is one of those things that you can do cheaply, or spend a little money on. When I did it, I went the cheap route and then fixed things later when I had the cash.

The VTR ignition switch is significantly different from the CBR unit. The VTR ignition switch will bolt right on in the stock location to the CBR triple clamp, but is much smaller in size. Also, it won’t lock the steering column. The locking pin on the VTR switch is in a different place than the CBR switch.

The cheap fix: I used three washers to shim my ignition switch down. This allows the locking pin on the VTR switch to line up with hole in the steering head when the VTR switch is installed on the CBR top triple clamp. The only problem is it just doesn’t look quite “right.” With the VTR switch in the CBR top triple, there is a noticeable space around the switch. Besides not looking right there might even be a theft risk. It might be possible to use a tool to brake the switch out of the top triple clamp because of this space.

The expensive fix: Re-key the entire bike with a lock set from a CBR. The term “expensive fix” might not really apply though. Remember that you can sell the VTR lock set when you are done, so hopefully you will only be trading parts. I HIGHLY recommend re-keying the bike. This is one of those steps that make the bike look like it came from Honda with USD forks.

Changing the gas cap and trunk locks are fairly easy, don’t sweat it.

Changing the ignitions switch isn’t as easy as the others, but it isn’t too bad either. The only problem is the connector for the VTR and the CBR are different. This means that you have to change the plastic connector by delicately removing the wires from one connector and placing them into the other connector (you could cut and splice, but this would look like hell and make it really hard to sell the VTR switch). There are three wires on the VTR switch and four on the CBR switch. On the VTR switch, one is positive ignition, one is positive fan, and the other is ground. On the CBR switch, one is positive ignition, two are small diameter security wires(I believe) and one is ground.

Step one: use online resources and service manuals to determine what color wires are positive, fan and ground on the VTR side of the motorcycle wring harness, as it comes to the ignition switch connector. I seem to remember having problems with that and it might be easier just to use a circuit tester to figure that part out. Mark the WIRES and the CONNECTOR with tape and a label of wire locations. If you rely on wire colors things can get really confusing.

Step two: Find the fan wire on the VTR wiring harness, before the ignition switch connector. Remove the wire from the connector by pushing a needle or paperclip into the connector and pushing the “barb” down, allowing the metal pin to slide out of the connector. This will make sense (hopefully) when you see it. Splice the fan wire directly to the positive ignition wire. THIS MUST BE DONE AS STATED! Do not try to run the fan through the security wires of the CBR switch. The small diameter wires can’t handle the juice of the fan and will burn out. Then your fan won’t come on!

Step three: Use various sources mentioned above to determine wire locations of both the VTR and the CBR switches. Take great care in noting the pin locations of the connectors and the wires. Remove the plastic connector from the wires of both switches. This is done by pushing a needle or paperclip into the connector and pushing the “barb” down, allowing the metal pin to slide out of the connector. This will make sense (hopefully) when you see it.

Step four: take the CBR switch and clip or tuck the small diameter security wires of the CBR switch out of the way, they won’t be used.

At this point, you should only have two wires on the CBR switch, the empty connector from the VTR switch and two wires going into the VTR wiring harness ignition connector. (see diagram) (I will include a diagram)

Step five. Insert the wires of the CBR switch into the connector, making sure the pin/wire locations match with the VTR connector on the VTR wiring harness. If you marked everything clearly, you shouldn’t have any problems with this.


Now connect the plugs and you should be up and running!!

[thehazmatguy]

More stuff that I need to type out:

Lower triple clamp

Radiator hose clearance

Fender clearance