M900/S4 fork swap. whole leg or internals?

[cmross13]

i know i have been posting a lot of questions lately lol, but i have been getting bombarded with ideas on how to improve on my winter restoration project(2000 M900ie), and keep finding great deals on parts.

i can pick up a set of S4 forks for $100, but one of the upper legs has some rash on it. also, the steer tube is bent/cracked and so will need to either:

1: disassemble both forks and reassemble in my clean upper legs

2: grind down the rash, slap a sticker on it, and install with my stock triple clamp or some sort of aftermarket solution

any ideas?

[Speeddog]

Are your existing '00 M900 forks adjustable Showas?

And if so, are the outer/upper legs the same length as those S4 forks?

[cmross13]

no its a base model M900ie, not the "S"

as far as i have found online, they are pretty well interchangeable, i would just like to use the nice clean uppers from mine, or possibly even send mine out for anodizing and reassemble. while comparing both parts manuals i have found that some of the seals are interchangeable, so i know at least the lowers are the same diameter.

i havent done any manual labor yet, but i feel like if i remove the top nuts off my stock showa i might be able to use the uppers. worst case scenario is the grinder and sticker approach lol

hoping someone with experience chimes in

[Speeddog]

If they are Showas with 43mm sliders, the fork caps are the same thread size as the S4 forks.

The upper/outer tubes must be the same length as the S4 stuff if you're planning on swapping internals.
There are different length outers so beware.