SBK swap progress (IMA)

[01m750]

I had the SBK swap lying around, and finally made some time time to start chipping away at it. Spring is coming and I need my daily to be ready to ride.
The bike is a 2001 M750 so I had to get the IMA triple bored to 53mm to fit the showas from a 2001 996. I should have had the forks rebuilt, but I was impatient...so we'll see how it rides. At the same time, I wanted to mount the new clip-ons below the triples, and use the brake and clutch master from the same 996. I've only taken a few shotty pics along the way, but really its been a nice easy job. Only hang up was the lower head bearing, but I luckily had an extra lying around so I could just cut the old one off and use the inner race to bang the new one on.









In the last image you can see that I'm playing around with some vinyl that I got from erichan8757 to wrap the forks. Also, I'm waiting for some fork-mounted headlight brackets so I can mount the gauges below the triples. Has anyone mounted their gauge below their IMA triple? I'd be interested to hear how they did it...

I'll post more as I get everything back together.

[junior varsity]

looks great!

i have not mounted gauges below yet. Might want to see if top triple is threaded all the way through (i think that they are not, but do not recall) so your bolts can come in from the bottom.


Good pictures too! I always forget to take pictures mid project...


For headlight clamps, I got ones from CNC Racing machined to the diameter of the tapered region of the 996 forks. The normal stocked sizes are 50/54 I believe, for OEM Monster forks. There are other manufacturers, such as the German company GSG Moto, but their aesthetic does not do it for me (purely subjective of course).

[junior varsity]

only most current pic where you might be able to tell that there are clamps:

[junior varsity]

Questions/Concerns/Criticisms/Praise:
Setup looks good - you can raise those clipons right up to the bottom of the top triple for a bit more comfort / less extreme reach - you'll find the "comfort spot" with some experimentation. Later this year (autumn), I believe IMA will be coming out with their clipons with lots of input from the track enthusiasts' community.

Did you reuse the steering head bearings rather than installing new ones?  If so, shame on you, those bearings are wear items. No real harm in the end, you just will want to remember to do this sometime down the road as part of regular maintenance.

Speaking of regular maintenance, you will want to retorque the stem's spanner nut (torque to bearings) after a few rides, as things fully settle - the inner race on the stem, and the outer race in the headstock.

Last of the critiques/questions: Did you measure / replicate the fork height in triples from previous setup? It seems a bit difficult to rely on the other measurement using the shorter OEM stock bottom triple, or to compare fork cap height with the OEM Monster forks, since they are shorter. It is do-able though, by either doing the fork-cap height measurement accounting for the difference in heights, or similarly measuring from the bottom of outer fork tubes to lower triple, taking into account the difference in height of the triples (I used the fixed reference of the bottom of the head stock / frame).

Other thoughts --> You might consider doing the fork revalve and respring (if necessary) in the winter - don't sacrifice riding time! You've got a substantial improvement going into this riding season with the beefier lower triple for stiffening up the chassis, and you've got true damping circuits in the forks now!  WORLDS BETTER than before.

Have you done anything to the rear end to match the improvements in the front? I did my upgrades one at a time: Rear shock was first. Felt good, but it really emphasized how harsh the front felt... Revalved/resprung the oem adj monster forks... Improvements: yes. Drastic difference? Not enough. Went from 'rocks' to 'wooden' feeling out front. Went on and added a damper while plotting the fork project.

You've done the more difficult one here: the forks are far more involved than the rear end, or a simple damper. If you haven't done the rear, obviously the shock is analogous to the forks, while a combination of the swingarm/rocker/link(hoop) would correspond to the triples. Not much to do with the rocker on the Monster, but there are stiffer swingarms available for the Monster (OEM Alu is stiffer though not lighter than OEM Steel iirc, also JMC and Metmachex - available as OEM replicas, eccentric axle adjusters available, and options for bracing as well).

[uglyducky]

only most current pic where you might be able to tell that there are clamps:

good god sir.  that is a vicious moto there.

[uglyducky]

I had the SBK swap lying around, and finally made some time time to start chipping away at it. Spring is coming and I need my daily to be ready to ride.
The bike is a 2001 M750 so I had to get the IMA triple bored to 53mm to fit the showas from a 2001 996. I should have had the forks rebuilt, but I was impatient...so we'll see how it rides. At the same time, I wanted to mount the new clip-ons below the triples, and use the brake and clutch master from the same 996. I've only taken a few shotty pics along the way, but really its been a nice easy job. Only hang up was the lower head bearing, but I luckily had an extra lying around so I could just cut the old one off and use the inner race to bang the new one on.









In the last image you can see that I'm playing around with some vinyl that I got from erichan8757 to wrap the forks. Also, I'm waiting for some fork-mounted headlight brackets so I can mount the gauges below the triples. Has anyone mounted their gauge below their IMA triple? I'd be interested to hear how they did it...

I'll post more as I get everything back together.

one thing you can do instead of the vinyl is anodize those fork tubes.  looks sweeeeet and allows you to reseal em all too.  those triples look amazing man! 

[junior varsity]

oooh, my other thought is: looks like you need shorter brake line, probably shorter clutch line too.

You should be able to easily find some on the cheap via eBay: With clipons below triple, you are looking at the same length as a SBK, and with those goldline masters, the correct fitting models will be 916-998/748 (changed to the radial pumps w/ '03 749/999 on the SBKs iirc).

[junior varsity]

good god sir.  that is a vicious moto there.

gracias. will post up to date high res pictures in the near future, pending good weather.

[01m750]

Thank you for all your comments. I've been figuring this all out myself, but obviously I learn some things the hard way...

i have not mounted gauges below yet. Might want to see if top triple is threaded all the way through (i think that they are not, but do not recall) so your bolts can come in from the bottom.

The triple isn't threaded all the way through...which is why its going to be more difficult then I originally thought.

d you reuse the steering head bearings rather than installing new ones?  If so, shame on you, those bearings are wear items.  No real harm in the end, you just will want to remember to do this sometime down the road as part of regular maintenance.

how did you know! I was too excited to put everything back together...but your right and I will remember to re-adjust after some riding, thank you for that tip.

id you measure / replicate the fork height in triples from previous setup? It seems a bit difficult to rely on the other measurement using the shorter OEM stock bottom triple, or to compare fork cap height with the OEM Monster forks, since they are shorter.

I did not do this...is there a (somewhat)standard height? 

Other thoughts --> You might consider doing the fork revalve and respring (if necessary) in the winter - don't sacrifice riding time! You've got a substantial improvement going into this riding season with the beefier lower triple for stiffening up the chassis, and you've got true damping circuits in the forks now!  WORLDS BETTER than before.

Any tips on how I should adjust them for now?

Have you done anything to the rear end to match the improvements in the front? I did my upgrades one at a time: Rear shock was first. Felt good, but it really emphasized how harsh the front felt... Revalved/resprung the oem adj monster forks... Improvements: yes. Drastic difference? Not enough. Went from 'rocks' to 'wooden' feeling out front. Went on and added a damper while plotting the fork project.

Yup, I did an aluminum swingarm swap this summer, but I've yet to upgrade the rear shock...thats next. Does the rear hoop make a difference?

[junior varsity]

Hoop is mostly bling, but a billet one is stiffer, slightly lighter. Lot of coin for small change.