Last night I completed a fork swap from a XX9 to my 2003 Monster 800.
I have much more information to follow, but for now, just letting you know that I did it and it is pretty awesome.
I had my triple machined to 53mm.
I machined my own 5mm spacers.
As seen in other posts, the steps are basic.
A)
1) Buy 749/9999 forks. Service them.
2) Buy 749/999 fender. The 749 came in a 'Dark' color.
3) Buy 53mm clipons or buy handlebar risers.
4) Buy (4) M10 - 1.25 - 30mm - Socket Cap Screws
5) Make / Buy (4) M10 - 5mm - Spacers
6) Machine / Buy 53mm diameter top triple with monster spacing.
7) Buy / Make 0.5mm - Shims
B)
1) Remove everything you can from the upper front of the bike. Switches, master cylinders, top triple, headlight, etc. All that stuff.
2) Remove the front fender.
2) Measure the distance from the bottom of the lower triple to the center of the axle. Write it down. It should be around 17".
3) Loosen 28mm axle nut.
4) Loosen 12mm fork pinch bolts.
5) Loosen M10 caliper socket cap bolts.
6) Raise front end off the ground.
7) Remove 28mm axle nut.
Knock out the 28mm axle. Rubber mallet / plastic preferred.
9) Remove the front wheel.
10) Remove M10 caliper socket cap bolts.
11) Support brake calipers in some fashion. (Do not touch the master cylinder lever after this point)
12) Loosen the bottom triple tree fork pinch bolts.
13) Drop the forks out of the bottom of the bike.
14) Insert 0.5mm shims into lower triple
15) Insert 749/999 forks into lower triple, while paying attention to the shims. Try to keep the shims in the lower triple. This is difficult.
16) Insert the axle in between the forks. Tighten the axle nut hand tight to align everything together.
17) Use the axle to raise and lower the forks through the triples as needed to achieve the 17" distance from the center of the axle to the bottom of the lower triple, while making sure the shims stay in the lower triple. This part is a pain.
18) Once you are holding the forks in the correct place and the shims are still in the lower triple, tighten the top fork pinch bolts to keep the forks in place. This part is also a pain.
19) If the shims have slipped out of place, this is your opportunity to get them back in the lower triple.
20) Tighten the lower fork pinch bolts, not too tight.
21) Remove the axle from the front end assembly.
22) Move the wheel into position and insert the axle back into the front end assembly.
23) Tighten the axle nut to hand tight.
24) Verify that everything in the front end assembly is fitting properly and is level.
25) Tighten fork pinch bolts.
26) Tighten the axle nut.
27) Reinstall the brake calipers with the new spacers and caliper screws. (Assuming that you did not touch the master cylinder lever, this should be straightforward. If you did touch it, open up the bleed screws with a hose attached into a container of some sorts and press the pistons back into the caliper. Then reinstall the calipers)
28) Properly torque each nut / screw to its rated torque value which can be found in a repair manual. I have these values somewhere.
29) Install the 749 / 999 fender.
30) Install the rest of the parts that you took off your bike in step 1.
31) Start the bike up and very slowly take it for a ride around your area. Make sure everything sounds and feels right. Make sure the wheel moves freely, brakes engage properly and forks travel up and down properly.
32) Enjoy.
Coming from OEM forks, you will notice a much firmer ride.
This is probably the first bike related project I've ever done where everything went perfectly. If you're familiar with how the front cables are routed and how to disassemble everything, this could be done in 3 hours. It really is that simple.
I also converted a set of XX9 master cylinders to cup reservoirs and did other things that day, so it too me longer. I used some Tygon tube but will replace it with something that isn't so neon (and doesn't 'sweat'?). I'll cover this in another post.
I didn't have my forks serviced before I put them on, but eventually will.
The bike feels great, tracks over bumps really well and feels very planted; almost connect to the road.
I went with stock XX9 clipons and mounted them above the triples.
I have 4 sets of caliper bolts and spacers if anyone is considering doing this swap.
