Other donors for fork swaps?

[mmakay]

There is a ton of info about SBK forks.  Lots of info about GSXR swaps.  Why aren't any other swaps ever discussed?  With all the sport bikes in the world, it seems like there have to be a couple out there that are suitable to use.

-Mickey

[xsephirot]

I think the problem would be the triple tree offset.

[He Man]

I think the problem would be the triple tree offset.

most people dont swap the triples. so offset is not the issue.

Fork diameter isnt much of an issue if you are willing to do the milling and shimming.

the GSXR is the direct fit fork wise, but wheel spacers and swap to nissian brakes are required.
SBKs reserve the ability to use brembo brakes.

those 2 are the biggest deciding factors i think.
I would do an SBK just for the fact that i can get brembos. not that he nissins are bad, i just think brembos are dope!

[mmakay]

There are Hondas and Yamahas that have 50/54mm forks....same issue with the brakes, of course.  Most GSXR's (and others) have Tokico binders rather than Nissins, though.

[He Man]

Where the hell did i get nissins from then? That might be the Daytona 675 ive been staring at too much of lately.

Anyone wanna buy my forks? S2R1000 adjustables with racetech goodies!!  so i can buy SBKs!

[mmakay]

Anyone wanna buy my forks? S2R1000 adjustables with racetech goodies!!  so i can buy SBKs!

Well, that depends on the price now doesn't it! 

[carbmon]

Just curious here ...

Do you want the donor bike weight to be close to the recipient bike in hopes that spring/damping is in the corrrect range (or do you just plan on re-doing the internals to suit)?

Do you use the wheel from the donor or try to keep the recipient wheel (rotor diameter match for ease in mounting calipers, axle diameter isses)?

[He Man]

depends on which bike you have.

On most adjustible fork bikes there is a hole in the bottom of the axle to adjust compression dampening. You will need a new axle in some cases but not all.

as far as the internals, most sport bikes are front weight bias so they are almost always too stiff for monsters unless you happen to have the correct weight.

i installed a stock 999 shock (which is front weight biased) into a monster and the rear sat almost 5 inches lower than stock because ofthe softer spring.

[carbmon]

... On most adjustible fork bikes there is a hole in the bottom of the axle to adjust compression dampening. You will need a new axle in some cases but not all....

Understood, but the compression/rebound adjustment on decently engineered modern cartridge forks (which I assume is the object of a swap) helps tune the suspension for rider preference & track (road) characteristics within the relatively narrow range of weight/weight bias of the bike for which it was engineered.

...as far as the internals, most sport bikes are front weight bias so they are almost always too stiff for monsters unless you happen to have the correct weight.

Bummer (I’ve not compared monster to other sport bikes in terms of weight/bias).  So if the donor bike has significantly different weight/bias, not only the springs but the whole damping setup would be wrong for the recipient.  If you’ve got to re-spring and re-valve (what I call "internals") to get it good (that’s $300+ for everything using the original cartridge – Race Tech valves/springs for example; $800+ if you replace the cartridge with Traxxion AK-20s or something similar), why swap as opposed to just upgrading the OEM fork internals?

Again, my assumption is that if you are doing the swap, the object is to get a modern suspension that is better than OEM for your situation – not to get a ‘different’ suspension that’s not optimized for your application.

[Dirty Duc]

as far as the internals, most sport bikes are front weight bias so they are almost always too stiff for monsters unless you happen to have the correct weight.

But He Man is also light.  If you are heavier and ride 2 up, stiffer might work for you.  Total package weight and distribution change the equation.

[He Man]

yea its all relative. im not saying anything except that it rquires you to do research on whats in the forks and what you need and make a judgement call on it.

if you have a 696 or a 796, a pogo stick is more technically advance then the fork.

[carbmon]

yea its all relative. im not saying anything except that it rquires you to do research on whats in the forks and what you need and make a judgement call on it.

if you have a 696 or a 796, a pogo stick is more technically advance then the fork.

LOL and fair enough!

Back around '02 I considered the SBK swap popular in that day for my '01 750 with USD Showas.  Ended up getting a deal I could not refuse for Ohlins RTs setup for the bike by one of our racing club's trackside suspension vendors.  The improvement was incredibly radical.

Many years of hanging around with trackside suspension gurus has made me a firm believer in the value of looking at suspensions as a total package - not just an assembly of separate parts.