Forks: Superbike vs ST2

[Dannog]

I am planning on doing a fork upgrade to fully adjustable. I have the option of getting superbike forks or going with a straight swap over using ST2 forks.
I was wondering which is the best fork.
I understand what's involved in using a superbike fork ie boring out the tripple clamp which I'm happy to do if I'm going to get a better fork for the effort.
Can anyone give me a heads-up on this?

[brad black]

the superbike forks are better internally, as they have the rebound bypass valve at the cartridge, not at the top of the leg.  every non 748/749/916/996/998/999 showa adjustable fork that i've had apart, including st4s, s4r, etc, are the not so good style.  they can still work pretty well tho when revalved.

aprilia rs250 have the good ones too, but i haven't measured them up.  not sure if you got them over there, but we had a lot of them here.

[Norm]

9*6 forks are a good upgrade, if you want to take it one step further, you can have them redone with Ohlins internals for a pretty reasonable price. 20mm option will give you forks comparable to R&T, and the 25mm option will give you supersport racing forks.

[Dannog]

9*6 forks are a good upgrade, if you want to take it one step further, you can have them redone with Ohlins internals for a pretty reasonable price. 20mm option will give you forks comparable to R&T, and the 25mm option will give you supersport racing forks.

When you say 20 or 25mm your refering to axle size aren't you? I think my monster 00 M900 ie has a 20mm axle

[Norm]

I was referring to the fork internals, nothing about the outside or the fit. Get the 20mm

[Dannog]

I was referring to the fork internals, nothing about the outside or the fit. Get the 20mm

Thanks, I've got a set of 999 forks on the way so I should look into getting 20mm Ohlins internals.

[Norm]

Check to see if the 999 fork will fit your application. I believe they are different from 9*6 forks but I've never worked with them. Maybe someone else could chime in?

[Dannog]

Check to see if the 999 fork will fit your application. I believe they are different from 9*6 forks but I've never worked with them. Maybe someone else could chime in?

From what I can tell the uppers are 53mm and the lower is 54mm so I should only need to bore out the tripple clamp. The fixing for the fender is where the problem will lie. The 999 has a fender that is fixed front and rear while the monster and 9*6 has the plastic clips that fit in the front.



I'm hoping to be able to mount the plastic clip below the brake bracket. Otherwise I'll have to look at getting a new 999 or 749 fender which will look a bit ordinary on the monster.

I'm not sure of the length as well but I assume I'll have to ditch the bars and go with clipons. I can't locate anyone who is selling bar risers for Monsters pre 2002. Any ideas?

[Spider]

Dannog, I checked previous threads and the SBK forks are around 25 - 30mm higher than the Monster/ST forks - and looking at my bike I realised that I'd have to go the clip-on route at the same time.

999 forks should have a 25mm fork axle BTW.

You bore the top crown and shim the bottom crown. An engineer specialising in metal fabrication will be able to do that easy.

You can actually put the clip ons above the top crown apparently too. (haven't seen pictures).

as far as Ohlins internals, sure! why not! I don't know your weight but you'd have to be over 100kg (and wearing full leathers) before the stock springs in the SBK forks would suit - most find that the monster is undersprung (for example a 900s in 2000 has  a spring rate of .686, a 90kg man would need 0.87 and your SBK's come with 1.00)

in other words - you're up for a respring anyway!

[brad black]

i think you might find the 999 caliper offset is different.  i'm not sure if it's in the caliper or fork mounts, but i think they're different.  ask someone who knows, and sorry if i'm just needlessly speculating.

[Spider]

no Brad, I've heard that....your speculation is correct...I thought it was fork mount has a higher offset than ST/Monster/99*.

I never got an actual measurement though 

it must be true....I read it on the internet.

[Dannog]

The calipers are 65mm so these should be OK.

I'm worried about the axle though. I didn't realise that the axle size is larger on the 999. Any ideas how I can deal with this?

I'm 95kg dressed so in gear I migh be OK. I'm still waiting on a price for the cartriges.

[Spider]

Brad, could Dannog go in and buy the bearings (or get ID/OD for them) for his 20mm axle and then have a machinist do a shim/sleeve for the inside of the fork clamps.

yeah Dannog - brake calipers weren't going to be a problem - 65mm spacing, sometimes washers are needed to centre the caliper to the disc rotor and I've read some guys got a machinist to make little spacers.

[brad black]

how big is the 999 axle?  isn't the 900ie front axle 25mm?

[Dannog]

I've just measured the axle on my Monster and it is 25mm so unless the 999 is larger I'll be OK

It looks like the rotor pitch is 15mm in lieu of the 10mm for all of the other SBK forks and Monsters. I'm hoping that all this means is that I need a 5 mm spacer. Note sure where to get this though