katana 750 front end swap

[cheeterpasteen]

I have a problem spending all of my time and money on my motorcycle. I use it mainly for an interstate commute and sometimes a buddy and I go out on the weekends to the twisites. I felt that a dual caliper set up would be good for my commute, and improved suspension would really help my weekend ride. So I went on Craigslist and bought a sweet 98' katana 750 front end. I was looking into getting a cbr or r6 end but this deal was really good.  The whole thing was only 144 dollars! 

It came with: a new(ish) road pilot tire, scrappy clip ons, intact fork/triple trees, and (what i was really after) dual nissin calipers and rotors with a master cylinder to boot! On the downside, the right clip on is bent and soon to be replaced and the fender was bent and cracked.


I couldn't get the stock front end off fast enough!


As the katana front end and the gs share the same diameter stem, all I had to do was shorten the distance between the top and bottom bearing race. I used a file like Dguyver recommended.
I HATE FILES. HATE EM!!

I then put on the full set up. I used the gs upper race and bearing and the katana lower bearing. I then used the katana's leftover race as a spacer between the top of the headtube and the bottom of the triple tree.
The biggest problem was getting the ignition off of the gs triple tree. It had these insane safety bolts. I used a 4mm socket and a hand impact driver.
I remounted my headlight bucket and tidied up the wiring for this go around. Lastly, I had to bleed the brakes and remove the fender. (just cause it didn't match). I am looking at putting the old fender on as it is compatible, but I really like the look of just the brace.


The next day I took her out for a ride on central Texas highway 3090. HOLY HELL the suspension had far superior response! I think the new tire was a bit fatter because I really felt a difference leaning into the turns. Maybe a bit slower leaning in, but the forks really held up smoothly through the turns compared to the gs stock forks. If you can luck out on a new front end and have the want to, I really recommend a front end swap. Also, the dual calipers were a great improvement into turns and when coming to stops. I DIG IT.


Next left to do for "completion" of my bike is a valve adjustment, a paint job, and maybe chop the yoshi can about 5 inches. My buddy has a chopped can and I really like the sound/looks. Suggestions?

[weedahoe]

Very nice and excellent find!

[reload]

nice work. i think you got a better fit with this fe over cbr r6 etc. looks like it belongs and less $$.

[jacob92icu]

What are you using for tech and speedo now? Looks nice btw

[cheeterpasteen]

im using a small koso digitial tach/speedo. I mounted it to the headlight bucket. In the last picture its electrical taped to the bars. I had to ride and hadn't figured out the mounting quite yet. haha

[breekman]

Hi im thinking about doing this front end swap on my GS. I have a 99 Kat front. Was it a lot of trouble to do this conversion. Also I didnt understand the file part. If you could explain more that would be great.