Thanks everyone for your help on my Katana wheel swap, I ended up taking it to a shop and got it fixed in a jiffy. Now that some of the snow is starting to melt a bit here in Colorado I've got the need to further upgrade this beast. I now have the Katana shock and rear wheel with a 160 tire, as well as a 14 tooth front sprocket. Now for the front end. The forks need to be rebuilt, so I'm wondering what would be a better idea...rebuild the GS front end and install SM2 bars/drag bars/clipons for a better riding position (last bike was an R6 and still can't get used to riding this far upright) or hunt for a Katana front end that obviously has the clipons already? Any suggestions?
Well, I would lean towards a kat front end or even a gix front end.
If it's in your price range, a member (Octane) has a Gixxer front end ready to bolt up for sale in the for sale section. At the $500 he's asking, it's a great deal for what you get.
go with the kat or gsxr front end.
Positives
Better suspension
better braking (dual disk breaks + four pistons calipers on each side instead of a two piston on one)
its actually more nimble.
You can still upgrade the springs for the kat or gsxr once its on.
Fun of doing another mod
Negatives
hmmm. the only thing i can think of is that it would be just slightly cheaper to go with adding on to the gs frontend.
But look around in Colorado and see what you can find. I have a few friends out there who said they see more yamahas and kawi's out there. While here in florida you see more gsxr and hondas(at least where im at) So parts might cost different. due to supply and demand.
I got Kat750 going on my project bike and maybe my daily rider.I say Kat.It's the easiest swap.