of the GSXR Front End Club! However, I am not so sure I like 2 things about it.
1. I am not sure I am going to like the clip ons and the new riding position.
2. The front tire on the wheel I have is a bit old but at low speed, that thing feels like a gyro pulling right and left at different intervals. Higher speed, not so bad. (I haven't checked the tire size yet but if it is a 120, is that normal? Can I fit a 110 on that wide of a wheel and would it do any good to return some of the smooth low speed steering?)
Also figured out my wobbly front end. Can anyone say "loose steering stem?" Good lord, it's amazing I don't kill myself for being lazy and not checking.
Any thoughts on item 2 above?
Before:
(http://www.bolingfordollars.net/pics/stockfront1.jpg)
After:
(http://www.bolingfordollars.net/pics/gsxrfront1.jpg)
That's cool, but you didn't have to sell your truck for it.
Actually, I think I did.
(http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t196/84CrapJ7/1274160053381.jpg)
Looks awesome, those things make the GS look like a whole new bike. You can still put some riser bars on it. Just find some risers on ebay, drill the top triple clamp, reinforce them from the back and bolt them one.
Pulling to the left and right shouldn't be happening. Is the tire on it relatively new? I would think it might be too worn, otherwise I think something else is too tight, too loose, or just out of adjustment. Good work though.
if your wanting risers, I have a set I'll make you a good deal on. complete with a set of aluminum dirtbike bars,
I might have the top nut too tight. I will check that later this afternoon and see if that helps.
Hey Jeremy_Nash: I might just take you up on that. Shoot me a pm and maybe we can work a deal.
Overtightened head night could definitely give you some problems at lower speed.
If you want a temporary fix for the handlebar situation, you could try putting the left bar on the right side, and the right bar on the left side, and flip them so they're angled up instead of down. It lifts them up a little and gives you more an angle you had with normal bars. I've seen a lot of people do it who didn't like the clipons but didn't want to go to full risers. Plus it's free to try.
Chris, I WOULD NOT USE THAT TIRE! I am almost positive that is an original tire from the TL that wheel came off of. If so, it is WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY past it's life cycle. I was going to take it off if you remember but I never got to it.
Gyroscopic effect, hmmmmm. Could the rim not be centered properly? From what I know I would say no.
As for the clip-ons, yup, they are low. Look into some replacement ones that require no modding the upper tripple to use them. I never bought them, but Psyber had steered me to the Swatt clip-ons. They looked great for the money.
Edit: The 120 is a noticeable difference. On a GSXR it is not that bad as the bike compensates for it. A GS however is working harder to use it. I am pretty sure you can go with a 110 on the front. I have read enough to know others have done it. Just remember that whole front end is heavier than before. Larger tire/wheel, dual rotors, dual calipers, etc.... makes for a bit more weight.
Edit #2: Your pic shows no calipers or instruments?! Was that pic before the drive?
Also, it looks like you've got those clipons pulled back a bit. You could try pushing them forward a little. It would still be more forward and lower than your old bars, but it would at least give you a similar hand position. Give it 100-200 miles and see how you feel. I just switched from clipons to normal bars, and absolutely hated it when I started riding them. I've gotten a lot more used to them in the past 300-400 miles, but I'm still switching back to the clipons this weekend.
thanks all. i will look at re adjusting the bars and give them some time before i completely decide.
ocd i think i might try to pull my 110 off the old wheel and see whta sort of difference that makes. also, my ride was sans brakes around my parking area so nothing on the roadway yet. i still have to mount lights and all.
Will the 110 tire fit on the gsxr wheel? I'm doing the same thing and would love to use the brand new 110 tire I have on my gs wheel instead of the 120 on the gsxr wheel with who knows how much life left
Is it a 17inch as well?? I would imagine it would fit, but measure the width of your GS rim and the width of the gsxr rim and see how close they are. I'm sure if you google it you can find a range of front wheels that fit.
If you find that your 110 tire won't fit, and you give up on the project let me know. There's no use in just throwing away a perfectly good front end. :thumb:
Good job on the front end. I think it's one of the neatest things we can do to our bikes. If you want the KILLER option for your risers and money is no object I would go with LSL kit.
(http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab114/Tywash/Z120S108.jpg)
I think http://www.spieglerusa.com/cfm/sbk.cfm are the only dealers
Quote from: tt_four on May 21, 2010, 05:48:01 PM
Is it a 17inch as well?? I would imagine it would fit, but measure the width of your GS rim and the width of the gsxr rim and see how close they are. I'm sure if you google it you can find a range of front wheels that fit.
If you find that your 110 tire won't fit, and you give up on the project let me know. There's no use in just throwing away a perfectly good front end. :thumb:
Can't imagine I'll give up on the project because the tire won't fit ;)
hmm.... alright, well I think you guys finally broke me. I started browsing ebay for a new front end. I'm still saving for another whole bike, so I can't go crazy like some of you guys have, but I'm gonna just keep an eye out for good deals. If I can pull it off for a bit less than you guys have by finding a 96-99 gsxr750 front end, or maybe even early 90's if they look ok, I'll slowly piece it together. I know down the line when I find another bike I'd lose some interest in the GS if it's still just like it is now, but if I put a new front end on it, and then inevitably I'm sure I would get a wider rear wheel for it, I'd be willing to put in some more work to really clean things up and just hold onto it.
tt_four: that's been my delimma all along. I bought the GS as a "get re-acquainted with motorcycles" sort of thing. The bike seems to have enough power for what I need and for cruising around and even some highway riding but down the road, i would either like to build my own bike from parts I collect or buy another (larger) bike and I know that the GS will be abandoned. My biggest problem is that I feel really too big for this bike and certain sitting positions just aren't going to happen without really modifying it (which I am really struggling over.)
I still have the thought of parting it and doing so during this summer would probably be my best best but I really would like to continue to ride some more during this season.
However, keep your eye out. I actually found my front end on Ebay and was lucky enough to get it (just the trees and forks) for right around $160 ish.
This may be a really dumb comment so if it is please just ignore it and just move right on along to the next one, but do you think the "gyroscopic effect" could be due to the fact that there is no brace between the forks? Because when I used to have my gs although it was stock I took the front fender and brace off one time and it wobbled pretty bad.
It's really not so much of a wobble as it is a pulling feeling to right or left. It could simply be that the old tire along with added weight is something that I am not used to.
Check your steering head bearings are adjusted correctly and moving freely.
Moemoney: That's a good guess, but it wouldn't be because of a brace. The GS has a brake because the forks are like spaghetti noodles, but the gsxr forks are way stiffer and don't need a brace. They no longer come with fork braces.
cboling: This is actually the first set I found on ebay... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230475870116&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
I'm sure the price will go up, but I figure it's worth watching. Like I said, most of the swaps I've seen have been from K model gsxrs, and I'm fine with anything from the 90's as long as their USD and a lot stiffer than the GS forks. I eventually need to piece it all together and try to think of everything. Even if I got a good deal on the forks and a wheel, I still need to take into account all the parts I need, like brakes, rotors, front tire, clipons a gs stem and pay bob to press it in(unless I can figure it out). I'd need a GS brake lever I'm sure. I can picture it adding up fast, and most of the swaps I've seen have been $5-600, which is more than I think I'd care for.
Currently my motorcycle fund has been built off of bicycle stuff I've been selling, and then I get a 3rd paycheck in July so I'm hoping to grab that. Otherwise I'm not trying to mess with normal funds. I think if I did a fork swap I'd have to try to budget it into the normal money, so I'll see what I can do. My wife brought home a $180 pot the other weekend, I guess I can try to use that as leverage. I didn't even know pots that expensive existed, and it was even on sale, haha. There's a bike salvage yard by my parents house, it may be worth a stop over there, who knows what they'd charge for an entire front end.
The reason I've been riding the GS now is because I decided I wanted to buy a new bike last spring, and in the mean time I figured we'd pull my wife's bike out of storage in her parents shed to ride temporarily. It had been sitting there for 4 years. Once I get another bike I really won't be riding this one much. I'm hoping I can just lower it and she'll ride with me again. I don't think she's horribly interested in it now, but she might after I've been riding it more. The two reasons I'm unsure about the venture, is because 1, if I get another bike, and she doesn't want to ride this one, and I eventually want to sell it, it will have been a lot of time and money put into it for not much. I'll hopefully have another bike before I even collect all the parts for the swap, so who knows what my motivation would be after that, and 2nd.... Whatever bike I get is just going to be for fun. I've had bikes for transportation, and put 10k miles on them a year, and that's fine, but whatever I get I would like to last me 10-15 years of nice evening/weekend rides. Someday when I move out of the city and need something to actually commute on daily, I'll not want to ride my good bike daily and wear it out, so I'll hopefully be able to use that as my excuse to pick up another bike, just a sv650/gsxr600/750 or something. That'll be hard if I still have the GS, as leverage is out the window. On the plus side, if I fix the GS up super well, maybe I can someday trade it to someone for a better bike that's been crashed or just in need of some serious love, trade of a great GS for a not so great gsxr/cbr, something like that. Either way, I've done some work to my bike already with the half assed tail swap, that'll eventually be cleaned up, and plenty of other stuff, but if I ever actually put on new forks, it would definitely push me over the limit to say I needed to really clean up everything well, like cut and reweld my subframe so my tail fits perfect, wider back wheel, weld on a better exhaust, all kinds of stuff, so it'd be a serious project. Who knows.
That is my essay for the night.
tt_four... if you do get a set of GSXR forks, I have a turned 99 GSXR stem to fit a GS. I moved the forks to my SV and will not be going back. Also, I think I still have an extra front wheel.
Sounds good, I'll definitely keep it in mind. I didn't win that last set that was on ebay, but if I do find a front end some day I'm sure it'll be from that time range.