Ok so I got a kat front end to swap onto my GS. I already mocked it up and see that the stem is wrong. What are my options?? What is the easiest mod to make it work. Thanks to TBolt my GS is going to be a killer bike. Just need a little advice on this topic.
I believe the katana forks are 37mm as well, right? I think people just slide the katana forks right into the GS triples. I'm not positive on that though. Try it out.
Buddha used to sell Katana triples that already have the GS stem pressed in, contact him if you are interested.
-Jessie
89-95 kat forks - actually all kat forks 89-11 are all 41mm.
89-95 are just better cos they had a few features that was dropped on later models. Especially the brakes on the older was DOP - dual opposed piston. The newer kats have 2 of the gs kind of calipers, 1 stationary pad and 2 pistons pushing the other pad.
I used to machine and sell em ... yea but sadly dont any more.
Cool.
Buddha.
The 95 Katana front end you bought from me has 41mm forks and any decent local machine shop with a shop press (20 ton should be plenty) will be able to push out the Kat stem and push in the GS stem in a matter of minutes. I'm pretty sure the stem is pressed out and DOWN through the bottom clamp... the shop should be able to see that... but keep that in mind just in case they try to go the wrong way.
If you are feeling adventurous, you could try your luck with a BFH and knock that SOB out yourself. It won't be easy and unless you are really careful, it could cause irreversible damage to the parts. There was a recent post by some guy about how he did it at home with a big hammer. Not the smartest or the technically correct way to go about it...... but he got the job done.
I think I am going to take both stems down the street to the local motorcycle shop and see what they say. I might see about just getting a shop press so that I dont need to go anywhere. I am sure I can find other reasons to have a shop press around the house.
I'm thinking about getting this one myself. Hella cheap and a lot of very positive reviews....
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-shop-press-32879.html
Pretty sure the motorcycle shop will just look at you like you're crazy. Places that sell parts rarely encourage you to do anything yourself. Even if you don't have access to a full press, you could probably do it with a big enough vice and some wood blocks.
Sorry, I meant the latch the seat connects to near the middle of the seat.
When I got the bike for a song, the seat release cable was broken. I was clever enough to manipulate the release lever with a flat screwdriver. The previos owner however, was apparently not so clever.
Quote from: SasaugeCreature on February 09, 2011, 08:56:40 PM
Sorry, I meant the latch the seat connects to near the middle of the seat.
When I got the bike for a song, the seat release cable was broken. I was clever enough to manipulate the release lever with a flat screwdriver. The previos owner however, was apparently not so clever.
:dunno_black:
Ok so I dont see how the stems are supposed to come out the bottom of the clamp. They look welded in to me. Am I missing something?? :dunno_black:
(http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l640/Brian_Spikes/2011-02-10070805.jpg)
(http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l640/Brian_Spikes/2011-02-10070819.jpg)
Some Stems were welded.....some were pressed. Look around for a set that's pressed.
I have a few sets in the garage- I'll be out there later today anyway so I'll see what I have.
Won't it be easy to grind the welds off and push the stem out like i said?
Quote from: tb0lt on February 10, 2011, 11:14:15 AM
Won't it be easy to grind the welds off and push the stem out like i said?
Yes if that was what you wanted to do.
However there were 2 types of GS stems. The welded or the fitted in with a clip kind, the fitted with clip type is easier to push out and put in the kat and weld it up. Kats are all welded. However I dont think the right way to do it is doing any welding or grinding, though it is alright, not too bad. The grind and weld thing you dont even need a gs stem. You can grind off the kat stem, push it down 1/2 inch or whatever, get the part that is protruding under the triple spread with a pipe spreader, then just weld taking care to hit the stem more than the triple.
I've done that, works just fine. Do it carefully and you even save the bearing, cos you dont unseat it by drift punching and hammering, you unseat it just by removing the stem and then use a pipe to push it down. Works better and is much gentler on the bearing.
However I would think the ideal way to do a it - machine the kat stem. Turn the bearing seat area 1/2 inch, then cut threads, then cut the thread boss out, shorten to the right length and insert the thread boss back there and weld it. The thread boss isn't that crucial ... you can remove the triple clamp bolt and the bike wont be affected even when you're riding along. The fork tubes hold the upper triple. I used to have an old guy do that for me. He died and I am SOL.
Cool.
Buddha.
Ok I have 4 stems and 2 of them are pressed.
:cookoo: oops, somehow posted to the wrong thread. Carry on. :technical:
After a quick check, I have 3 GS stems that are not welded and one that is welded. But I guess if the Kat stem needs to be welded, it doesn't really matter.