katana front end/rear wheel swap onto GS700?

[Junkie]

I was wondering if the front end and rear wheel from either a 1990 Katana 600 or a 1989 Katana 750 would easily swap onto my GS700. What other parts would I need in order to make this work? Presuming I can get the parts for cheap, is it a worthwhile mod?

thanks

[kingofvenus]

Yes. Do a search of my posts on this, I've described this in detail. Swap is easy, parts are cheap and radial tires rock. A new aftermarket rear shock helps handling on these too.

[Junkie]

ok, so it appears that the front end bolts right up, without any new bearings or anything needed (although it might make sense to use new ones). I'm having trouble finding out if the rear wheel requires spacers or anything though - the larger ones do, but the katanas have fairly narrow rear wheels.

[kingofvenus]

For the rear wheel you would use all the Katana pieces. Both spacers, and of course the caliper mount. The kat wheel assy is actually a tiny bit wider than the original. The stay for the caliper has to be modified slightly to clear the wider tire. I made a new one out of smaller round stock.

[Junkie]

So the assembly is a bit wider, but not the wheel + spacers are they? ie there are clearance issues with the brake caliper, but it should fit in the swingarm fine?

[jtolbert]

So, since I may be obtaining a GS700E this weekend, what year/model forks are a good swap for this bike? How about the rear wheel? Do you use the GS' brake setup, or the later bike's?

[Junkie]

The GSX***F katana front end bolts right up, and the rear wheel off it is what we were talking about. This is for 88 (I think) up through 97 or so.

[kingofvenus]

So the assembly is a bit wider, but not the wheel + spacers are they? ie there are clearance issues with the brake caliper, but it should fit in the swingarm fine?

Yes it fits in the swingarm fine. The differance is about 3/16" and not the caliper, the stay that holds it. The stock one will rub the side of the wider tire. '89 and up, '88 has the older solid (heavier) six spoke wheels, '98 and up rear will fit also, those wheels are four in. wide. (a 1/2" more) Some models of GSXR's parts fit also.

[Billy Ricks]

You can make just about any year front end work. Just make sure you use all the components front the right range of years. If it's an SRAD fork use SRAD wheel and brakes. I've actually got a '95 fork in a CBR954 triple with an '88 front wheel and brakes. The rotors are PFM iron pieces.

It needs painting so don't pay too much attention to the mismatched paint.

[Junkie]

Wow, that looks like an awesome bike there. How much shorter were the SRAD forks than the stock ones?

[Billy Ricks]

Wow, that looks like an awesome bike there. How much shorter were the SRAD forks than the stock ones?

Since it had a 16" wheel up front originally and a 17 after the swap I didn't lose much. Using CBR954 triples gets a little length back since it is stepped down about 3/4 of an Inch. I may have lost an inch at most up front.