Modern forks??

[GMSKEE]

Hey everyone,

I have a 1978 GS750 and was wondering if anyone has upgraded their front forks? Im sure it goes without saying if you upgrade front forks you need to upgrade brakes and calipers. Would a front end of a GSXR work - Possibly inverted?? Just wondering as Im trying to plan out my custom build. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated

[salty_monk]

Do a search... ton of info about this. Any GSXR front end will fit at the bearing (or can be made to fit) but most are much shorter (especially if you use the 17" wheel).

You'll need to figure out steerer stops, ignition mount, handlebar mounts, wheel spacers & brakes (if not using the GSXR wheel).

The YZ front end fits as well from memory.

[GMSKEE]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. Just didnt know where to start

[Toasty]

IIRC the GSXR 1100 front end is your best bet (for gixxer forks) because they are the longest.

[tweekin2]

I picked up a cafe project with the entire front including brakes, wheel and clipons from a 99 CBR 900. Couple of small tweaks but I can give you more details or pics if you shoot me your email.

[spacepirates]

For a straight fork swap look here:

http://scandalon.com/2009/06/motorcycle-fork-diameter-chart/

that gives you a good number of bikes with the same diameter forks as your GS. You can make it easy and use the wheels/brakes from the new donor bike or make it hard and try and find something that fits your stock wheel diameter and brake rotors. You'll probably have to make spacers for the axle and brackets for the calipers if you do that.

otherwise....

http://www.allballsracing.com/index.php/forkconversion

This site lists all bikes with the same (or workable) steering stem bearing sizes. For this you'd swap the triple tree AND forks. The wheel/rotors/calipers just like with a pure fork swap would be up to you. this doesn't take into account steering stem length though...

I'll put in the obligatory warning that changing forks can change the height of the front of your bike and drastically change handling (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad). sport bike front ends are most likely going to be lower, changing the stance of the bike making it handle quicker, which isn't always a good thing.

in my opinion, doing a swap of everything from the stem forward is the easiest. It is also the most expensive and you lose having matching wheels, as the front wheel will be from the donor bike and who knows what that will end up looking like.

[John Kat]

For a straight fork swap look here:

http://scandalon.com/2009/06/motorcycle-fork-diameter-chart/

that gives you a good number of bikes with the same diameter forks as your GS. You can make it easy and use the wheels/brakes from the new donor bike or make it hard and try and find something that fits your stock wheel diameter and brake rotors. You'll probably have to make spacers for the axle and brackets for the calipers if you do that.

otherwise....

http://www.allballsracing.com/index.php/forkconversion

This site lists all bikes with the same (or workable) steering stem bearing sizes. For this you'd swap the triple tree AND forks. The wheel/rotors/calipers just like with a pure fork swap would be up to you. this doesn't take into account steering stem length though...

I'll put in the obligatory warning that changing forks can change the height of the front of your bike and drastically change handling (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad). sport bike front ends are most likely going to be lower, changing the stance of the bike making it handle quicker, which isn't always a good thing.

in my opinion, doing a swap of everything from the stem forward is the easiest. It is also the most expensive and you lose having matching wheels, as the front wheel will be from the donor bike and who knows what that will end up looking like.

Amazing piece of information
It seems that one could switch to almost any fork on the market for our GS 1000/1100's.
I've switched two forks one from a GSXR 1100 G/H and the other from a GSXR 1100 K.
Pure bolt on except for the lock stops.
Major improvement from both ( with the tires and the brakes of course).
The GSXR 1100 K is a little short however....

[spacepirates]

Yeah, my '79 850G front brakes feel lacking. They also might be in need of a rebuild.

I'll probably wait a few years, or until the calipers need a rebuild or the forks need new seals and then I'll spring for a better front end.

Of course, I had the same plan for my 78 Yamaha XS750 and that "simple" swap has turned into a four month ordeal because I have no time to work on it. Eventually... it is always "eventually".....

[posplayr]

If you look around there are many conversions that can be accomplished, and yes for the most part forks can be "bolted-on", however it is not really as simple as that because of the many interrelated decisions on how to accomplish the swaps and how much trouble you want to go through.

My recommendation is to figure out what wheels and tires you want on the bike, then figure out what forks will work with those wheels. The rear is usually easier to deal with than the forks but there are things to watch out for there as well. Many swaps involve the older GSXR 85-92 (oilers) but newer stuff will work as well.

Several issues come up with ground/cornering clearance and there are several ways to deal with these issues (longer rear shocks, fork extensions, 4:2:1 exhaust, 18 v.s. 17" wheels)