vtromey

so, my 929 front end upgrade is finally finished. got the bike back a couple weeks ago from the shop and just put on the fender to finish it off. . .
here's a little bit of history:
i bought the bike mid summer, laid it down on some technical twisties (pushing it a little too much and met with some gravel and a sharp left turn, all my fault! ) . . . anyway, i twisted both forks!

did some research and decided to go with the 929 front end, well that and because i found an entire front end for cheap. $850 CAN.
so i looked over this forum and learned that the biggest issue is getting the right bars with a high enough rise to clear the upper fairing. . .
here's where i'd like to thanks superhawk22 for being so patient in explaining how everything worked from swapping wheels to handlebar mods. . . thanks sh22! this was all very new to me.

anyway, i knew that stock 929/954 bars wont work, others got away with any bar but that's because they streetfightered it and had no fairing to worry about. SH22 used 929 helibar but barely made it work with some cable bending. kudos for making that work! i called helibar and found that the TL 1000 helibar had a slightly higher rise than the 929 and gixxer helibars. so i took a gamble and ordered a set. (ouch! $239 US or $379 CAN shipped, the only thing i paid regular price for . . . but worth it!)

took the bars and the front end to an awesome shop in the greater toronto area. after weeks of waiting, Daniel, my mechanic was able to put it all together with some fenagaling. the bars worked perfectly with lot's of room to spare and the bike still has an aggresive feel. not to mention awesome front end suspension and kick a$$ brakes!!!

stock geometry was maintained, the distance measured from the axle to the stearing head was identical to stock vtr front end. all ***** tapered head bearings where used. the front end already came with steal braided lines so bonus!

here's the tl 1000 helibar. . .



we originally tried a gixxer helibar (with a rise that measured about 1.5"). that didn't work, it was too close to the upper fairing. so all we needed was a 2" rise from the top of the clamp to the bar.

bars turned fully to the left. . .





as you can see, the steering stops don't even touch, by fluke a bolt stops it just as the lower tripple touches the rad hose.



cables are clear. . .







the lower tripple just pushes the rad hose about a millimeter max. not enough to cause concern. don't know if i should wrap something around the hose to protect it.



bars turned fully to the right. . .



cables are clear. . .







rad hose on the right . . .








the only thing that was tricky was trying to line the right hand controls so that the cables are free. the throttle was positioned first so that the cables are free when the bars are turned fully to the left and right. however this didn't give enough room to fit the brake lever bracket and kill switch housing. all that was needed was maybe a millimeter and the weld that joins the riser to the bar stuck out enough to cause problems. so the solution was to grind off just a tad from the bracket to clear the weld and voila, bang on fit. cables are free. oh yah, and the bars are a little long but that's cool. i can just leave it or put bar ends or something.



since the bars have less movement, sharp slow speed turns are affected. something to get used to, it was a little unnerving at first. i can't do a full u turn on a regular street, gotta 3 point turn it.

big thanks goes out to Daniel from S & L motorsports. His patience, expertise, and close attention to detail and safety is what made this mod a success!

http://www.2wheelrepair.com/

i'd also like to thank the guys at Helibar for spending the time to answer all my querries and getting measurements for me and creating an awesome product!

http://www.helibars.com/

here are all the threads on this forum regarding upgrading the front end:

929/954 front end
https://www.superhawkforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=54

best front end
https://www.superhawkforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1608

929/954 headstem bearing numbers needed
https://www.superhawkforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1545

Clip ons to work with 954 swap?
https://www.superhawkforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1699

superhawk22

Excellent, glad it all worked out for you and I was more then happy to help anyway I could. Good idea calling them as that was the only real problem I ran into. (Well pretty much anyway). I told you that you would have a smile from ear to ear when you were done!

superhawk22

BTW you got a twitchy submit button 3 posts!!!

vtromey

crazy, sorry moderators! the computer was slowing down, i hit the refresh button, everything was cool, i log out and go back and it posted 3 times!

vtromey

thanks dude, i'm soo happy with this mod! the bike feels so good!!! in fact, so excited that i'm not putting her away quite yet! prolly not the best thing to do tho since i was caught out in some snow. . . and got home just before black ice started to form!!
can't wait to hit some real twisties again and doin fast sweepers! . . . next year . . . . .

vtromey

anyone need stock VTR front end parts? everything's good except for the fork tubes . . .

superhawk22

With the GSXR forks I went by the suzuki manual then adjusted to my wieght and ridding conditions after almost lowsiding it on the track. It was fine the first way I had it for street but wayyy to soft for track.

inderocker

my frotn axle has been scraped off on one side pretty bad... hows your?

gotbeef

Nice! Have you considered Convertibars?
www.convertibars.com
I'm thinking about getting those for my 954 front end...

Also, it looks like you need to change your clutch fluid...

Riccardo

Are you 100% shure of that?
AFAIK, 929 triple clamp offset is 30 mm, 5 mm less than 35 mm of VTR stock one.
Ciao

vtromey

riccardo: hmm, will double check on that. well, either way, it's pretty close. i haven't felt any difference, it's not twitchy or unstable or anything. if anything it's better!

gotbeef: thanks, dooh! next spring, i'll change the clutch fluid. never heard of convertibars! and trust me i searched everywhere! all i came up with was two bro's V3 adjustable and gilles variobar, both too expensive. . .
well, if the convertibars don't work then you know what will!

superhawk22

You are correct Riccardo, the offset is a little different which is why it feels different at slow speed and dives into curves instead of having to muscle it into them. Length however is almost perfect with the forks flush to the upper triple so you don't get the additional wieght affect. All in all I think it improves the handling of the bike and makes it easier to go fast,(if that's a good thing), espeacially for track day use.

Riccardo

Less triple clamp offset means more trail, so the bike shoud be less manoeuverable and more "steady".
You should have to push it harder into corners.
Ciao

superhawk22

Well I can tell you it definetly is easier to turn into the curves, it actually took some getting used to at first. Possible from the forks being slightly shorter than stock.

superhawk22

I checked the numbers on a trail and rake calculator. Because of the shorter forks it made less trail than stock.

vtromey

i think you're right fellas, now that i think about it, i do notice a quicker steering response, more noticeable at slower speeds but very nice handling at faster speeds. i can't wait to get it set up right!

vtromey

can i find out how i should set the front end based on my weight of 155lbs. or is it just about trial and error? and how do i match the rear set up?

superhawk22

I would try to find the manual for the 929/954 online or someone you know and look for the suspension settings. With your weight, setting it to thier stock settings should be real close to what your looking for and you can play with it from there.
What kind of ridding do you do, street, aggressive street, track? This also makes a difference if you just do normal street then you can set it softer than if you do track. As far as the rear look at the superhawk suspension settings and go from there but a new shock is the best way to go.

Riccardo

Shorter forks could be the "trick"! :wink:
What kind of rake-trail calculator do you have?
Does it consider also fork length in calculation?
I have one (by Tony Foale), but it's very simple.
Ciao

vtromey

thanks SH22. i'm gonna have to say i'm between aggresive street and sport touring. guess i can bare it if the suspension was a little tight on long trips. . . i'd rather have it set up for a little aggressive riding. hmm, maybe i'll try the CBR forums and get info from there. . . :wink: new shock eh?! . . .

2Phaast

If you still have concerns about the throttle cables, check out how I arranged mine.... no binding for the cables on anything, and the same for the brake....

superhawk22

I actually found it online, it's really for those ridiculous choppers that everyone seems to like these days. that's why it does have fork length as a question of course they want you to go the other way because it's for choppers but it'll work with anything. It takes the length of forks, wheelbase, width between stem and forks and the offset.

If I can remeber I'll post a link to it, if you want it let me know.

vtromey

cool, so you went on top of the lever. that a 929 front end as well? with what bars?



this worked just fine.

Infusi0n

Looks great, i have just managed to source the entire front end off a 900RR and will match that up to my bike in the coming months, we shall see how difficult that will be. Custom Triple Clamp ahoy!

Riccardo

I want it!!!
Ciao

superhawk22

Alright I'll try to find it again for you but I have a horrible memory and I always clear my computers history. So, no promises.

Riccardo

Don't worry!
I just have found some of them, simply using google!!!!
Ciao

superhawk22

That's how I found the one I used. I think it was Harry's choppers or something.