Fork swap from other makes?
 

Hello fellow Superhawk riders, I have been riding my 98 SH since 01, but just discovered this forum. I have a ? and hope someone out there has an answer. Many of us are contemplating or have already done a front end swap to correct a weak point on our beloved Hawk, unfortunately RC51 front ends are rare and expensive, 929 and 954 parts are too. But some other bikes like the R1 are more plentyful and parts seem to be cheaper. So the ? is, can R1 or other front ends work on the SH?

I can't recall exactly, but there might have been a GSXR 750 front end swap, but I can't remember exactly.

Basically, if you use an entire front end from any bike, you'll need to know a few things like the offset, and the bearing sizes. All Balls racing has been pretty good about giving head bearing diameter info if you call one of their tech's. Once you find a set of triples that the bearings will work, then the clip ons and fork length will need to be looked into.

There is a ton of info for the RC/929/954/1000RR swap, but after that, it's gonna be a stretch to find good usable info, you'll probably be the pioneer!!!

J.

If anyone does a conversion from a Yamaha GTS-1000, I'll be really impressed.
http://arc.losrios.edu/%7Emccleld/images/gtsgravl.jpg

There have been swaps with GSXR and R1 forklegs... But as far as I remember they used other triples and it needed a bit of machining to get wheels, rotors and wheel spacers to line up correctly...

As for the triples fitting the legs... no problem as most use a 50/52 mm clamping point...

929/954 parts rare and expensive? Where? I can find atleast four or five complete front ends on ebay right now?

A search would have answered most of your questions.

No, Pigwings, a search would have provided him info about what has been done and how to do it. He asked a specific question, not just a "what fits?" question. Also, if you try to search for "R1" the site says it's not long enough. Searching for "Yamaha forks" doesn't turn up any usable results.

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ebud+front+end

Here's one for 1000rr swap, but I think you'll find 954rr parts just as cheap and the swap would require much fewer mods...

Good luck,
RC

I have definitly searched this forum well, thats how I know about the different swaps, this site is a great source of info. I guess I am just hoping for an ideal solution that will be cheap, easy, and not shorten my front end, I guess nothing is perfect. The problem with a 929 954 swap for me is I have read here about the forks being shorter, how much shorter are they than stock? The other thing is that the springs in 929 954 forks are kinda soft, I would have to upgrade to Race Tech, so there is another $100. I think the ideal situation for me would be RC51 forks and brakes with 929 triples and wheel, but then I get to that problem of RC51 parts being expensive and rare. Any how, I welcome any friendly feedback, esp about the length ?.

It has been a long time ago and it might have been on Firestorm UK where one of the guys did a Yamaha FE transplant and his description of it was very good. I think it was from an R-1. There are specific measurements that must be taken and some years of the r-1 may be better donors than others. Good luck and I agree - worth pursuing given what parts cost now.

The CBR1000 forks are working fantastically for me. I have the forks raised about 13mm in the 954 triple tree. I'm about 170 riding weight and the stock springs are good for that range .88s. I put new springs in anyway since the ones that came with the forks were a little tired. Might want to factor in seals and bushings and just rebuild the forks before installing them.

I used 929/954 triples, head bearings and 01 gsxr 1000 forks, bearings and axle with rc51 wheel and rotors everything lined up pretty easily actually. The biggest hurdle for me was mounting the clip ons under the triple so that I could have the forkd flush in the triples to make up for the 1/2 in difference in length. I went with heli bars for the 929 although I found out later that tl1000s bars are a little higher. I just recently changed the forks out for 06 gsxr 1000 forks and radial mount brakes......sweeet!

The length shouldn't be an issue with the 954/929 forks as long as you stick with the gull winged 954/929 triple tree cuz it gives you the extra length needed and the springs will depend on your weight. If you're light stock 954/929 springs would probably be fine there too. RC51 fork legs can be found, but finding the RC51 front wheel may be tough;)

Try this site for used evil twin parts:
http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/hon...s-classifieds/

Good luck,
RC

I think the 929/954 triples are the key. If you have those lots of forks will work, the GSXR versions being the most plentiful. The toughest part is mounting bars.

I don't think the fork length is an issue. I have 954 fork tubes and the ride height is about 1/2" shorter than a stock SuperHawk. Considering that the front end of the stock Hawk works better with the forks raised in the triples, the real difference is less than that. With changes in rear ride height you can get the bike balanced to your liking with no additional ground clearance issues.

:behindsofa:

Also since with stock springs in the VTR forks it's damned near impossible to get sag correct... The difference ends up being even less as the new front will start lower but sag less (with the right springs of course)

Start with these parts...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Honda-CBR-954-St...1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/02-03-Honda-CBR-...3286.m20.l1116

As said above with these a lot of forks will fit... Honda CBR 929/954/1000RR and Several GSXR forks and a couple of R1 forks...
Then the possible problem area is fitting the wheel/brakes/spacers...

It's easier to go with parts from one donor bike as then it all fits together...

Also there is this to watch...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-...Q5fAccessories

http://www.fireblades.org/forums/for-sale/

Here's a nice place to find 954/929 parts...RC

Agreed. I'm running 954 triples and 01 GSXR750 forks. I run GSXR clip-ons above the triple clamp and the ride height is just a tad lower than stock.

Thanks for all the great info, 1/2 inch in cool, I already have the forks up in the clamps 5mm to help with quicker steering. I forgot to factor in that stiffer springs would mean less sag so I feel better about the fork length now. I still think the 929 springs are too soft (.77 kg?) Race Tech recomends . 95 kg if I upgrade the springs in the stock forks, so I want to go with at least .85 kg to get the firmness I want on the track.You guys really helped, now I know I want gull wing top clamp, and 954 or cbr 1000 forks. But that leads me to one more ?, what wheels are a direct fit in 954 and cbr 1000 front ends? The more I have to choose from the easier it will be to find cheap.

Ooops I just found another potential front end, what about a 07 600rr? triples fit the Hawk? fork tubes close enough?

Those might be too short. You'd have to get a measurement on them.

How come noone uses the cbr 1000 triples? are they a no go ?

The gull wing top triple works well for shorter forks, but it makes mounting bars more difficult. There have been numerous solutions to that problem, so check out the archives. I think it's easiest to use whatever wheel originally came with the forks, but spacers can be made to adapt wheels to wider or narrower forks. I forget how Greg (Hawkrider) did his 1000RR wheel with the 954 triples.

I weigh 175 and I put .95 Racetechs in my 954 forks and I like 'em. And that's for the street. I agree that the stock 929/954 springs are too soft.
That's another reason to look for the 1000RR stuff; the stock springs are better than the 929/954 stuff. Also, the 1000RR has the cool radial calipers, though the 954 brakes are more than good enough.

They have unsightly holes in them for mounting of the HESD stuff. They are just slightly wider than the 954 triples. How much, Greg? Help me out here.

I think there's about 3mm difference between 1000RR and 954 width. Not enough to matter.

The 1000RR triples will work fine except for the ugly HESD holes.

If you were really crafty you could fill the holes with JB Weld, grind/sand down the raised areas, and repaint. Sounds like a PITA though.

The only part of it where it does matter is that you can't interchange the 1000RR stuff with others... Where as RC-51/929/954 triples are all mix and match...

Go with the GSXR750 Showa forks then, they have 0.9kg/mm springs in them as stock.

The 600rr forks are only 45mm if I remember correctly so the 929/954 triples won't work with those forks. I like the gsxr forks personally and if you want radial mount brakes just use a newer year. I just put 06 gsxr1000 forks with a modified rc51 wheel(different bearings and colar), and the only thing I had to do was put a spacer in on the caliper because the rotors were 10mm too large but it's easier to use whatever came with it. I just like the 900rr and rc look and I like the fact that the spacers are built in to the axle makes it so much easier to put the front wheel on.