Thunderace front and rear?

[Fj.itis]

Any write ups on the thunderace rear and front end? Will they fit? Got an awesome deal on both ( free ) , just seeing what im in for thats all. My bike is an fj1100 84.

Cheers

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Chris, yes that has been done. The YZF1000 was only offered for 1 year (1998) here in the states but was widely available over in the EU, therefore, not a lot of conversions here stateside.
I have the complete rear end conversion on my '84 (picts in the gallery) The T-Ace swing arm is set up for a dog bone type linkage so to get the swing arm to fit on my '84 I had to convert the linkage over to the dog bone style used on the later FJs (1988 and later)
To do this I needed to find a relay arm off the 89-91 FJ, something easier said than done...follow the link below to see what was involved in modifying the swing arm to fit the FJ. Marc Rittner did a excellent post on the swing arm modifications. Follow his dimensions and you will be golden.

I did not use the T-Ace front end (decided to go for the chicks) although if I were to stay with conventional forks that would be a good choice.
The FJ uses 41mm stanchion tubes and the T-Ace uses much more stout 48mm tubes. Hell for strong, plus they are cartridge forks.

A complete write is on Barry Edwards site, remember the T-Ace is referred to as the YZF1000...
http://www.fjmods.co.uk/

Hope this helps, cheers..

[Fj.itis]

Awesome pat!  Exactly what i wanted to hear, cheers for all the info! My brother inlaw owns a thunderace and has a few spares lying around he doesnt want. Woo hoo for me.

In the works is a r1 front and rear fairing and thunderace rolling gear! Decided to go back to the fairing type just for more comfort at speed, cant wait.

Cheers again

[fj1289]

Jeff (username Brook) did a very nice R1 fairing swap.   Having trouble finding many pics now in previous posts (may just be my awesome data plan...)

Here's a mashup of a prior post and separate pic:

...... The FJ, is recognized as a sport/touring motorcycle.

I see mind, [with the R1nose and R6tail] 100%more sport vs touring.   

A few years ago, I had a 04 R1 along with my stock looking FJ. And when I came back from a ride off of the R1, my back was killing me. [sold it]

I really like the feel and power of my 86.  But, looking at the front, .. I see a Mack Truck. [that's my opinion] 

no matter where I go, it seems like all eyes are on my R1.... O mistake, FJ !!

And I do like having a bike, that few others have........ But, that's just me. 


                                            Jeff

   

[fj1289]

Pat - I just tried to look at the ThunderAce fork swap on Barry's site -- looks like that link got missed in the move to a new server.   I tried a couple different addresses but couldn't figure one out.  The other links are good though - maybe Marc Rittner's write up on the YZF swap is close enough?

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Chris, that's a bummer...I sent a email to Barry...hopefully he can find it...it was a good write up.

[Fj.itis]

That blue bike is definately the look im going for! Thanks for your help guys.

[Harvy]

Thanks Chris, that's a bummer...I sent a email to Barry...hopefully he can find it...it was a good write up.

Pat, seems Barry missed bringing Frank's FZ1 info across as well.
For anyone that doesn't want to do a real lot of engineering work to modernise the FJ suspension, first gen FZ1 front and rear end swaps are very simple in comparison.


Harvy

[Pat Conlon]

Good point Harvy....

[Grey runner]

Fitting a T/ace front end is fairly easy, the Fj steering stem needs to be pressed out of the bottom yoke and have it pressed into the T/ace bottom yoke and then you are good to go, well almost, you can use the FJ ignition switch but if you want to retain the steering lock then a bit of filling and sawing will be necessary, it will work but the steering will only lock in a central position. Handle bar clamps need to be fixed to the top yoke for handle bars of your choice. With the different bars avaliable you can raise them to a height that suits yourself. It would also be good to have custom springs as the FJ is heavier than the T/ace, you will get the best result by using Motorex racing fork oil 2,5W. Setting up the damping is probably the most frustrating, pick a section of road that you know well and keep going along it till you get the settings that suit you, if you put a cable tie round the fork leg it will show you how much fork travel you are using. The new forks are about an inch shorter than the old ones so you will have a really quick turning FJ, especially if you have raised the backend by changing the dog bones..............Happy modding

[Fj.itis]

Fitting a T/ace front end is fairly easy, the Fj steering stem needs to be pressed out of the bottom yoke and have it pressed into the T/ace bottom yoke and then you are good to go, well almost, you can use the FJ ignition switch but if you want to retain the steering lock then a bit of filling and sawing will be necessary, it will work but the steering will only lock in a central position. Handle bar clamps need to be fixed to the top yoke for handle bars of your choice. With the different bars avaliable you can raise them to a height that suits yourself. It would also be good to have custom springs as the FJ is heavier than the T/ace, you will get the best result by using Motorex racing fork oil 2,5W. Setting up the damping is probably the most frustrating, pick a section of road that you know well and keep going along it till you get the settings that suit you, if you put a cable tie round the fork leg it will show you how much fork travel you are using. The new forks are about an inch shorter than the old ones so you will have a really quick turning FJ, especially if you have raised the backend by changing the dog bones..............Happy modding




Cheers for the info! I didnt realise it was all this easy, saves me alot of time figuring it all out myself.

Thanks again guys

[fj1289]

Fitting a T/ace front end is fairly easy, the Fj steering stem needs to be pressed out of the bottom yoke and have it pressed into the T/ace bottom yoke and then you are good to go, well almost, you can use the FJ ignition switch but if you want to retain the steering lock then a bit of filling and sawing will be necessary, it will work but the steering will only lock in a central position. Handle bar clamps need to be fixed to the top yoke for handle bars of your choice. With the different bars avaliable you can raise them to a height that suits yourself. It would also be good to have custom springs as the FJ is heavier than the T/ace, you will get the best result by using Motorex racing fork oil 2,5W. Setting up the damping is probably the most frustrating, pick a section of road that you know well and keep going along it till you get the settings that suit you, if you put a cable tie round the fork leg it will show you how much fork travel you are using. The new forks are about an inch shorter than the old ones so you will have a really quick turning FJ, especially if you have raised the backend by changing the dog bones..............Happy modding

Does the FJ stem actually "press" into the ThunderAce lower triple?  Or is it a loose fit like in an R1 or YZF750 lower triple?

[Grey runner]

Yes it has to be pressed in.