2007 R1 Front and Rear end........

[axiom-r]

Thanks Arnie!  The R1 forks are about 3 inches shorter.  I knew that I would not need to recover all of that because of the handlebars as you mention but also because the FJ handling is known to benefit from dropping the front end a bit.  I was shooting for a 2 inch extension so that most of the gap would be recovered and (with the right extender) I would still be able to adjust the front ride height slightly at the clamps.

[SlowOldGuy]

Better to raise the rear than lower the front.  Easier on the hard parts.

DavidR.

[candieandy]

I have a 2004 R1 swingarm on my fj 1200. it was on my 1100 until i transfered it this fall. take a look i have some pics on here. also wasnt too much work. a lot easier then figuring out how much of the cush drive needed machined out to stuff a  larger wheel in the stock swingarm. and of course the usuals.. adjustable doglink, custom upper shock bracket-easy to put together, and a little time.

[axiom-r]

Hey Candieandy,

I did find a couple shots of your bike- it looks like the swingarm is braced on top so that would be a 2003 or earlier I think.  I have the 2007 part and it is notched out for the exhaust on the right, braced below and has a pretty small space for the shock offset to the left for the exhaust etc.  I would love to know more about your mod- was it similar to the Thunderace swingarm- shaving off a bit of each side on the pivot?  What does your custom upper shock bracket look like?

cheers- tim

[candieandy]

yeah it was like to thunderace transplant. they did change the swingarm design in 04 on the R1.my is from an 03 R1.  the upper bracket i made  binds against the old shock mount. i will post pics later if i can find them. its made out my old lower center stand and plated steel. welded and powdercoated. but i found that i have to rebuild the upper mount for the fj1200 as the upper mounts aren't in the same location as the fj1100

[axiom-r]

Well I have been continuing to collect up parts for the suspension mod I am preparing for and will post some more pictures soon.

I want to use the Thunderace Swingarm and a Penske Shock.

I have contacted Soupy's for some adjustable dogbone's and they asked me to choose between two available lengths to raise the rear end. Here is thier message:

"because the 92 FJ1200 has fairly short dogbone's to begin with, its kinda hard for us to make an adjustable version that's even shorter. we can help you although there will be a $30 additional charge for the custom work so the total will be $121 + shipping. 2 options as follows: 4.5 inches to 6 inches center to center. these should be capable of raising the rear up to 1.5 inches. the other option is 4 inches to 5.25 inches center to center and should be capable of raising the rear up to 3 inches. we could make these in about a day for you. if you would like them, let me know your paypal email address and which shipping option you would like and we'll send you an invoice to pay on paypal. thanks, Soupys."

So the questions are, with the mod plans I have:

• What is the range of lengths that would be desirable?
• Is it likely that I will want the full 3 inches of additional ride height or is 1.5 inches of additional ride height going to be more than enough?
• Is the $121 plus shipping consistent pricing?

It appears that the stock DB's are approximately 6 and 1/8th inches long and approximately 5 inches center to center (measured loosely on the bike).

I found (during my extensive search of the Forum) that members have established 5mm shorter equals 1.5 inches raised.
I found lots of info but nothing that stated outright the length of the shorter bones.... 

AndyB I saw a comment you made regarding being able to go from +.5" to -3" in 10 minutes. Is this using Soupy's bones?  Does that mean you can increase dogbone length .5" and decease it 3"?

As always- thanks in advance for any wisdom!  I am leaning towards Soupy's option two for a max increase in height of 3".

tim

[simi_ed]

When  I bought my Penske, I ordered it with the ride height adjustment.  It is a simple adjustment, and there is only 1 instead of 2 dogbones that ( I guess) need to be identical length.  Just a thought ...

[Harvy]

"because the 92 FJ1200 has fairly short dogbone's to begin with, its kinda hard for us to make an adjustable version that's even shorter. we can help you although there will be a $30 additional charge for the custom work so the total will be $121 + shipping. 2 options as follows: 4.5 inches to 6 inches center to center. these should be capable of raising the rear up to 1.5 inches. the other option is 4 inches to 5.25 inches center to center and should be capable of raising the rear up to 3 inches. we could make these in about a day for you. if you would like them, let me know your paypal email address and which shipping option you would like and we'll send you an invoice to pay on paypal. thanks, Soupys."


tim

HI Tim.......not sure if this is going to help your decision making......but here is what I have.

'91 FJ with 2002 FZ1 swing-arm and currently OEM shock on OEM linkage.
I have Soupy's adjustable bones.
They are set at 5" centre to centre - with the bike on the centre stand I can just slide my little finger between the rear tyre and the ground.

HTH
Harvy

[racerman_27410]

Using a different swingarm will alter the pickup points for the dogbones so i would not order anything until you have it all mocked up and can actually measure and verify the length dogbones necessary..... then it's a simple matter to just make the length dogbones you need from steel plate or order the ones you know will have the adjustment range you're looking for.

JMO,

Kookaloo!


Frank

[axiom-r]

Thanks Ed, Harvy and racerman- all good points, perspective and info.   I am going to go ahead and deal with the swingarm install first and address the dogbones when I can confirm measurements.  

Another issue has come up that I did not really recognize until last night while I stood staring at my pile of parts caliper and tape in hand.....
The Thunderace swingarm does not clear the stock exhaust.....  

So, if I am going to have to go with a new exhaust system too (I wanted to keep the stock one) I might as well look into a custom pipe bent to fit with the 07 R1 swingarm. I think the easiest path would be to use the Thunderace arm with some XJR1300 cans which have a wider gap between the connector pipes to the collector box. But, the 07 R1 swingarm looks like it will mount via the same mods as the Thunderace and it is notched out on the right side for an under seat exhaust set up. Looking at my FJ with the Givi's mounted- there is a nice space between the baggage mounts and the bike- it is feasible that with a custom bent pipe I could create a pretty unique exhaust set up.

Here is the Thunderace arm with the 6" wide 07 R1 rear wheel. The axles are the same length and diameter so the wheel went right on with plenty of room and will only need the right spacers for centering.  Then of course, I'll have to deal with the chain alignment issues.


Here is the R1 swinger next to the Thunderace:  Notice the cutaway for the exhaust on the right side. It would be uber cool to make use of this and have a custom pipe.


I love the look of the 5 spoke R1 wheels and would really like to use the forks and swingarm too.  I bought an extra speedo drive to destroy trying to see if i can make it work with the R1 front wheel.  If I can have it reduced in width and still function I may be able to convert the R1 wheel to work with the stock speedo. Or I could give up on the stock speedo and just stick a small digital speedo onto my dash somewhere with the pick-up on the front or rear wheel.

I am getting excited to dig in on the bike but I am going to leave it together for use while I deal with the triple clamp conversion (pressing the FJ steering stem into the R1 lower tree) and prepare/locate the rest of the parts.

FJR1?  I hope so!

tim

[carsick]

The Thunderace swingarm does not clear the stock exhaust.....  

tim

Let me ease your pain by taking that evil, frustrating swingarm away so you can focus on the R1 arm.
Doug

[axiom-r]

ah carsick, I think its the R1 arm that is the evil, frustrating PITA!!  But if I can get it to work you are first in line for the T-Ace!  I also collected up the FZ1 wheels so if the R1 stuff goes on I will have most of the stuff needed for another FJ conversion.

I did find this one pretty quick from a dismantler in Florida- $150 shipped.

[carsick]

Yup, you need another FJ to convert!

[axiom-r]

Well the transformation is underway.  I decided not to wait and to start with the rear end because from what I know it is going to be the more complicated and challenging mod.

All the stock rear-end components are off and I have been able to begin the process of mocking up the R1 parts.  The R1 arm goes into the space very nicely but until I trim the pivot area I cannot get it correctly lined up.  I can see the chain offset is big enough to notice already. I am not sure about the R1 swingarm having the same centerline as the FJ.  In Marc Rittner's ThunderAce write-up he has built a jig to determine that the T-Ace arm and the FJ arm have the same centerline.  So I need to do this for the R1 arm.  Hopefully that will be confirmed this weekend to be the same as the FJ.




I have removed the rear brake and the long lines to the ABS Pump. I think I want to remove my entire ABS system- can I do that without upsetting the remaining electrical system?  As always- any and all advice / perspective / wisdom is appreciated!!

[SlowOldGuy]

I think others that have removed their ABS simply unplugged all the electrical connections and that was it.

DavidR.