Fork upgrade decisions???????

[Thmsdoyle]

Ok, starting my search for 89 or newer forks for my 84 upgrade. If anyone comes accross a set let me know.

A big thank you for all the fork talk, has helped with my decision.
Thms

[Thmsdoyle]

Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm getting sick. Just when I thought I was for sure going with the 89 fork mod. Now I've found a complete 2001 yzf r1 front end. What to do what to do??? Moditis sucks. As I type this I can feel my wallet getting thinner. 

[fj1289]

Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm getting sick. Just when I thought I was for sure going with the 89 fork mod. Now I've found a complete 2001 yzf r1 front end. What to do what to do??? Moditis sucks. As I type this I can feel my wallet getting thinner.  

Well, depends on how straight forward you want things to be. I've done a few early R1 fork conversions, but they are more work - and require you to gather a lot more parts to do the job well -- but it is possible to keep the gear driven speedo if you adapt a YZF1000 ThunderAce wheel. I'll follow with more details if you are interested.

And I don't consider moditis a disease...more that its just the natural order of things!!

[FJmonkey]

Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm getting sick. Just when I thought I was for sure going with the 89 fork mod. Now I've found a complete 2001 yzf r1 front end. What to do what to do??? Moditis sucks. As I type this I can feel my wallet getting thinner. 

My wallet is thinner too, but I smile more often. 

[keand3]

Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm getting sick. Just when I thought I was for sure going with the 89 fork mod. Now I've found a complete 2001 yzf r1 front end. What to do what to do??? Moditis sucks. As I type this I can feel my wallet getting thinner. 

My wallet is thinner too, but I smile more often. 

I have no wallet left! 

[WhiteBeard]

Damn it!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm getting sick. Just when I thought I was for sure going with the 89 fork mod. Now I've found a complete 2001 yzf r1 front end. What to do what to do??? Moditis sucks. As I type this I can feel my wallet getting thinner. 

My wallet is thinner too, but I smile more often. 

I have no wallet left! 

[racerrad8]

I recall this post from David and wanted to make sure it was present in the actual conversation about the RPM fork valves.

Randy - RPM

Just a clarification to a previous post I made regarding RPM fork valves. 

I installed the valves on my '85 FJ a few months ago and was initially struggling to get the anticipated performance out of them.  Randy was great, of course, working with me to get things straightened out.

My main complaint was what felt like a pogoing front end.  I changed from the 5wt fork oil to 10wt and the response seemed to be better.  The weather has been really cold here for the last few weeks, so I haven't been able to do any additional tuning.

Last Saturday, the weather finally broke so I took the '85 out to lunch.  The suspension was absolutely terrible, worse than I remember it being.  At a stop light I decided to check the sag so I pulled up on the rear end to gauge the sag.  The rear end didn't budge so I bounced down on the seat.  Again, NO movement at all from the rear end!  Evidently my high $$$ Penske had locked up solid for some unknown reason (probably mostly due to non use).
I limped home, pulled the shock off, and sure enough it was locked up solid.  I removed the spring and a few blows with a rubber hammer managed to free up the plunger.  I was not impressed. 

Sunday was another good day so I took the FJ on an extended ride.  Needless to say, the suspension action from both ends was much better.  I have no idea when the Penske froze up or whether it was a gradual thing or did it while sitting for the last few weeks.

I still have some more adjusting to do to the RPM valves (mostly to get back to Randy's recommended settings), but my statement that the RPM valves were not even close to the performance of my FZ1 suspension was not exactly accurate.  With a proper working rear shock, I feel the RPM valves are now far closer to the FZ1 cartridge performance than I previously experienced.

My apologies to Randy for casting doubt on his product.  For anyone considering the RPM valves, I would highly recommend them for a huge performance boost over the stock components. 

DavidR.

Clarification on a Comment I Posted on RPM Fork Valves

[DreadRock]

 I found it once and can't seem to find it again about if the 85 1100 trees the same as the 1200 trees ? Reason I ask is I've update the rear with a R6 wheel and am planning on going with a USD front from a yzf1000 and from what I have read most are done on 1200s .  My. Question is can I use the 1100 stem in the YzF yoke following ritters set up instead of the 1200s ? Either way its getting done just trying to save money where I can 

[Flynt]

can I use the 1100 stem in the YzF yoke following ritters set up instead of the 1200s ?

Yes, stem is same.

Frank

[Flynt]

can I use the 1100 stem in the YzF yoke following ritters set up instead of the 1200s ?

BTW - Marc used yzf750 forks, not the 1000 version.  I think all of the USD YZF1000 forks are shorter and require an extension to give you the right length for the front of the FJ.  

Marc also spent $$ with GP Suspension getting the valving tuned for the FJ and for him.  I did the same when I rebuilt them...  

Also, the stock yzf750 tubes feature crappy chrome work that wears through in a distressing display of scratching and overheated/purple-blue appearance (this may be true for all early KYB USD tubes).  Getting that fixed was also several hundred $$ in new Racetech tubes and fork rebuild.

I think they are a wonderful upgrade...  very tunable and supple, improved stiffness, just great looking, etc.  However I would not say they are cheap at all.

Frank

[DreadRock]

Good info thanks guys !

I've got all winter to get it done ! And that's a very good point between the 750 and 1000 lengths ! Think any good upgrade costs at some point or other and if your going to go for it then go for it !

Again thanks will get a write up on the rear wheel and fork set up when I'm done as I see alot of guys asking about the 1100s but seems to be way more info on the 1200s !

[Flynt]

Pat has yzf1000 USD on his '84 I believe...  maybe he can share some details with you.

Frank

[Pat Conlon]

Negative, I used the '92 FZR1000 front end. Plug and play.

On the back I used the 1997 YZF1000 (aka:ThunderAce) swing arm and wheel assembly (just like yours)

[giantkiller]

 I used 2008 gsxr front end on mine the gsxr1000 front end is a little over sprung. (Stift) from the factory. So I thought on a heavier fj they would work. Actually had to back off the settings a little. Have a little weld added to the bottom of the fj stem and have it machined down to fit the gixxer triple botom and a collar to fill in the space on the top triple. I've got 3 1/3" extensions made. They give me about an inch of adjustment on handle bar hieght. I used the gixxer clippons flipped them over. Cut off the bars made risers to match the fj bars exactly. Made the risers with a jigsaw and belt sander in my garage. I used a trailtech vapor for speedo and tachometer also has shift lights maintenance reminder engine oil temp and a bunch of other stuff.for $117 off ebay. Used the stock idiot lights. And a round digital fuel gauge in stock location and digital voltmeter on the other side. I weighed the complete gixxer front, wheel fender everything. Against the stock fj components. The gixxer front was only 9.8lbs lighter than the fj's I thought it would be more. Oh yah the digital gauge set up is alot lighter too so even more weight savings.

[simi_ed]

can I use the 1100 stem in the YzF yoke following ritters set up instead of the 1200s ?

BTW - Marc used yzf750 forks, not the 1000 version.  I think all of the USD YZF1000 forks are shorter and require an extension to give you the right length for the front of the FJ.  

Marc also spent $$ with GP Suspension getting the valving tuned for the FJ and for him.  I did the same when I rebuilt them...  

Also, the stock yzf750 tubes feature crappy chrome work that wears through in a distressing display of scratching and overheated/purple-blue appearance (this may be true for all early KYB USD tubes).  Getting that fixed was also several hundred $$ in new Racetech tubes and fork rebuild.

I think they are a wonderful upgrade...  very tunable and supple, improved stiffness, just great looking, etc.  However I would not say they are cheap at all.

Frank

Frank, is any of the improved stiffness from a fork brace, or is it purely a function of the forks themselves?