1998 VFR - Fork Swapping Questions for Brake Delinking Project

I am collecting parts for my brake delinking project. I know that I need to use the front fork lowers from a VTR 1000 to connect the new calipers. I will be using the calipers from a CBR954rr.

Two options:
1. Will I be better off using the complete front fork from a VTR and install each fork as a complete unit?
2. Or am I better off just using just the lower forks from the VTR and installing the lowers on the VFR fork tubes?

Some considerations:
1. The VTR forks have a damper adjustment, the VFR forks do not.
2. The VTR is a lighter bike so I might need to replace the springs if I use a complete VTR fork on the VFR.
3. I understand that the VTR is a shorter fork, so this might not work on the VFR.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Mike

 

This may help?

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/15223-5th-Gen-Fork-Swap?p=103065&viewfull=1#post103065

 

Every time I see a delink thread that includes changing out the front end, I think the same thing. As a good friend of mine says, "that juice ain't worth the squeeze".

You can de-link with just a new front m/c and a little work. If you are replacing the whole front end, maybe you bought the wrong bike.

Jose

 

Jose:
You are right, it may or may not be worth it... However, delinking can be accomplished without replacing the whole front end. Probably the least invasive method involves only replacing the lower fork tubes. I love to tinker - so for me, this is not work, but a nice relaxing winter bike project. I try to do something to a car, a bike and the house interior every winter (I leave the outside yard projects to the spring and fall)

Last winter's bike project, I installed the European light switches which now give me the ability to turn on and off the lights or place the switch in the parking position with only the front and rear parking lights enabled. And more importantly, I now have the flash to pass trigger on my left side switch (something I really missed when changing over from my BMWs to the VFR).

So I am always ready for a new project. What really started me looking at the brake delinking options was the need for new brakes pads on my current setup. I started looking on all the sites and reading about brake pads - the more I researched, the more delinking articles found and then realized it was really a fairly straight forward project.

I have been riding continuously since I was 12 years old - I am 52 now. I grew up using independent front and rear brakes. I don't think I purchased the wrong bike, there are many aspects of the bike I enjoy after owning it about three riding seasons now. I plan to keep it a while, so I want to set it up the way I ride. I'll keep you posed on my progress.

MD: Thanks for the tip on Jamie Daughty - I'll contact him next week for his opinion on different options.

 

I can't remember whose bike it is (it's the crazy clown colored one), but he did a good job de-linking with stock components. I recall he replaced the front m/c with a GSXR unit. You need to have 3 short hoses made (one for each caliper) so that all pistons work together and modify the m/c at the fork leg so it is solid (like a pinned assembly). Replace all brake lines with braided, replace disks with new wave rotors and put in some EBC double h pads. That will make for some great braking. All I did was replace the front lines with braided and the braking was significantly improved.

For the suspension, there is so much good feedback about Jamie D or RaceTech, that re-inventing the wheel would only make sense if you simply MUST have something different.

Now, if it's about doing something unique, then go crazy. Scrap the simple swap idea. Get a complete Ohlins front end and have it rebuilt/resprung. Something like this would be really cool.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-2002-YAMAHA-YZF-R6-FRONT-OHLINS-FORKS-LEFT-RIGHT-BOTTOM-TRIPLE-TREE-YOKE-/121429352327?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c45c0df87&vxp=mtr

Jose

 

DaHose:

I am tired of hearing the "maybe you bought the wrong bike" line. It's bullshit.

I bought exactly the bike I intended to. I will more than likely be swapping frontends with a 929 or an RC51, and I'll be using 929 brakes, with an RC51 directional 5 spoke wheel. and it's going to preform around town, on a track , any damn where better than stock. and it's going to Look way better, than the 6 spoke stock wheel.

If you can't justify it, then don't worry about it, man. But don't piss on someone's cherio's if you can't, ok?

 

....... And then I read your next post. MAAAAYBE I overreacted.

 

I understand where you and others are coming from and I think you get what I am saying. Putting in a bunch of work for a marginal improvement doesn't make sense to me. A 41mm fork leg is not a giant track ready beast of a tube, but it is quite adequate for anything running at street legal speeds and tuning the very capable stock component to handle anything you can throw at it makes sense.

By the time you source your parts and start re-engineering little things to change out the lower fork legs, you will end up with an assembly that is not going to really outperform correctly setup stock components. The VTR lower still doesn't have all the adjustments of a modern fork. If you are going as far as changing that lower tube, then lose your mind and mean it! Do something radical and make a statement!

However, there is no denying that if you take our big, top heavy sport touring bikes and put race forks on you will never have a track bike that will outpace a real sportbike that is more than 100 lbs. lighter. A VFR just won't run like a race bike, so full race level equipment is for cool factor only. If you are doing stuff for the cool factor, then don't do it half way. Otherwise, when you see someone do it full out you will be bummed you didn't.

I have what I think is a good example of what I'm saying. I own a 1987 BMW M6 (based on a 635CSI)and I have been working on it quite a bit. I rebuilt the entire rear end and in the process I re-engineered how it operates by machining and installing spherical rear control arm bushings of my own design. That one idea required me re-engineer the reard end. In the end I designed/machined new subframe bushings, welded in camber/toe adjustment plates and completely altered how the rear suspension works. For springs and shocks, I went with Bilstein Sport shocks and linear Eibach springs. In the process I realized that the front end was so low it was greatly affecting geometry. So I designed and fabricated my own roll center adapters for the front end, swapped in HD control arm bushings and converted to lighter aluminum lower control arms.

Compare that to some guys with 635CSI's converted to coilovers. They don't realize significantly improved performance over what I am running. Matter of fact, because they didn't make the kind of frame and suspension engineering changes that I have, their cars probably have less performance potential because now their damping capabilities exceed what their "gummy" suspension bushings can handle. So, while coilovers will not perform significantly better than my properly sized springs and correctly valved dampers, installing coilovers looks cool. To me, coilovers on rubber bushings is no different than the guy running airbags so he can slam the car down to the ground. It's not a performance improver, it just a style preference. Which is cool if that's what you are into, but "that juice ain't worth the squeeze".

My next project is going to be a 1973 2002. That little bugger has low CG, light weight and will be running a turbo/propane engine that puts out around 250 HP and 200 ft/lb torque. That little dude will get coilovers, strut braces, servo-less brakes and will smack the crap out of everything short of modern, pure sports cars. Like I said, if you are going to start investing a fair chunk of time and effort into changes be BOLD!. :triumphant:

Jose

 

That being said , there are 120, and 130 NA HP VFR's on the horizon.

but as we know. speed costs money

 

Good points but sort of sounds like, "If your girlfriend has to wear makeup, maybe you got the wrong girlfriend. Maybe you should settle for nothing less than Jennifer Lawrence or have none at all." We're not all George Clooney, we have to settle for what we can get.

 

Interesting you use a makeup analogy. Makeup should only enhance. If without it YOU think your girl is truly ugly, then yes ... you did pick the wrong girl. If you are just "settling" for an ugly chick that can sort of clean up, it would suck for both of you. I find lots of different women beautiful for different reasons.

Tell you what, capn. A better analogy is boob jobs. If big boobs matter, don't date a flat chested gal and tell her to get a boob job just for you. Go find a gal with whatever traits matter to you.

Tuning your forks, changing exhaust, adding helibars, de-linking brakes with stock parts ... that's makeup. Frankensteining your forks ... that's a boob job. layful:

Jose

 

I like your analogy much better, besides it mentions boobies! :bravo: :boobies7:

 

Thanks for the interesting read...

 

Ah, but it's a nice boob job I enjoy. :eagerness:

Honda didn't make the best bike their engineer's could design, they made the best bike their bean counters could sell. It's not far from tuning and de-linking to bolting up a more complete package. And if it looks better in a bikini, so be it. :biggrin1: