Wheel conversions for 1986-1987

Not to be the wet rag, but the fork upgrade to F2 or better is 90% of the deal. It is an easy swap to change the whole enchilada out with just the stem mod. The guy that has done my first and last charges $125 to swap out and a simple bolt on deal after that. Stock legs get to flexing with a stock wheel at high speeds and for lack of a better word, sucks . Dumping money into stock forks is a waste at best. Please forgive me for being so negative but the stock forks are a must ditch item. Back in the day when my psychotic penis adviser used to direct me, we would ride 4th gear wheelies to the limiter and the front tire would leave burn marks on the lowers when set down. Always worried the whole thing would fold under. I will gladly help with machine work on the stem. Send me a PM and I will line you out with my machinist and any shipping issues I will handle. Do not take my word for it, Pm Fredsncoma and ask him. We grew up on stock gen two's before real wheels and tires were made and he will be the first to tell you what an unreal change it is.Money in the bank.

 

Only a rider that has spent a bit of time on stock legs can understand what a HUGE change it is.

 

I am all for the change ...just gotta get me some forks.........

 

Thanks toe...I will take you up on your generous offer. I am not giving up yet on finding a front....Still got a few calls to make still....

Love the "burn" mark story...LMAO!!

I am finding a shit load of F4i fronts...They look like the same damping rod forks style.....

 

Try Ebay for CBR fronts, or CBRFORUM.com, they are always parting bikes out there. i would say the hardest forks to find are 94 cartridge, but 91-93 should be easy, also you can look for F3 forks. i think Sebspeed has a FULL set for sale right now. he has EVERYTHING you would need.

 

Oh heavens no! The F4's are cartridge forks. The only issue would be they are shorter than the F2 or F3 forks. That means you'd have to check to make sure you don't have any clearance problems. I'd say it's worth picking up an F4 front end just to see. It would be easy to resell if it doesn't work out.

 

I couldn't agree more, While I limited myself to the 2nd gear wheelies, the forked flexed like crazy and the tire smoked when it hit the ground. I have been on an F2 front end and rear wheel for years and the difference was HUGE and the work minimal for the payoff it yields in performance.

 

From what i read, F4Is have a clearance issue with radiator when hard braking.

 

Well..that settles that..LOL.....Alright surly the choices are not confined to the F2 right?? What about another interceptor front end??...3rd or 4th gen maybe??

 

Sure, later model VFR's also have cartridge forks. Those should be long enough to not have clearance issues either.

 

I installed gen 5 forks on Tex's bike.

 

What tire sizes should I run with the F2 wheel/fork conversion? I think the sizes differ somewhat from stock F2 to prevent the VFR geometry from getting all cattywamped...

Thank you,

Rick

 

I have had mine for some time now and run a 160/60-17 reaer and 120/70-17 Front.

 

Thanks Fred,

I was going to be at the bike shop today gettings some other stuff, and thought it'd be good to pick the tires up while I was there. I'm not ready to do the swap yet. I have most all the parts, just waiting to finish other stuff first.

Rick

 

The rear of you bike seems to sit up higher than normal ,I like the look , is it the photo or did you do something to raise it ,Larry

 

Just a suggestion for the F2 rear wheel conversion. Instead of cutting and re-welding the stock caliper bracket to make it shorter, you can use a CBR600F (1987-1989) caliper bracket. It has the correct distance to match the smaller F2 rear disc brake. All you have to do is machine it to accept the larger VFR / F2 axel. This is the method I used and have no torque arm clearance issues with a 160 tire. If you use a wider tire than a 160 you will have chain interference. Also there will be a slight offset with the F2 wheel due to the sprocket being located further out from centerline of the wheel compared to stock. My bike still tracks straight so no noticeable difference other than superior grip and turn in from the radial tire. Using the CRB600F bracket allows u to use the stock rear caliper. Also you will have to raise the rear to compensate for the smaller overall diameter of the F2 wheel and tire combination. I fabricated a 1.5 in shock extension and works perfect. For info on the shock extension PM me.

 

This is only because you did not modify the sprocket carrier. With all of the kits that I make the sprocket carrier is machined which results in the wheel being perfectly on center.

 

Would the preload adjustable 94 VFR 750 forks and triple work?

 

fantastic!!! oh please tell me you have pics of this, both mounted up and showing the machine work necessary to get this thing to fit!!

 

On an 86-87? I don't recall that anything special had to be done with the sprocket carrier/cush drive hub on the rear wheel conversion