Ladies and gents, boys and gals ...


I understand that there will be some machining / jiggery pokey to fit them, that both will need up-rated springs and that both are a considerable upgrade over the stock FZS600 rear shock. And while I know that some feel that the stock shock is fine with the correct spring, I like the thought of an adjustable shock.


So far the BMW is winning my vote as it's slightly longer so will jack up the rear (perfect for my streetfighter project) - whereas the R6 will lower it.


What I'm after is how their performance compares against each other: anybody got any first hand experience?

I'm going to be wiring up a Koso DB-03 hopefully in the next couple of weeks so will post up anything I work out.

Just gotta get the 'busa front end fitted first

and then I saw a Buell XB12 ... 

Ok so a wee update: New Zealand regulations mean that milling out existing yokes to take the USD forks is not going to be road legal soooooooo ... I'm gonna have to swap out the whole front end and get a new stem machined.

Expensive - yes. But still cheaper than buying a bike that's already setup the way I want it.

So speaking with the scrappies I have a few options - the question is ... 2004 Hayabusa or 1998 Ducati ST2? Or wait a few weeks for a 2004 R1 front end?

The ST2 forks are 700mm long which I think is the about 10mm shorter than the R1 forks. I want to retain the same upright-ish riding position for commuting so I think I'll skip those.

The busa forks are around the 720 mm length which is still 35 mm shorter than the FZS600 forks but shouldn't be too bad. Plus the busa yoke also has pre-drilled holes for risers. So I can either go with riser clip-ons or riser bar.

And the busa is 60kg heavier (wet)  so I shouldn't I won't have any problems with the front diving. With me being 103kgs I reckon it should be spot on.

Also the busa has radial brakes

Unfortunately it doesn't have the Brembo calipers but I reckon anything that can stop the busa should be more than sufficient for the Fazer.

But what I'm not sure if is what I'll need to do to get the speedo working? I'll be using a Koso DB-03 for the gauges. Is it a case of removing a sensor from the existing wheel and having it attached to the new one? Appreciate any advice

wow! that's a cracking bike - thanks for digging that out, Mister Bloggs - love the sound of that V-twin - takes me back to boyhood dreams of being a WWII Ace in a Spitfire 

That approach would fit under nicely - now to go investigate where to find / how to build one. I'm guessing there's a bit more to it than a hollow box or am I over-thinking it?
It looks like both down-pipes feed into a common chamber but I wonder how they channel the muffling?
Are we talking something as simple as this - packed with glass? (excuse the rough sketch - I couldn't find a fag packet so had to make do with a napkin  )

Details exhaust concept 1

exhaust concept 1

My FZS came with what claims to be a gixxer exhaust that's clearly had the baffles removed. The whole thing is a bad fit and leaks and pops ... although the sound does put a grin on my face at 5-6000 rpm and again at 10000

I'm going for minimalistic on this bike so I'm looking into swapping the exhaust for an underbelly one. There don't seem to be any off-the-shelf solutions out there so I thought I'd run some ideas past The Collective and get your thoughts.

Key goals are minimalistic, not raspy sounding, not overly obnoxious. I know, a lot to ask when shortening things ... but I figure that the current exhaust has no baffles so I probably can't get any worse. And I've tried it without any exhaust at all and it's not that much worse than it is now. So I'm pretty sure that whatever I do will be an improvement.

So while I'm experimenting my thoughts are to keep the costs down. So I'll grab a cheap exhaust off aliexpress. I know that you often get what you pay for so I'm aware that:

• the exhaust won't be the akrapovic or yoshimura that it claims to be!
• it might not do as good a job of muffling as the genuine article but it'll be good enough
• at least they will have done the hard part: shaping the exhaust muffler in a puurrrrrdy way rather than my bodged and dented fabrication skills!
• I can always modify it with longer baffles or extra glass-packing if needed

This photo shows the amount of space to play with.

The larger measurement is 360mm and the smaller (y-section for the 4-into-2) is 80mm.

Details exhaust ponderings ...

exhaust ponderings ...

I'm thinking that I'll need to cut out the y-sections that take it from 4 into 2 and re-weld those closer to the down-section. Then I can slot in a short 270mm stubby exhaust and attach extra piping to the exit section to angle the exhaust away from the rear tyre and out the side of the bike. I'll then hide all of that with a belly-pan.

Also wondering if there's any reason not to reweld the y-sections actually on the down-pipes before they bend to run parallel with the bottom of the bike's frame? That might allow me to use a longer muffler and reduce the sound some more.

I've attached a link to the sort of exhaust that I'm thinking of from aliexpress (I hope that doesn't break any house-rules).

The kind of sound I'm aiming for can be seen at this link - not a Fazer but still an inline 4, albeit with very fat pipes!  I like the Maverick at 1:33, the Two Brothers right after that, M4 at 3:55, GPR at 4:25 and the Arrow at 7:40.



Here are some pics of the Z800's downpipes. I might get some custom ones made up in which case I guess I could always bend back towards the front wheel like the Z800 does to give more room for the muffler.

Details Z800 decat exhaust

Z800 decat exhaust

Details Z800 exhaust - side profile

Z800 exhaust - side profile

Appreciate people's thoughts. Very much aware that what I'm proposing is outside of the square and might be seen as breaking the rules. But keen to hear opinions from people who have experience with this sort of thing. Not so keen on the wild speculation or fear of the unknown and "leave it the way the manufacturer made it, they know best" because ... well, how the manufacturer shipped it is always just a starting point!   

I got this bike REEEEEEEALLY cheap, so I don't mind spending a bit of dosh on it to get the desired result - it will still be far cheaper than having bought something else.

Cheers y'all

David

I can't find anything in the archives so don't know if this means I'm not looking right or if it can't be done / isn't worth doing?

I'm going to upgrade my 2000 FZS 600 forks. Following Falcon's writeup I decided that I kinda want to avoid the R6 / R1 route as the forks are shorter. (Yes, I get that this improves geometry and turn-in but I want to keep this as my daily commuter and avoid buggering my back in low-speed traffic jams). And here in NZ with a tiny population of 4.5 million they're hard / expensive to get hold of.

So I'm looking at alternative options. I hear that the FZR1000 forks are longer than the R1 / R6. Does anyone know if these are a simple upgrade for the FZS 600? And are they any better than the stock FZS 600? (Bearing in mind they only have pre-load adjustability).

I can get a set of these cheap. Otherwise, if I have to spend big $$$ then it's back to considering a complete front-end from a totally different bike with bearings to fit the stem.

cheers for the advice.

any progress with this? I'd be keen to give this a go too. Looks mint. But want to be sure the bike still runs smoothly.

trying to find out what options there are out there for FZS 600 bellypans. Keen to see pics of what people have with a note of where you got it from - especially if it's from a different bike as I have no idea what stuff might be interchangeable.

GO!

so I'm looking into the USD upgrade and have questions, questions ... and more questions!

Hopefully you good bunch of foccers have answers 

Reading the archives, it seems like the easiest method is to use a complete R1 front-end (forks, wheel, caliper, disk and speedo sensor), replace the top yoke with the original FZS 600 yoke and press the FZS stem into the R1 (so I can retain the old riser handle-bars).

I'll be swapping to a Koso DB-03R so that should get around the problem of the speedo.

Is it really that simple?

Will I need to replace stem bearings?
If I leave the R1 yoke in place, does that make it an easier swap with just the need to grab some raised clip-ons?  (And work out a new mount for the Koso).

I'm already going to be throwing on some 50mm dog bones so I'm keen not to drop the front too much but think this should be ok? I'm not a speed freak - so hopefully I won't be hitting any stability problems. Generally I'll cruise at 100 kph (60 mph) but might haven an occasional blat up to 150 kph (90 mph). Does anyone know what speed the instability come in at?

Mainly I'll be commuting so will be after quick acceleration (so am probably dropping down 1 tooth on front sprocket and going up 4 on the back). Just thought I'd mention that in case it's something to consider.

Appreciate any advice - I have my eye on a couple of sets of 02 R1 front-ends that are ending in the next couple of days.

Cheers

David

I'm considering a jackup kit for my 2000 FZS 600.

I hear that they improve the turn-in but compromise some of the stability. But I haven't been able to find any reviews from people with mentions of any impact to stability - which I guess means that the impact is negligible?

And haven't been able to find any photos so I can see what the bike looks like with the kits installed to get a feel for how much it lifts the rear end.

The options are 25mm, 40mm or 50mm. Or none at all.

Anyone got any pics or real-world experience on the impact to stability?

Cheers,

David

thanks chaps. Already going one down on the front sprocket - ideally looking for a 14/54 combination. And yes, I'm looking for some on-demand front wheel air-time fun

I was wondering the same for a 2000 FZS 600 - so far I'm thinking of going down the route of the Koso DB06R but am just waiting for them to let me know how that would work with the FZS 600 (which I don't think has ECU output) or whether it can work with one of those ebay magnet-driven change-registers.  I'll let you know how I get on in case it's of any use.