Winter is coming and the urge to tinker grows stronger so I have been reading up on front end conversions. So I am hoping to gain wisdom from those that have gone before.
I would be looking to add the radial calipers so I guess my choice is either 08 on 4c8 model or latest 14b model. Does any one know if the extra 19mm of fork length is worth the likely extra money and hassle in finding the latest model forks?
In either instance I seem to be in for the following estimated costs
Forks 4-500 quid
calipers 100-150 quid
R1 lower yoke 40 quid
fz1 top yolk 40 quid
Late R1 fr wheel 200 quid
Discs 150 quid
spindle 25 quid
fr mudguard 50 quid
radial master cylinder 100 quid?
Total 1255 on the guessometer. Hopefully a good bit less as I have seen some US breakers selling complete front ends for 500 quid plus shipping and VAT.
Anything I have missed? What sort of money should I allow for machining the steering stem? Any recommendations on who to use?
Anyone sold or bought a converted front end complete? Obviously it isnt something I would include should I sell the bike for current market value so it would be useful to know if I could recoup most of my costs by selling the ready to fit front end should I change bikes.
Finally, if I end up buying a pair of wheels, how much should I allow for the conversion kit to fit the 6 inch rear?
22-10-14, 08:57 PM (This post was last modified: 22-10-14, 09:00 PM by devilsyam.)
Forks 4-500 quid £350 on ebay now
calipers 100-150 quid £90 ebay now
R1 lower yoke 40 quid no chance
fz1 top yolk 40 quid even less chance
Late R1 fr wheel 200 quid got pair here with tyres 350
Discs 150 quid maybe
spindle 25 quid yep
fr mudguard 50 quid eer
radial master cylinder 100 quid? £80 but not needed
engineering of bottom yoke inc spacer -for top yoke £185
r6 rear hanger £40 spacers and pinning of r6 cALIPER TO LOWER POSITION TO fit r1 rear disc £150
you may need these if you want to keep origial fork length
Got to ask, is it worth dropping over £1200 into a new front end for a bike that's worth maybe £3,500 tops? Even if it's a keeper, that's a big outlay.
FWIW, if you go for earlier model R1 forks you can do this for a lot less than half that price and still benefit from improved steering and road-holding. Would you really feel the benefit from radial brakes? Is the rest of the Fazer chassis good enough to go with a high-spec R1 fork and wheel combo?
That's exactly what I'm thinking Mike (cos I'm a tight-arse :lol ). 4XV or 5PW for me.
Yam blue spot calipers are still sought after bits for many specials builders, with good reason. Can't say I've ever found them lacking.
If, on the other hand, you were building a really tip-top show bike, I can see why folk would spend the money. Some of Luke's projects have been really stunning (crawl, crawl! :lol ).
(23-10-14, 07:03 PM)Falcon 269 link Wrote: Got to ask, is it worth dropping over £1200 into a new front end for a bike that's worth maybe £3,500 tops? Even if it's a keeper, that's a big outlay.
That is pretty much my worry too. I could justify the outlay if I was confident I could just unbolt the front end and sell it on for a good part of my initial outlay but as you say, it isnt going to add much value to an old bike.
Am I correct in thinking that the 5VY (04-06) model forks also have radial calipers (albeit 4 pot)? Would that be a cheaper conversion? I imagine forks and calipers would be a bit cheaper to buy, yokes and stem engineering the same price but could i then use std wheels and just buy 320mm discs?
Not really my way, Luke - you did the original R1 fork front end before most of us before moving on to the newer model forks and FZ1 top yoke.
The latter option is neater but finding an FZ1 yoke is very difficult and pricey.
For me, the key to keeping costs - and complexity - down is to use R1 forks that take the Fazer front wheel. You can always have the fork internals tweaked if you want/need.
I will look out the total costs for my 4c8 front end, but i remember most of the costs.. So i should only be out a max of £50 4C8 forks and yokes £300, radial calipers £100, wheel and discs £120, steering stem made in America $100 + shipping and import duties worked out abot £100,steering head bearings £35, Lsl top yoke rl 2002/3) £120, Bottom yoke (r1 2002/3) £30,R1 carbon front mudguard £70. Total £875. I sold the R1 yokes to get some money back And i sill have the original front end i could sell if i needed to. Here is a pic
That looks great and I would be happy to spend that sort of money on mine. Once it starts getting up over a grand though I tend to favour using the early R1 forks to keep costs down.
I guess I will have to keep watching e bay for suitable yokes and haggle hard on the rest. Is the the guy that did your steering stem still around and does he do them to order. It may be that I could get that made now so that it is one less thing to wait for when I start getting bits together.
25-10-14, 02:24 PM (This post was last modified: 25-10-14, 02:26 PM by nickodemon.)
Hi Luke, here is the thread for the steering stem. The guy you want to contact is brian g (who makes them) There are several pages on how it was made and how to fit. http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthr...ering+stem
(25-10-14, 11:37 AM)nickodemon link Wrote: I will look out the total costs for my 4c8 front end, but i remember most of the costs.. So i should only be out a max of £50 4C8 forks and yokes £300, radial calipers £100, wheel and discs £120, steering stem made in America $100 + shipping and import duties worked out abot £100,steering head bearings £35, Lsl top yoke rl 2002/3) £120, Bottom yoke (r1 2002/3) £30,R1 carbon front mudguard £70. Total £875. I sold the R1 yokes to get some money back And i sill have the original front end i could sell if i needed to. Here is a pic
Looks great Nick :thumbup
The gold on the forks lifts the look of yours nicely, but would look terrible with the bright yellow paint on mine. Very pleased to say I have bought some black 2003 forks (with K-Tech internals, don't know yet whether that's gonna be a good thing as I don't know if they're parts more suitable for R1 use, but can always change them) from Luke - bloody good man as always!
Have you any kind of ride-height compensation on there, or wasn't it necessary with the later set-up? I'm a little concerned that having the lower ride height of uncompensated forks might throw a bit more weight on my dodgy shoulder. Dropping the bike 10mm on the standard forks hasn't caused me any grief though. Got to let Luke know if I want the adjusters.
my bike has an r6 rear shock with dog bones to match the original ride height and the front end is slightly lower (Not Too Much tho) The 2007-8 R1 forks are shorter than the fazers but the steering angle is steeper to compensate a little. Handling is sublime. Gets better the faster you go it has completely changed my fazer into a very modern handling and braking bike. Well worth doing the R1 front end mod no matter, which model of R1 front end you use. (The later the better, but more expensive)
Well, I know Mike hasn't used the ride height adjusters on his (4XV forks?), and hasn't lost stability or otherwise had any problems, so I think I'll go without to start with. As Luke says, can always add them later.
I might be imagining it, but since having mine dropped on the forks, I think it might be ever so slightly more "flighty" at very high speed. But since it's very rare that I hit those kind of speeds, and can always compensate by a firmer grip on the bars (picture death-grip and hanging on for dear life :lol ), it hasn't been a problem.
Will the gen2 forks fit and are they the same length.....will the gen2 yolks fit along with gen1 wheel and brake callipers or will they need changing too....or am I opening up a new can of worms
