Braided brake line kit

Like Terry had it. I sold that 5G a few years ago. This is my current toy, thanks to the PO it has a Nitron shock, 0.95kg/mm springs and Gold Valves. I just added the VTR adjusters because I had them handy. I do have the complete VTR fork for a "one day" project if I tire of the linked brakes. The standard brakes are pretty good when they are in fine fettle, but I will upgrade the pads to EBC HH one day.

 

Thanks! I really like the stock look of the 600RR Master setup. I'm getting more and more convinced that this might be the way to go, the more I realize how (perhaps unnecessarily) complex and heavy the stock setup is. Also, I can see that I have some rust/pitting on the fork stanchions at the last 1/3 of the suspension range. It is probably not a big deal, but certainly also adds to the desire of getting other forks.
The stiffer and more adjustable suspension are also very compelling.
Are the CBR forks the exact same length as the stock VFR? With the CBR being about 30kg's lighter than the VFR, is it necessary to get stiffer springs?
Do you think that I can use the stock 5G front fender, if I make som custom adaptor-brackets? Sorry for all the questions

 

Looks really nice! Your bikes looks flawless, I hope mine will look that nice one day. "Double bubble" Do you remember where you bought the windshield?

 

"Gold Valves" is that some upgrade kit for the front forks?

 

The 600F4i fork was very close to the same as the 5G fork length. I have a slightly relaxed aproach to all this, as I also had the rear shock lengthened to give more rear ride height so the geometry was no longer stock in any case. I had no issues with stability or clearance. I believe the 600F4 fork is a bit shoter however. Regarding springs, you should in any case get some springs that suit your weight; I have used 0.9 and 0.95 kg/mm springs in my VFRs and they suit me. I think you can use the 5G fender with the F4i fork lowers; IIRC there is a rear mount behind the legs that the 5G does not have, and I riveted a small piece of aluminium to either side of the 5G fender to mate with that.

 

Gold Valves are replacement valve bodies for the fork cartridge dampers, made by Race Tech but there's plenty of equivalents around. These have freer-flowing ports and rely more on the shims to create damping. They generally give a more compliant ride with better control than the stock parts which are quite restrictive. The instructions also teach quite a bit about tuning the shims for your preferences.

 

You almost have me convinced that I should make the de-linking instead of trying to fix the problems of my current braking system. Today I have tryed to disassemble the secondary master. I removed the outer part of it, but the piston itself, is stuck by corosion in the caliper. Pressurised air, was not enough to get it out. Right now, I 'm considering to somehow hook it up to the primary master, to try and force the secondary master out of the caliper.
But enough about that
The black Nissin caliber that you had on your de-linked bike, as shown in your picture, was that taken from a CBR600F4? Are you sure a CBR954RR are suitable for the CBR600F4 forks? The CBR954 had 330mm discs...

 

If it got to the point where you are having to buy parts, like actual components, just to get back to a working LBS?... F that. I would spend my money on cool parts.

It's not the calipers, it's the brackets and/or fork lowers that put the calipers in the correct position for disc diameters. Terry is definitely one of the people that if he said certain parts work together, I could buy them with confidence knowing they will work together.... nicely.

 

Yeah, what Mike says. The VTR lowers put the calliper in the right place for the VFR discs. VTR, RC51, CBR600F4, CBR954 calliper are all compatible with the VTR lowers. There’s a small amount of file work needed to create a little clearance between the calliper and fork leg (other than the VTR calliper).

 

I'm actually so far in the process that I will not buy LSB parts and I have located all necesary used components. The cost is actually not that bad, but because most of the parts that I have found are located in the US, the transport costs will be about 1/3 of the costs.
The part that are most dificult to find are the CBR600 forks. I have found a set, that seems to be in good working condition, but cosmetically not so nice.
So if anyone know where to source a nice set, then I'm all ears I have mainly searched on ebay and baboon, like Terry sugested.

I'm sorry if it sounds like I didn't trust Terry's advice. It was certainly not my intentions. I'm just so close to ordering all the stuff that I need, that I just wanted to confirm this last thing before ordering. The CBR954RR are really cool machine, so having the brakes from that would be awesome.
It was actually not the distance from disk to caliper that I'm woried about, since, like you said, the brackets will take care of this.
It's a bit theoretical, but what I was worried about, is that since the CBR954 are using 310 mm discs, then the contact patch running through the caliper will have a slightly less curved shape. But yeah, I can hear my self rambling now... it's probably not a concern

 

The conversion that, I think, I will go for are:
- CBR600F4 forks
- 6'th gen tripple clamp
- CBR954RR calipers
- CBR600RR master
To me this seems like the most appealing: Fully adjustabe and stiffer forks and the setup looks original.
Are there any downsides to this setup?

 

Sorry, I'm replying my own post here
I can see that the downside of the CBR fork setup are of course price and complexity. With this setup I need tripple clamp and new handle bars with the 43mm forks. With the VTR setup, that is not needed. So, about 500€ to be saved with the VTR setup. Thats a really good argument for the VTR forks...

 

I have now decided to do the de-linking and have ordered VTR shocks. Are there any downsides in using VTR calipers?

 

You didn't come across like that at all. I was just affirming he has done this with a variety of components and his feedback and reasoning always seems intelligent and thoughtful to me, including other bikes.

 

I had a VTR1000F and wasn't overly fond of the brake setup. I think the hydraulic ratio was a bit off, with the master too small for the callipers so you had a squishy and grabby brake. The 600RR/954 setup was a big improvement. You could try a larger master with the VTR callipers (15.87mm like the 600F4i) which would provide a better ratio (by calculation-I never tried it).

 

I have now ordered parts for the a 600RR/954 setup

 

If you're not selling these; would you mind sharing your design, perhaps a STEP-file? I think, since they're not visible, I would just 3D print them in ABS, perhaps with melt-in brass thread inserts.

 

How do I determine a suitable spring rate for me? Are there a rule of thumb or some formula that I can use?
I visited the Race Tech home page and saw that the stock VFR spring rate are 0.74kg/mm and the stock VTR forks should have 0.58kg/mm springs. But I can't see the length of them, so I don't know if I can just mount the VFR springs in the VTR forks?

 

Race Tech has a spring rate calculator where you input your weight, skill and intended use for a particular bike. The length of a spring is accounted for by creating the proper spacers to fill the space and preload the springs the recommended amount (20mm preload for example). PVC pipe is perfectly suitable to use and easy to modify.

The RT springs for the VTR and VFR are likely the exact same part number.

 

Race Tech is pretty good, but they don't get everything perfect. The honda CB-1 is a great example of a big fail on their site.

I can't tell you what rate YOU should be (people your weight should be able to help), but I can tell you rough sag measurements for proper spring rates with proper preload.

Front:
No weight to bike only (20-24 mm).
No weight to rider (35 mm)

Rear:
No weight to bike only (8-10 mm)
No weight to rider (30 mm)

Riders have their preferences, but that will be adequate for nearly all riders under normal conditions. I'm 150-165 w/no gear, 170-185 w/gear and my VFR springs are .900 front and 900# rear (~16kg)