5th Gen Fork Swap

Hey guys - does anybody know of a kit for swapping decent forks onto a 5th gen VFR? I am upgrading my '99 with Toro's supercharger and I want decent suspenders to go with it. Ohlins makes a rear shock, but I can't find any good modern adjustable forks. Ohlins, Race Tech and others make kits to improve the existing forks, but I'd like to swap on some good upside down units. I see Ohlins makes forks for the VTR 1000, but don't list anything for the VFR for some unknown reason. Does anybody out there have any leads on this issue? Thanks. STEVE

 

Don't know about the 5th Gen, but the RC51 front end with Ohlins internals went on my '05 6th gen that I put the HRC VF1000 motor in !

The race tech internals put in by a good suspension master can bring around the stock pumpers to a pretty favorable set up, & it's a much cheaper way to go & is what I did on my '04 6th Gen !

 

Thanks for the info guys. I am pretty good mechanically, so I'm not worried about that aspect. Do you know of any links or references to information on the swap? Do the RC-51 lower triple clamp and 929 upper bolt on or is there some machine work involved? I appreciate your time and assistance on this !!

Cheers.

STEVE

 

Hey MD - thanks for the info. I'll have a look and see if I can find Arend on the forum. When you say the RC-51 steering stem fits right in do you mean that you just put VFR bearings on the RC-51 stem? Does it come with the lower triple clamp attached? Then you go with a 929 upper? I'm a bit confused as you can see. Does anyone know if the offset stays the same with the RC-51/929 stuff? Don't want to mess up the steering geomety. Thanks for any assistance you can provide!! Cheers. STEVE

 

Thanks Mello - great info. I will peruse the various combinations and see what I can figure out. By the way, where do you guys find all the good RC-51 forks and triple clamps anyway? Most of the wrecked bikes have folded up front ends. Is there a secret stash of parts I should be aware of?? Thanks again!! STEVE

 

5th gen forks

Easiest way to upgrade is to replace the forks with a set from a VTR 1000. They are 41mm and will slide right into the VFR steering clamps and give you preload and damping adjustment; no spacing or fork stop issues. Additional benefit is that you can bin the linked brakes and use VTR or CRB900 calipers on the front and just do a fluid jumper on the rear to restore conventional braking.

 

Thanks Mello!! I'll log onto E-Bay and check it out. I see he has the fender, and some other bits listed, but no wheel, brakes etc. yet. I guess that would be the way to go - just swap the whole assembly over, then ditch the lame linked brakes at the same time. I just read your article on that process by the way, so may be following up with you at some point for further info. Thanks again!! Cheers. STEVEV

 

Thanks Waldrm - that is a good option as well, and likely cheaper and easier to boot. I will think about it, but am still leaning towards a good inverted fork setup - Ohlins or RC-51. I just love the look if nothing else. Anyway, lots to think over.

Have you done the conversion to get rid of the linked brakes? If so, how do you like the results. I guess if nothing else, it takes some unnecessary weight off the bike, and that's always a good thing.

Speaking of weight, have you ever heard of a practical swap on the rear subframe? The stock steel setup looks really heavy. It would be nice to replace it with something aluminum. Could then maybe update the appearance of that area of the bike at the same time, which looks a bit dated now. Just throwing that out in case anyone that reads this has any experience in this area.

Anyway, thanks again for your input!! Cheers. STEVE

 

Hey Mello - just a quick update - I bought the forks you told me about on e-Bay and the seller is going to line me up with all the rest of the front end parts as well - wheel, brakes, etc. Thanks for the heads up on the forks!! STEVE

 

Check out VFRD -> Featured Modifications , there are a bunch of threads detailing the RC front end swap. I did this to my '99, unfortunately my thread there has been deleted for one reason or another.

You will need the RC SP1 steering stem ('00-'01). The '02-up is too large a diamter to fit the VFR frame. Pick up a set of SP1 RC steering bearings, they'll drop right in to the VFR frame and you're ready to go. Note in VeeferCanuck's thread the mention of a thin snap ring under the lower bearing and above the race in the frame, don't forget that so the triple doesn't rub the frame. The RC bearing is about that much thinner than the VFR bearing. Some better details here: Rc51 Front End Swap - VFRD
I made up some steering stops:



I went with the CycleCat clip ons, I've replaced the clutch reservoir since with a RC remote unit.


SP1 and SP2 forks are basically the same dimensions but the SP2, I read, have better internals. Wheels/brakes are the same between years I believe, you should double check that.

As far as steering, trail is going to increase with this set up, slowing steering down somewhat, (offset decreases, trail increases). I worked around this by raising the rear end pretty substantially, and lowering the front a little. I'm 210 without gear so you may not need as drastic a change. I swapped in the 4th gen dogbone in order to raise the rear almost an inch, and that is with the Ohlins in the rear. Read more on this question here: Why? - VFRD

Good luck!

 

Yes, It's the SP1. I had a SP2 originally (oops), here's a side-by-side pic. steel steering stem SP2 on left, aluminium SP1 on right.


Those steering stops are fine to keep from bashing the radiator hoses during u-turns but I wouldn't expect them to do much in a get off.

 

Thanks VFRCAPN - great info and pics. Nice job on the steering stops too. A picture certainly is worth at least a thousand words when you're trying to suss this stuff out.

Incidentally, I am in contact with VeeferCanuck and he has been very helpful. Certainly a wealth of knowledge there on this swap as well as many other interesting mods.

I've just scored a nice set of SP-2 Dan Kyle forks and the (wrong!!) triple clamps to go with them - now just working on rounding up the front wheel, brakes, master cylinder etc. to complete the job. Oh, and the SP-1 triple lower triple as well. According to VeeferCanuck, the 929 gullwing upper tripple is the hot setup, as it allows the use of bars that attach above the tripple, rather than below. This gives better clearance on the fairing, etc. Another good alternative I'm looing at is the LSL Superbike conversion for the RC-51 which comes with a new upper triple clamp to adapt conventional bars of your choice.

Oh, would ya look at that - a new Ohlins for the rear just arrived from RMR Suspension!! You know, this project might actually get done!! Take care all. STEVE

 

Nice on the Ohlins. Veefer is a wealth of knowledge. 929/954 upper are the same so look for either. And, I just sold a SP2 upper and lower triple, in nice, clean shape for $200 on eBay. The last two I saw went for similar so make sure you get your money back out of it! Good luck and post pics when you start tearing in to it.