'84 VF1000F fork conversion

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by six-tee-nine, Mar 18, 2019.

  1. six-tee-nine

    six-tee-nine New Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2019
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Ok, here I go.... Before anyone starts shooting at me, yes I did use the search function, but no result.

    The problem is the fact that my original fork is really beat up. Pitting and rust on the uppers, the lowers look like they went trough hell and back, worn brake disks and pads, the caliper pisons are rusted solid ans so on and on.
    I'm going for a wheel swap to CBR F2 wheels anyway so thats another thing.
    I feel a bit opposed to investing a decent amount of cash for OEM parts to then start overhauling a fork and brakes that might not perform like a charm anyway...

    I looked at inverted fork conversions, but I just cant justify the investment at this point for the bike since it almost needs everything else done also.
    Fabrication is not that big of an issue, but the less the better i guess...

    Would it be possible to use a later VFR 800 (say RC46) fork. They're also 41mm in diameter IIRC end length wise they seem not to far off and they come with nice larger brakes with foating discs wich would come in handy over the standard ones.
    Changing stems or mixing triples is the least of my worries. The only thing bugging me is the speedo drive that falls out of the story.

    Any ideas?
     
  2. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    5,824
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    Trophy Points:
    158
    The length of fork that is needed is one of the biggest problems. You may want to look at staying in the 1990 - 1997 range so you don't inherit a linked braking system (unless you want that). I currently have a set of 1991 VFR lowers with 1991 CBR1000F tubes on one of my VF1000R. The CBR tubes are slightly longer, but the setup is still shorter than the original. Shouldn't be a problem, as I run my 1000F with the tubes slid up in the triples already.
    https://vfrworld.com/threads/removing-front-suspension-air-crossover-tube.55115/#post-582852

    And the 1000R with the VFR/CBR fornt end. VTR1000F 5.5" rear wheel is next.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2019
  3. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    5,824
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    Trophy Points:
    158
    The F2 front wheel will retain the speedo drive, but it wont read correctly anyway. But the original set-up is optimistic, so maybe it won't be that bad.
     
  4. six-tee-nine

    six-tee-nine New Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2019
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Thanks for the link and advice.
    I think if other forks are just a bit shorter that wont hurt at all since I would like to put some other clip ons on in the style of the R model (Like yours has?). Right now the uppers stick like what, 50mm out of the upper triple? So my guess is any fork over 750mm is a possible choise?

    On a side note, I never thought abour mixing uppers an lowers.... I do have a mint set of VF1000F 41mm uppers laying around. Can they be cross breeded with some style of lowers without the Trac setup and a possible bigger brake swap?
     
  5. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    5,824
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    Trophy Points:
    158
    They are damping rod forks with rebound adjustment only on one side. I suppose you could mate them with another lower (to get normal brake caliper mounts), but you would prob want to incorporate some Gold Valve cartridge emulators. Sell the tubes for some project funds in my opinion.

    I did the VFR/CBR combo because I got the CBR uppers for free, and the VFR lowers very cheap because the tubes were bent. It was a bonus that the CBR tubes were a little longer.

    I've always wanted to stumble across a set of 1994 CB1000 forks. But they are pretty rare.
    [​IMG]
     
  6. six-tee-nine

    six-tee-nine New Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2019
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    I'll think i'm going this route : VFR 750 RC36 complete fork. Then swap out the lower tubes for VTR 1000 ones to adapt some nice brakes.

    Any info on what I need to do to the fork guts to make it work on the VF or should it already be a huge improvement over the stock VF fork as is?
     
  7. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    5,824
    Likes Received:
    2,353
    Trophy Points:
    158
    Stock VFR springs will be too soft. 1.0 or higher will be must do. And custom valving would be a bonus.
     
Related Topics

Share This Page