Kawasaki Front End Swap For VFR700? Need Some Input.

It looks like I'll be swapping the VFR stem into the zx7 triple trees afterall.

The skinny top part of the zx7 stem got bent/distorted when it was pressed out. It was in there really tight and the 60 ton press might have been overkill.

I got home and the stem didn't fit into the upper tree anymore so I looked closer. Holy cow!


Oh well, live and learn.

 

The machinist says it's fixable. We'll see.

 

It looks like you're taking a good approach and engineering it well, I'm sure your final solution will be properly thought out.

If the forks are 43mm, have you looked at swapping in the 6th gen, F4i or Blackbird(?) triple trees? I'm not sure about the stem length or bearings but there's a lot of compatibility among Honda's and I think those all had 43mm tubes. Might take more work to make up wheel spacers and/or calipers spacers.

The fork offset is a key value here, to answer your earlier question. Your estimates look right on for the new trail, maybe closer to 118mm. If you lower the front and raise the rear to gain just two extra deg steering, you could lower the trail back to about 106mm. A couple degrees is pretty do-able if you can raise the rear.

Good luck, looks like you're on the right track. I'd agree with Jamie though and wouldn't go with the insert.

 

The VFR700 uses the longer stem, so the CBR triples would not be a direct fit. That isn't a bad thought, going that route would be a lot more simple because the VFR700 stem can be swapped to the CBR lower triple without too much difficulty.

 

When I swap to a 17" rear wheel I'm going to leave the rear shock length alone. If I run a 24.5" tall rear tire (stock is 26.5") that should drop the rear ride height 1".

The front end swap should create a 1" drop in ride height, but I need to recheck my measurements.

The end result should balance each other out and be similar to stock geometry only with an extra 11mm of trail. Should be fine.

Then I have the option of raising the rear a little. I think adding 10mm to the shock equates to 25mm ride height? Is that what most folks do when they swap in a 17" rear tire, add 10mm to the shock length?

 

I added some material to the bottom of the steering stem so I can run a steel pin through it and make sure the stem can't pull through the triple tree. It's for safety since I can't use the C clip anymore.

I also trimmed the steering stops slightly to match the stock lower tree.

I now have the upper tree and it looks like I'll adapt the Honda ignition switch to fit it. The zx7 switch just wouldn't work with the steering lock on the frame.

The front wheel has been sanded down and is now painted white.

The brake rotors are being de-chromed and will be painted soon.

I plan to weld some universal risers to the upper tree to do away with clipons and run a conventional set of 7/8 bars. The first set will be fabbed to mimic the stock position. Then later, I'll extend the hydraulic lines, wires and add a custom set of throttle cables so I can swap to a set of bars about 3" higher and 3" further back. This is going to do wonders for my back.

I'm presently swapping in new seals on the forks and will paint the lower portion black to mimic stock pieces.

The front fender needs to be painted white. I might do a rattle can job for now.

The only thing I haven't looked into is the speedo cable.

 

Here is a shot of the stock bikes steering stem. You can see that you want the other steering stems threads to be above the top bearing.




Here is the zx7 stem in place.



The threads are right there at the top of the bearing. I don't need as many threads as the stock stem since the zx7 uses a single adjuster nut and I'm flipping that nut so it will thread down lower and am using a thinner dust shield as well. This gains me 2mm or 3mm of thread. The stem also has a few more mm of unused length at the bottom. Plus I'll gain some length once I remove the ridge on the lower tree.

So I just need to press the stem in 5 or 6mm or so higher in the tree and I'll be golden.

Here you can see the unnecesary ridge on the lower tree that takes up roughly 4mm of space.



Here is the tree with the ridge removed. I ground it down and then filed it smooth. Not perfect, but is fine.

 

Here is the stock C clip. It's a safety device to make sure the stem doesn't pull through the lower tree.



The clip presses against this groove in the lower tree.



Now since I'm going to press the stem in a bit higher than stock, the C clip won't fit anymore. I devised a simple solution. I welded some smaller diameter steel tubing to extend the stem.



Once the stem is pressed into the tree in it's final position the extra material will be sticking out the bottom.



I'll then drill a hole into the side of the extension and press a steel pin into it. The pin will be right next to the aluminum tree. There's no way the stem could pull itself out, yet I can press it out if I need to remove the stem in the future.

 

Looking for a replacement?

VF1000R & F replica Winning Run speedo brackets - Bargain Finder - VFR Discussion

 

That looks like it only fits the early 1st gen engines. My bike is an 86 VFR700 with the 2nd gen V4 engine.

Besides, I thought people just adapted the cover from the RC30 to fit the RC24/26.

 

An update, my machinist finally got the top of my steering stem back to normal. Took 2 weeks, but only charged $20, so it's cool.

I looked into the speedo drives from the 90-93 bikes and it's so simple I'm not even going to bother with the front axle drive. I had a speedo drive and cable from a 90 vfr with only 3K miles on it shipped to me for 25 bucks. Can"t beat that. I just have to special order the plastic button that attaches to the sprocket nut. They are $8.







I'm going to cut a hole into the stock sprocket cover and mount it up. Piece of cake.

 

I had some strange things going on with the paint on the front wheel. I used an etch primer on the metal, sanded, applied gloss white, then gloss clear. The finish came out off white, like it had a little bit of almond in it. The clearcoat was a bit dull as well.

I didn't care for it, so after it cured for over a week, I repainted it a Dupli-color gloss white and Dupli-color clear. I sprayed a color sample and made sure it was a proper bright white. Everything looked good. After it dried about an hour I looked and it was off white again!

After a closer look it seems the clear coat is what is darkening the white. You can see in the pics that I did not spray clear where the tire mounts and it's noticeably whiter and brighter than the rest of the wheel.

The Dupli-color gloss white was actually pretty glossy even before the clear. Another week has passed and I plan to put a coat of just the white on and see how it looks.

I also picked up a Michelin Pilot Power front tire in 120/70r-17 for $111 at the local Cycle Gear. Folks say they are really good.

 

I completed my kawasaki front end swap. I also have the 88-89 VFR750P handlebars which sits you more upright. I'm loving the corners now. The bike corners really well and I have lots of confidence. The bumps get soaked up so much better, way less brake dive and the geometry is sweet.

Now I need to swap the rear wheel and redo the shock. I might extend the swingarm a little. Do a 0-3" extension. So I can be stock or up to 3" longer. A 4" range of adjustment. It will help keep the front end from getting so light and make the bike look better as well.