Front forks swap

[nof900rr]

Hi every body
I have 97RR I want to have the fork changed to upside down, which CBR front end will work ?? & I guess Im ganna have 17" wheel then a 16" . THX

[lambchops]

You can swap the frontend from a 929 or 954 right over, I used 929 yokes then cbr1000rr 2005 forks within those yokes and it all works great. Advantage with 1000rr forks is you get the radial calipers. You cant use the 08-12 forks though without some machining and modding.

[MOTRSPRT]

This is great info. In my quest for improved brakes I've contemplated doing a swap such as this which would update the frontend entirely. As long as my Performance Machine wheel would work I would be happy. I'm also running a set of Ontario Moto Tech triple clamps which obviously I would lose. Lambchops, can you write a list of what a person needs to perform such a swap?

[lambchops]

Its quite a simple swap you need everything from the front end basiclly, the yokes will mount direct to the frame and you can use the cbr900 head bearings. You will need the clipons forks, brakes, wheel everything. I used all the standard swith gear and master cylinder it all mounts to the 929 bars. The orginal brake lines can also be used. I fitted an RC51 SP1 front wheel as wanted to keep the multi spoke front wheel and not go 3 spoke.

[nof900rr]

Thanks for the info...... Now I have to hunt for parts , the only bad thing about that is I have to give up my 16" wheel which sucks , I find a 16" wheel in the front makes turns fun , but if I want the upside down forks I have to give up some thing .......(Yolk)??? do you mean the triple tree. Thx again can you send some pics ?
Is there any way that I can keep my 16" wheel & do the swap ??????

[ghbzorro]

I still have a 16 inch front wheel, and the only reason I would bother to change it would be to improve the range of tires I could get. I don't think it would be worth the effort to keep the 16 when converting to 929/954/1000 forks.

But if you want to do it, I'd guess spacers for bearings, and dicking around with spacers or machining to get the rotors and calipers to line up properly.

[lambchops]

I didnt notice any diffrence due to the wheel size change when swaping over. You could perhaps keep the 16" wheel you would just have to try it and see what would be needed. anything is possible You may have an issue with caliper clearance though perhaps... Not sure you would have to try it.

Oh and all build pics are on here in my build thread

[MOTRSPRT]

I'm curious if a guy could find a set of forks with the triple trees intact, would they bolt right up to the 900 frame? 50mm clipons are easy to come by on ebay.

[lambchops]

I'm curious if a guy could find a set of forks with the triple trees intact, would they bolt right up to the 900 frame? 50mm clipons are easy to come by on ebay.

Yep would bolt right up

[ghbzorro]

I haven't done it, but I understand that 929 and 954 are true bolt-in. Rumour has it that the 1000 needs some additional work on? Anybody able to confirm that?

[nof900rr]

Thank for all the Info , being a metal fabricator welder & have access to barn table & CNC machine shop for FREE I should not have any problem modifying the break assembly or any thing comes my way . Yes it suck that I don't have much chaos off tires (16") but would like to keep it , I will find out what it takes to do it & I will post step by step how to with pics ( If I know how to insert pics in the post) & if there is any parts need to be machined or fab I will make 5 off each so if any body needs it I will have plenty , Know I have to find the triple tree for 929or 954 & go from there

[lambchops]

I haven't done it, but I understand that 929 and 954 are true bolt-in. Rumour has it that the 1000 needs some additional work on? Anybody able to confirm that?

Yes they do bolt right up but... the rake is diffrent and the bars hit the tank and the steering lock doesnt work. I would recomend the cbr1000 forks but use the 954/929 triples works great.

Very handy to have access to your own cnc machine, lucky git!!

[ghbzorro]

Lambchop, thanks for the info. Now I'd appreciate some additional clarification.

Do I understand correctly that it is the 1000 front end that has tank-hitting or steering lock issues? but that the 929-954 is an exact bolt-in?

Or is the 929-954 an easy bolt-in but has those issues, and the 1000 has a whole lot of machining work to be done to get the spacers and nut and everything else to fit?

[lambchops]

Both bolt up and require no machining, however cbr1000 yokes and bars will hit the frame on full lock and the steering lock wont work. 929/954 bolts up and has no clearance issues at all and works great. Also its worth noting cbr1000 forks are about an inch shorter than the 900 and 954/929 forks so the ride height is down slightly at the front with these. But if you go 17" front wheel this compensates for this slightly.

[MOTRSPRT]

Awesome information in this thread! For those of us who still hold onto these old 900's, and take on the challenge of upgrading parts from the newer models this type of information is invaluable. My bike has already been lowered in the front 1" by raising the forks through the triple trees, and I have a 17" front wheel. But I am wanting more. I am currently working on retrofitting RC51 SP1 calipers to my forks, so I may search for some 954 forks just to continue my investment with the RC51 brakes. Maybe it will be a less expensive route...

[lambchops]

Ive also just fitted an 09 cbr1000 master cylinder for the front brakes. the 98 mc works fine but the 09 feels much nicer with more feel to the brakes so its a worth while swap but is a very tight fit.

quick vid of my bike on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGro1pNM5AE

[speedextreme]

OK guys, I am one of those who has done A LOT of mods to his 99 900RR! I have done everything from the beginning... It has seen all of its 52000+ miles from my ownership. So I will start with this... The mods I have done have been done on the 98-99 ONLY! Not on the 92-97 model RR's. Because of the slight differences between the last two years and the other years my mods might be different.

So, I have done the cbr600F3 front 17" mod on my stock front end. Needed to have my stock rotor mount bolts redrilled to the F3 wheel. Also had to have additional spacing put on each side to accomodate for the narrower front hub. Everything worked great, dropped the forks 7mm in the clamps to lower the front a little bit for better turn in.

Then all the other mods came to play.

929/54 suspension up front bolts right up. If you happen to get a later model 954 setup, the bearings are tappered roller bearings and not ball bearings like the other bikes (including the 900's) so those you just replace the bearings on the steering stem to accomodate your bearings you have the races for in the frame. Used the 954 forks, YOU HAVE TO USE (929/954) rotors with this setup, the 29/54 use the biggest discs available on any Honda model at 330mm! so the calipers are there in place for that size rotor. Now the 98-99 900 use the same designed caliper so I used those for a while and now have gold 954 calipers front and rear on the bike. Now the 929/954 front end also uses the largest axle out there from what I could see. And the rotor mount bolt pattern is much larger than on the 900's so you have to use the 929/954 style wheel or get one from an RC51 and change out the wheel bearings/colars to allow it to fit with also having new spacer/colars machined to center the hub and rotors in the forks/calipers.

So since I found an SP2 (2002+ RC51) 5 spoke front wheel cheap I used that. I was going to use a VFR SSA and an 800's 5 spoke rear wheel to kinda match. BUT, I had my rear 900's swingarm machined to accept the 929/954/RC51 rear wheels. The cush drive for those models are the same part number from honda! So I have an SP2 rear wheel in my 900's swingarm. Had to move the drive sprocket out about 1/8" for chain alignment but it works!

Now I have also modded a 929 piggyback res shock on the bike. All needed was rotating the "triangles" at the dogbone to raise the seat back up to where it should be.

I have also done the 1000RR individual coils on the bike. That was just to see if it would work. LOL... Plus I have a set of the Airtech "Erion Racing Formula Extreme" bodywork on it. Slightly modified to fit the 98-99 since it is made for the 92-97's. And that is a pain in the ass! Cuz I now have a huge hole in the front bodywork from the front mount bolt and going to modify my old fairing stay/gauge mount to accomodate a lower mount down to the bottom of the upper fairing and remove the very front mount bolt all together.

So in short this is what I have:
954 forks, triples, steering bearings, wheel bearings, rotors, calipers front and rear
929 rear shock
RC51 5 spoke wheels
1000RR coils
modified stock 99 900 swingarm
modified Formula Extreme bodywork

And all this equals ONE "Frankenblade"!!!!

Laters.

[Singleswinger]

Its quite a simple swap you need everything from the front end basiclly, the yokes will mount direct to the frame and you can use the cbr900 head bearings. You will need the clipons forks, brakes, wheel everything. I used all the standard swith gear and master cylinder it all mounts to the 929 bars. The orginal brake lines can also be used. I fitted an RC51 SP1 front wheel as wanted to keep the multi spoke front wheel and not go 3 spoke.

Hi lambchop.
I have a 97 blade with a metmatex single swing arm .
With a 916 rear wheel & a vtr front.
I have seen a 954 front end .
Forks / triple tree / calipers / clip-one / master cylinder.
But no spindle.
Will my spindle fit ?
954 clip one with my switch gear & grips & will vtr will fit ?

[pdxbret]

929/954 bolts up and has no clearance issues at all and works great. Also its worth noting cbr1000 forks are about an inch shorter than the 900 and 954/929 forks so the ride height is down slightly at the front with these. But if you go 17" front wheel this compensates for this slightly.

So sorry to beat a dead horse (old thread), but I'm prepping to do this swap:
* 929/954 top/bottom triple
* pre-08 1000RR forks (04-07)
* r6/R1 monoblock calipers (they'll bolt right up to CBR1000RR lowers)

I have a few specific Qs that @lambchop or someone else here might be able to chime in on.

1) I did the 17-inch F3 swap years ago. Is it possible to keep that wheel and mount it to the 1K forks?
2) Assuming I CAN use F3 wheel or SP1 wheel, which rotors are the best to use? RC51? 1K? 954?
3) Anyone know the specific ID/OD/length of the spacer I need to machine to mount up whichever wheel I CAN use?

Thanks!