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K6 GSXR Fork Retrofit Complete

88K views 78 replies 28 participants last post by  Sonador 
#1 ·
Got my last piece required to finally complete the finished project, the custom Top Triple, back from Anodizer today after being gone overseas for last 2 weeks.

This is a 2006 (K6) GSXR-1000 fork set installed on my '98 T509 Speed Triple.




GSXR parts purchased were
K6 Forks & bottom Yoke/stem
K6 Radial Master Cylinder
K6 Radial Brake Calipers
K6 OEM GSXR Front Fender
K6 OEM GSXR Front Axle

All custom parts were 3D CAD designed by me & fabricated by a friend in his CNC shop.
Custom CNC parts are the
Axle Spacers
Caliper Spacers
Steering StopLock
Top Triple Clamp.

Also required new Steering Stem bearing set
Get the bearings from Kevin Kraft @ All Balls Racing:
Their part numbers are:
CR0643 (custom top bearing) is 99-3521/33-1005 (bearing and Seal). Cost is $18.01 for both
2006 GSXR bottom taper roller bearing is 99-3519/33-1003 (30-55-17 mm) Cost is $15.99 for both.

All Balls Better Bearings & Components
Ph: 610-473-0505, 888-228-3323
www.goallballs.com

The Custom Length Brake Lines are Galfer from CycleBrakes

Mounted up the new Top Triple today & pleased to say all fits & works as expected. Also able to test out my custom digital speedo conversion on the road finally & it seems to be doing the job - may need a minor calibration but pretty close for now (within ~ 10% as measured by an urban radar speed indicator).

Some installation notes:
The rotors were not centered in the calipers which measured at 132mm on centre - the rotors measured only 129mm on center so additionally required 1.5mm shim between each wheel hub & rotor to centre them in the calipers.
The axle spacers centred the wheel perfectly between the calipers with the right spacer setting the primary offset spacing from right fork; the left spacer/sleeve then takes up the remaining space on left side with the OEM GSXR axle which slips partially inside that one.
Note that I eliminated the mechanical speedo drive on my conversion so the right spacer is a plain bush effectively.
I modified & installed an Autometer Procycle gauge details of which are catalogued in
Procycle Digital Speedometer Retrofit

I am well pleased with the handling of the bike now - much improved & have to say well worth the effort (well, I'd have to say that right?)
& it doesn't look too bad either!

Here are some of pics
















Here is the complete spacer & steering stop-lock kit.
It's amazing how some of the simpler things are so rewarding - I am particularly proud of the caliper spacers.
The original GSXR caliper mount utilizes a male locator bush that is pressed into the fork mounting post: I removed these & as you can see made the caliper spacers of a double-ended design to facilitate the process.






I do still need to complete my finished pics portfolio - lots of the detailed ones but not so many of the whole thing!

Acknowldgements:
Note that I used this T595.net thread as a most valuable resource as well as the previous install by our very own Kuhlka
Also thank you to Derek at motolab for his general counsel in reviewing the top triple clamp design from a fabrication perspective and sharing calculations on offset/trail perspective of OEM vs modified.

Update on 12/26/06 (thanks Santa!!!!!!)


OK - the final piece in the front end make-over plan
- aahhh, that's much better!

Braking Wave Rotors and Carbone Lorraine SBK5 pads.
Acknowledgements to PJ's Parts for the fabulous deal on the rotors.

Before:



After:



Started out with by removing calipers of course - I find the top of the radiator is a convenient place to 'park' them so they are not merely hanging on the brake lines



I had to install spacer shims to account for the offset of the GSXR calipers to the rotors on the Triumph wheel - initially had just used 1.5mm shim washers, but made a full circumference spacer this time around - much more practical!

Original OEM Rotor



The temporary spacer shim washers



New full spacer



New spacer installed on hub



New Wave Rotor installed over spacer



The Carbone Lorraine Pads



I need to test it out now! :-D

Will post up full bike pics later.


[ This message was edited by: DEcosse on 2007-05-30 22:18 ]
 
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#5 ·
On 2006-11-10 20:52, MotoRaider wrote:
... how difficult was the install? did you get the forks off ebay? ...
I did indeed get the forks off E-Bay - mine had zero miles off a brand new bike so I paid a few extra $$$ for them - similarly the brakes were also brand new - the pads weren't even scuffed in!

The install is not at all difficult once you have the custom parts! I took quite a bit longer because I had to take it all apart to get all the measurements to design the parts.
But you could do this in a day easily if you prepared properly by having everything ready to go.

You need to be able to get the front end off the ground to remove the triple tree - see below for how I achieved that (made a stand which supported the front weight of bike on the sliders)
I have a PitBull 'newfront' stand which lifts the front end of bike from under the bottom yoke; however that only gets you as far as wheel & forks removal - but then that allowed adequate space to get the wooden stand in to support the weight from the frame sliders & allow the triple clamp set to be removed.









[ This message was edited by: DEcosse on 2006-11-21 20:48 ]
 
#6 ·
the home made stand is ingenious! I thought it was supported by the pipes and was wondering it didn't tip over.

Definitely gotta save up for the mod, approximately how much did they cost you if you don't me asking. Will your friend eventually sell some of the custom made parts too?

[ This message was edited by: MotoRaider on 2006-11-10 21:44 ]
 
#9 ·
Just wondering, does anyone know if I could swap out the bearings from my 03 wheel and use the T509/595 bearings? I'd like to get a set of those wheel spacers from you De, if you're able to get another set made. I think I might prefer to use the GSXR axle instead of my 03's.
 
#10 · (Edited)
On 2006-11-11 12:32, kuhlka wrote:
Just wondering, does anyone know if I could swap out the bearings from my 03 wheel and use the T509/595 bearings?
(edited) Unfortunately the wheels are different - the OD as well as ID is different & there is no compatible bearing that has the 97-01 ID with 02-04 OD

- didn't you have a 98-01 wheel at one time going into your project or did you already move it on?

Remember you machined your left leg though K - well at least the fork left leg, otherwise they'd be calling you Eillean (I lean!) :-D - so the left spacer will be different as result of that.
But actually the way this spacer set works it doesn't really matter if you machined the left leg as the right spacer is what sets the wheel centre; then the combination of GSXR axle and inset spacing of the left spacer is what acommodates the left side. With my left spacer as-is there would be a small 2mm gap on yours between the leg & the outside sleeve of the spacer which merely fits over the 'fat' part of the axle and is cosmetic, not functional dimensionally.

As point of note, my first spacer I deliberately made 1mm short on the outside sleeve part as I intentionally did not want it tight between the fork & the wheel bearing, ensuring that the space is driven by the inner dimension and the axle - you couldn't really see that little gap unless you got down on hands & knees! But for my second iteration & final part I eliminated it only leaving a few thou of clearance.

[ This message was edited by: DEcosse on 2006-11-11 13:24 ]
 
#11 ·
Nah, I've still got the 509 wheel and need to sell it as I don't have rotors for it. I might just stick with what I've got then with my stock axle. It'd just be nice to have the thicker axle as its easier to use and doesn't stick out like my 03.
 
#12 ·
On 2006-11-11 18:26, kuhlka wrote:
Nah, I've still got the 509 wheel and need to sell it as I don't have rotors for it...
Aaah, yes - had forgotten about the rotor mounts being different (6 bolt on earlier model vs 5 on later)
I'd also like to check on a potential other difference for reference of others:
Did you ever check the rotor spacing on your setup?
On my year wheel (as mentioned in opening post) it required spacer shims to align the rotors perfectly in the centres of the K6 GSXR calipers (01 bike a friend is converting also required the same but that is same generation essentially).
Centre to centre between the rotors/calipers is 132mm on the GSXR - was 129 originally on my 97-01 wheel between rotors before adding the shims between the wheel hub & each rotor. They did 'fit' between the calipers but were very offset towards the inside piston on each side - now are dead centre with the shims.
 
#13 ·
Mine aren't centered perfectly and are similar to what you describe. I can measure things later to give a more exact number, though if necessary.
 
#14 ·
The shims are as simple as M10 washers which were pretty much ~ 1.5mm thick - just use 6 (or 5 in your case) between the rotor & the wheel hub on each side - that should do the trick.
I may ultimately get some full circle spacers made up for when I eventually get my waves but this is working fine for now.

This is how it ends up - note in second pic that it appears like a bigger spacer than actually is, the rotor already has an offset away from the wheel hub which makes it look more.

p.s. My forks aren't really that ratty - just dust on there that the flash decorates incredibly!





[ This message was edited by: DEcosse on 2006-11-12 10:59 ]
 
#16 ·
On 2006-11-10 19:38, DEcosse wrote:
Here is the complete spacer & steering stop-lock kit.
It's amazing how some of the simpler things are so rewarding - I am particularly proud of the caliper spacers.
The original GSXR caliper mount utilizes a male locator bush that is pressed into the fork mounting post: I removed these & as you can see made the caliper spacers of a double-ended design to facilitate the process.
Is the bushing on GSX-R only for locating or for taking the braking load?

So if the GSX-R Tokicos were to go on the stock 1050 fork bottoms, they will be fine without the bushing and with the bolts taking the whole load?

I don't remember if the S3 fork bottoms had a bushing or male locator of any kind. I'll have to drop by the garage later today & check.
 
#17 ·
On 2006-11-20 02:12, Martin_R wrote:

Is the bushing on GSX-R only for locating or for taking the braking load?
You mean the caliper spacer one, right?
It is required on the retrofit using the OEM size Triumph rotors (or equivelant size after-market) because the Triumph uses 320mm rotors, while the K6 Suzuki has 310mm (K3/4 has 300mm).
The spacer is 5mm making up the difference in radius (155 to 160).


So if the GSX-R Tokicos were to go on the stock 1050 fork bottoms, they will be fine without the bushing and with the bolts taking the whole load?
My understanding is that the fork mounting on the late model Triumphs accounts for the correct radius without any requirement for a spacer. I have not validated this personally but many have made the retrofit of the Tokicos to the 05/06 S3 without one.
 
#18 ·
On 2006-11-20 10:24, DEcosse wrote:
You mean the caliper spacer one, right?
Yes.

My understanding is that the fork mounting on the late model Triumphs accounts for the correct radius without any requirement for a spacer. I have not validated this personally but many have made the retrofit of the Tokicos to the 05/06 S3 without one.
You are correct. I was just interested as to why the Suzuki people have used the bushing in the fork lower in the first place. Why did they not make their fork lowers to fit the rotors they are using?

I guess they would not have gone through all the trouble just to have a male locator, but the bushing is there also to take some of the braking load from the bolts? Yes? Or just as a spacer?
 
#20 ·
I'm not sure if I'm confusing you, or you're confusing me, Martin!

There is no 'spacer' per se on the OEM GSXR to set the correct radius - there is only an internal bushing (which you normally can't see at all) that is pressed into the fork fitting that positively locates a corresponding female opening in the caliper.

The additional 5mm is only required when using GSXR fork plus GSXR caliper combo (which was designed for a GSXR 310mm rotor) on a Triumph 320mm rotor.
Without a spacer on the Triumph rotor caliper would be too far inboard. But obviously on the OEM GSXR it aligns perfectly.
Similarly, using older 03/04 forks and calipers which were intended to utilize that year's 300mm rotors, would need a 10mm spacer to make up the 320mm diameter of the Triumph. Again, there is no spacer used on that year GSXR either, but the caliper mounts are correspondingly shorter (or conversely, the 05/06 calipers have a 5mm longer mount built in to accommodate the change from 300 to 310mm rotors)

Presumably if the 05/06 Tokicos fit the 05/06 Triumph 320mm without a spacer, then the additional radius delta between the Triumph & GSXR rotors is accommodated by the fork mount itself on each respective bike. It would be useful if someone could just post up the relative dimesnions of the two respective calipers between the Tokico & Nissins.
Note however if 03/04 GSXR Tokicos were used on 05/06 Triumph, then a spacer would indeed have to be utilized as their mounts are indeed 5mm shorter.

When I designed my spacer part, I combined the functions of the OEM locator bush with a spacer to have one single part to do accommodate both requirements for Triumph wheel/rotor on GSXR fork/brakes

Interestingly, I should mention that I found that the top caliper mount (on caliper itself) is very slight clearance fit over the bushing (not interference press fit like the way the OEM bushing fits in the leg), while the lower one (only) is similar as top one in the horizontal plane, but actually has noticeably more clearance in the vertical plane. This was same for both calipers so is intentional.
i.e. lower caliper mount holes are elongated vertically while the top ones are perfectly round.
I imagine this allows the caliper to 'grow' in the vertical plane as it gets hot.

Did I just help to further confuse the situation? :-D

[ This message was edited by: DEcosse on 2006-11-20 17:57 ]
 
#21 ·
Lol, I was wondering why there was a bushing sticking out and my Racecomp spacers didn't fit. I just bored out the Racecomp spacers so they'd fit around the bushings.

Word! We rollin' 320's yo! 310's ain't nuthin'!
 
#22 ·
On 2006-11-20 18:01, kuhlka wrote:
Lol, I was wondering why there was a bushing sticking out and my Racecomp spacers didn't fit. I just bored out the Racecomp spacers so they'd fit around the bushings.

Word! We rollin' 320's yo! 310's ain't nuthin'!
I wondered at the time why you had to drill those :???: :-D

As to the 320's - yeah, we rock - Triumph had those since '97 at least! And Suzi only got to 310 in '05!
& still behind the curve!

I have to say the GSXR brakes are nice but always thought the OEMs were really good anyway
Now the Triumph rear - that's a whole other story! :-D
 
#24 ·
On 2006-11-20 17:51, DEcosse wrote:
There is no 'spacer' per se on the OEM GSXR to set the correct radius - there is only an internal bushing (which you normally can't see at all) that is pressed into the fork fitting that positively locates a corresponding female opening in the caliper.
Yes, this is the part which function I was curious about.

What is the function of the said hidden bushing in the Suzuki GSX-R? I'd imagine the Suzuki people not going through all that trouble to just have the bushing as a locator?
 
#25 ·
On 2006-11-20 17:51, DEcosse wrote:
Interestingly, I should mention that I found that the top caliper mount (on caliper itself) is very slight clearance fit over the bushing (not interference press fit like the way the OEM bushing fits in the leg), while the lower one (only) is similar as top one in the horizontal plane, but actually has noticeably more clearance in the vertical plane. This was same for both calipers so is intentional.
i.e. lower caliper mount holes are elongated vertically while the top ones are perfectly round.
I imagine this allows the caliper to 'grow' in the vertical plane as it gets hot.
Finally got down to the Suzi store and got a set of caliper bolts and out of curiosity also one OEM GSXR bushing. Looking at the measurements the bushing (10.24mm id) is machined a tighter fit around the bolt than the bolt hole (10.63mm id) on the caliper. Without the bushing the bolt (9.91mm od) has a whole 0.72mm of clearance to the hole and there is a noticeable room for the caliper to move on the bolts (when a bit loose).

So this got me thinking; is the 0.72mm too much room already, when compared to the with-bushing spacing of 0.33mm? Especially when the threads on the S3 fork legs have plenty of play too.

So should I:
a) hunt down calipers bolts of tighter clearance (the '05 tapered heads are actually very very close, but I do not like how little useful thread is left)?
b) put a few rounds of tape on the bolt to tighten it up?
c) get S3 fork legs machined to accept GSXR bushing?
d) get OEM GSXR bushing machined shorter?
c) forget about the whole clearance issue?
 
#26 ·
I think 'c' (the first c!) would be the ultimate option but not very practical to achieve. I don't think that option 'd' will really make any difference as it still doesn't locate the caliper to the fork leg

I think that in your case I would be inclined to just loosen the bolts, apply the brake lever & tie it to the bar with a zip tie, then retighten the bolts to the spec'd torque.
Should be fine.
 
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