TOPIC:

Looking good man! Those head light brackets look familiar!

You in Canada?

what!!! those wheels look slick... if only there was a polish to leave on them that would keep them easy to clean.

Hollywood- I do believe they're the same brackets as what you're using It took me a while to find brackets to fit my massive tubes (53mm) haha. Plus, for $40 I figured I couldn't go wrong. They're pretty damn beefy too! And I sure am in Canada- I'm in Thunder Bay, Ontario, about 6 hours east of Winnipeg. Where abouts are you?

Don- The rims are powdercoated with a matte interior gold powder, then I had the shop toss a clearcoat powder on top. A rinse with water, and they'll shine like new every single time.

Oh, Hollywood- forgot to ask. How much of a drop did you get on your front end with the fork conversion? I believe I'm looking at about a 4" drop or so, should be ok for ground clearance once the rear is done up.

Devin

mike0537,
with a four jaw chuck and an indicator it is possible to be very accurate on round stock.

650mod,
what are you using to lock the stem in the lower triple?

leon

Agreed here with Leon. Using a calibration tool (micrometer with a spring loaded arm was used every time we lined the stem up). Had it accurate within one ten thousandth of an inch or less.

And Leon- we pressed the stem into the lower tree, and I'm using the threaded section of the stock KZ stem welded into the bottom of the new stem. What I mean here is the threaded section that was in the top of the stem to take the stock steering stem top bolt. We were able to lathe down the welds on it, pull it out, and weld it into the bottom. Said and done, I thread the old steering stem bolt fully into the bottom of the new stem, tighten an allen bolt on the side of the stem, then tighten the top of the triple down. The stem shouldn't slip at all as we pressed the stem into place with a hydraulic press, and have the large bolt on the bottom. Sorry if this is a bit confusing to read. Next time I'm in the shop working on it, I'll post some pictures of it mounted in. I figured with a set of chromed triples that a chrome bolt on the bottom wouldn't stand out that much.

Devin

What you would use is called a dial indicator. I'm sure you can get it perfectly centered. I just haven't done it so I assume it would take me some time to get it right. It's just really easy to use a 3 jaw.

650mod,
i follow what you are saying.
sounds like you have it captured pretty well sir.

mike0537,

true,a three jaw is much faster and easier to set up than a four jaw.
but someone that is used to setting the four jaw up can get stuff centered pretty quick.
i have both,depends on the job which i use.

leon

Leon,

Thanks for the words of support- means a lot. This is my first modification build, so any/all help is always appreciated. Like I said, when I'm in the shop next, I'll get a picture up so everyone can see how me made this one work.

Next step is finishing the front end up, making custom wheel spacers so that I can run a speedo drive to keep my stock gauge cluster, and re-assembly of the front end.

Devin

650mod wrote: Oh, Hollywood- forgot to ask. How much of a drop did you get on your front end with the fork conversion? I believe I'm looking at about a 4" drop or so, should be ok for ground clearance once the rear is done up.

Devin

I'm in Calgary! Ya I was actually surprised how beefy those mounts were too.

I'm not sure what the drop was as I never measured it before but looking at my gpz on the other side of the garage the difference is pretty redonkulous in my case. After some screwing around today I only have 6" total from the oil pan to the ground not including the 3" exhaust...lol.

Too bad we weren't closer! I've been keeping a close eye on your build, and I like what I see so far!

As for drop- I measured up my old fork length- 30". Measured the old wheel- 28" diameter. New forks- 28.5", new wheel- 24". So take the 12" as half of the new wheel, and 28.5" from the forks, and I'm looking at about 40.5" in comparison to 44" . I should be fine with ground clearance, but I do also have a larger exhaust on the bike with a nice size collector. Time will tell I suppose... Once I have the rear end done up, I'll be able to play around with clearances a little more.

650mod wrote: Too bad we weren't closer! I've been keeping a close eye on your build, and I like what I see so far!

As for drop- I measured up my old fork length- 30". Measured the old wheel- 28" diameter. New forks- 28.5", new wheel- 24". So take the 12" as half of the new wheel, and 28.5" from the forks, and I'm looking at about 40.5" in comparison to 44" . I should be fine with ground clearance, but I do also have a larger exhaust on the bike with a nice size collector. Time will tell I suppose... Once I have the rear end done up, I'll be able to play around with clearances a little more.

Ya it is too bad. Im hoping I can keep the top line my swing arm flat cause I like that look. Im hoping I don't have to jack it up a little to get the ground clearance. But like you said you have to get there in the build to really see.