Ebay forks...

Lots of nice forks on ebay, ANYBODY have a clue?, or am I stuck finding '80 F1 only forks. Can't even trust the sellers to know what the forks came off of. I see "late 70's to early '80's forks", and the best one is "80 KZ650B forks", huh? All the part #'s confuse the hell out of me. Starting to wish I had bought a '79!! :dry:

New fork question.

I have a '78 B2 and have mounted a sidecar. I want to reduce trail. I see on Ebay, a set of '82 650H CSR forks with forward axle mount. That would work for me if the fork tubes are the same diameter and the length is correct. Looks like the CSR trees are set to compensate for the forward axle placement. I would mount the tubes in my existing trees, to push the wheel forward and reduce trail.

In know. Never do this.

Wrong. Never do it on a solo bike. For sidecar use, things are different. With solo bike trail setting on a sidecar rig, your arms and shoulders get a workout. The solution is to reduce trail.

What I need to know is whether the tube diameter is the same as mine and the length is at least close. Also, I would hope my existing brake caliper will mount up.

Thanks

BTW: this rig is loads of fun. After changing steering head bearings to tapered-roller type, it's very stable and handles great.

GaryG wrote:

New fork question.

I have a '78 B2 and have mounted a sidecar. I want to reduce trail. I see on Ebay, a set of '82 650H CSR forks with forward axle mount. That would work for me if the fork tubes are the same diameter and the length is correct. Looks like the CSR trees are set to compensate for the forward axle placement. I would mount the tubes in my existing trees, to push the wheel forward and reduce trail.

In know. Never do this.

Wrong. Never do it on a solo bike. For sidecar use, things are different. With solo bike trail setting on a sidecar rig, your arms and shoulders get a workout. The solution is to reduce trail.

What I need to know is whether the tube diameter is the same as mine and the length is at least close. Also, I would hope my existing brake caliper will mount up.

Thanks

BTW: this rig is loads of fun. After changing steering head bearings to tapered-roller type, it's very stable and handles great.

Gary,
A couple of things you are going to run into with this swap. #1 your front axle/wheel set up will not work with 650 CSR tubes. The tube diameter is the same and you can alter the length by sliding tubes higher in the triple clamps. #2 I'm not sure about whether or not your calipers will work or not. I do know that the 650 CSR brake disc is unique to that wheel.

If you want to do this swap, probably a better thing to look for would be a complete front end from a 750 LTD. That would give you a dual disc setup and with the added weight of a sidecar rig I'm sure that would be desireable. If you want to swap the rear wheel over to a mag in order to match the 750 LTD wheel look for a rear wheel from either a 550 LTD if you want 16" in the rear or an 18" mag from a 550 STD or an 80 650 F-1 will also work.

Oh and be sure to post up a pic of your sidecar rig, it sounds interesting and we are a bunch of picture junkies around here anyway.

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2007/10/11 12:32

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2007/10/11 12:34

Trouble with a complete front-end swap is that it won't change the trail. I have a solution, but it's a bit pricey. There's an outfit in Canada that will modify the trees ($600.00). Or, I can get a leading-link front end for $2,600.00.

Still looking.

I will post a pic soon.

Thanks