front end

That is a bias ply tire, not a radial. It's a great tire, too! Ride the hell out of it while you gather the pieces for your transformation!

what indicates that to be a bias ply tire?so i know for future reference.

thanks for clearing up the confusion by the way.i thought it was a radial but i was wrong.

PKR,
Hey brother, nobody is blaming you for that one. Probably says "bias ply" on the side-wall somewhere. Do a little "on line" research on bias-ply vs radials. Motorcycles made the transition in the mid-late 80s and basically have never looked back; there are still examples made today as some manufacturers have decided that there are a lot of old-school era super-bike or sport-bikes that have odd-size tires are still running well and the owners need a quality tire.

Construction is the biggest difference in the tires, which leads to major differences in adhesion, handling, and wear characteristics; not to mention outright weight from radial to bias-ply. Some bikes of the era (late 80s, early 90s) actually started off with bias-ply tires and then during their production years they changed over to radials with no other significant design changes. Now that's crazy.

A radial will say 'Radial', 'Radial Compound', or 'Radial Tire' on the side wall.

I've ridden a bike with a radial on the front and a bias-ply on the rear; knowing this fact I was uninterested in pushing the bike through corners, but no big deal...can't say that I recommend doing anything "real" with that sort of set-up and I sure wouldn't plan to set it up like that.

-KR

i did plan on switching my rear wheel/swingarm setup...but not right away.im not as financially set as i was before i moved to become a student...haha.but i definitely will try to get it done together if that is whats recommended.

are there any recommendations for swingarm/wheel swaps that work well?i havent looked into the rear too much.

You can tell if it's a radial tire by the size/speed rating info on the tire. Radials always have an "R" in this info. Something like 160/60ZR17. Nonradial tires do not have this "R" in the sidewall info, like your tires 4.00-18 M/C 64V.

As far as the front end swap goes...I took a 2001 GSXR750 front end and converted it to fit my 78 KZ650. I grinded the weld off the bottom triple just until I saw the circle where the stem was pressed into the lower triple. The kz stem just taps out...no need to press mine at least. After that I just took, well I should say the machinist I paid just took and pressed the gsxr stem out(through the bottom, it has a notched design) Left the lower bearing race on the 650 stem, fabbed a sleeve exactly like the bottom of the gsxr stem...somehow pressed/welded that together.
Then pressed the whole deal into the lower gsxr triple. The top triple was then bored out to fit the kz stem. My machinist accidently bored to the diameter of the bearing race portion. So it was too big and didnt fit correctly. To correct this a sleeve was made and pressed in. This may actually be better because now it is metal on metal instead of metal on aluminum. He did a really nice job. Cost me $100, which is about what I expected for precision custom machining and welding etc.
This is by far the best way to do the conversion. Although the stems are almost the exact same length, the location of the threads are different making it impossible to get the nut on using the stock gsxr stem. I thought that getting the correct bearing size combo it would just work but no dice...now it bolts right up. I can send you some pics if you need.

some pictures would be great if you have them.i can definitely picture what you mean...but pictures are worth a thousand words as they say.haha.

i havent gotten the gsxr front end yet...im still trying to find one that isnt upwards of 400 plus shipping.i want to know any and all issues so i can prepare for them before i jump into this.

does anyone know if a gsxr600 front end will fit the same as a 750?

You're going at it correctly by prepping it all out before you jump in.
Check the "Projects" forums here; there are plenty of 'pics as you go' projects that show steering stem mods.

-KR

thanks.i actually found someon with everything i need for 250.the only things ill need yet are a master cylinder and a new front tire...

250 sounds pretty fair; what is it?
-KR

01 GSXR750 front end...

but now i gotta wait because i lost spark on my bike...