Z1 fork swap to triumph 955i

I have been tonssing around the idea of swapping my forks out for a more modern for to run a wider tire and lower the front end a little. I have done some research on usd I've looked at gsxr and some other but I am now leaning toward the forks off of a 955I triumph. I found one bike on The Bike Shed that has done the swap they were pretty vague on the work involved, I am sure the forks are shorter if anyone has any input on dificulty of a the swap.

A little background on my self and the bike. I am new to the forum. I am a machinist/tool maker by trade I have some sheet metal and welding background. I am mechanically included and love making my own parts. The reason for the fork swap is resently I was involved in an accident and my forks and rim are bent and it is getting cold so it is about the perfect time to start any help would be greatly appreciated

I tried to post pictures of the forks and the bike that I am refrencing but it's telling me image to large. I am using my phone if you can help me around this I would greatly appriciate it.

If you mean the early 2000's Showa right side up {RSU} 955i forks ?, then Yes, they are definitely shorter, I have a set sitting beside me right now...., I haven't accurately measured the difference but the are quite a bit shorter, I will have inserts made up to lengthen them at the top, I've done this with other forks and it works well... I really like the look of the 955i Showa forks and they are a very good fork with loads of adjustability... This is similar to the inserts I've used, just get them hard chromed and you'll barely see them...



This is my set of showa's...

That is awesome those are exactly what I was talking about did you machine the extenstions yourself? If so what are they made of? I plan on trying to machine a st of triple trees myself and just press in the z1 stem to keep the factory bearings and using a set of tracker style bars.

Dsettlz1 wrote: That is awesome those are exactly what I was talking about did you machine the extenstions yourself? If so what are they made of? I plan on trying to machine a st of triple trees myself and just press in the z1 stem to keep the factory bearings and using a set of tracker style bars.

That pic isn't my extensions but is almost identical, I had an engineering shop do them for me, I also had them make up an internal spacer for the spring preload adjustment so everything stock worked as designed, I have no idea of what grade of steel they used, being a tool maker you should have no problems making these, I used to work for a tool maker back in the 1980's. Those triumph Showa forks are a good looking fork...

I kept going back and forth with doing a usd swap and then I saw these on a kz1000 and thought it was a perfect blend of modern and classic I plan on going a custom set of triples to fit dual disks on a wide-ish tire and all hidden wiring and hiding my gauge in the headlight like some of the old brit bikes. Hopfully it all comes together.

Dsettlz1 wrote: I kept going back and forth with doing a usd swap and then I saw these on a kz1000 and thought it was a perfect blend of modern and classic I plan on going a custom set of triples to fit dual disks on a wide-ish tire and all hidden wiring and hiding my gauge in the headlight like some of the old brit bikes. Hopfully it all comes together.

Do you have a pic of that 1000?, I'm curious to see what the forks look like on the Kawasaki.. I have a few different front ends, I was going to use the 955 forks on another bike, if they look good on the Kawasaki, I may just use them om mine...

Here they are

removing the stem and installing it into the donor front end is the fastest easiest way to hang another front end on any bike.
and having the complete front end with wheel tire brakes spacers axles and hardware that all already bolt to each other is the cheapest in the end.
but ,
if you have a complete home machine shop you want to keep warm this winter any combination of fork,wheel,and brake can be made to work.
there is a link in my signature that says triple tree custom work and it gives a quick run down of what a stem swap involves.
i spent some time and machine work making a 00 r1 wheel fit into gsxr1000 forks and still didn't have the stem swapped or brake calipers and rotors playing nice with each other yet.
and,
decided to just buy all r1 stuff so i could just bolt it together instead of spending hours at the lathe and mill.
just gotta find the balance between time and money.

leon

Thanks for the link, that looks like some very nice work you have done. I was wondering if you or anyone knew what grade aluminum they generally use for the triple. Have 6061 and 5052 available.

6061 will be fine, I just had one made up in 6061-T6, 6061 and 7075 are both commonly used...

thanks for the kind words.
as 750 r1 stated 6061 will work fine.

leon