What do you get when?

[fast1075]

Goodies!

[csmith12]

Git some! Yea, yea!

[crazymadbastard]

neat project! subscribed.

[fast1075]

I spent countless hours trying to find the stock fork spring rate for the "92 GXS600F forks I am using. Nobody I could find could/would tell me. Race Tech dude didn't know.

The Race Tech calculator says I need .80ish rate.

I found in the KatRiders forum a reference that says the stock GSX600f springs are .63. Why does info have to be so dern hard to find?

The stock springs in the 250 are .44. If the '92 GSX600F springs are .63, they will be 31% stiffer, A substantial improvement.

I will see how the stock Kat springs work out. The spring on the 2005-2006 GSXR-1000 rear shock is 8.1, the stock 250 spring is 7.87, so I will have improved spring rates without being overly harsh. If I need more spring, swaps are easy.

The info I have on shock length (from gleaning internet sources) is the 250 shock is 320mm, and the 2005-2006 GSXR-1000 shock is supposed to be 319mm. We will see today, UPS says "out for delivery".

[fast1075]

Shock is here. It actually measures 325mm. Boooo! that makes it a GSXR-600 shock. Too long, way too much spring. But all is not lost!

I called the place I bought it from, and they are sending the correct shock! I got a return shipping label in like 2 minutes after I got off the phone. No big deal. The shock goes on after I get the rest done anyway.

I'm just glad to deal with a great vendor. There was no BS over any of it. They seem like really good people.

[fast1075]

I got my replacement replacement front wheel in today. It is in great condition and doesn't have a zillion paint layers on it. Woo Hoo!!!

I popped the wheel bearings out so I could take the wheels to the powder coater.

I tried to call them to let them know I was headed over, and BOOOOOO! they are closed until Monday. Wahhhhhh!!!!

Cold front moving thru today. The shop is too cold and damp to do more clean-n-paint. Kind of at a stand still until I get the wheels back. I won't tear the bike apart until I have all the foreseeable stuff done.

It's really slow at work today. Boss said to wrap it up and go home early.

[fast1075]

Rear tire shipped today. Got it from American mototire. Great communication. Prompt service despite the holiday whackiness.

The tire is a Michelin Pilot Street Radial in 130/70 to properly fit the 3.5" rim.

Also, the correct rear shock shipped today. The guys at Suncoast Cycle Sports are all about good customer service. (Mods, if is shouldn't mention vendors, let me know, I am just always happy when i get exceptional service from anyone).

[fast1075]

Just dropped the wheels off at the coaters for a nice satin black finish.

The correct shock just came in, and the rear tire is officially "out for delivery".

[fast1075]

Picked up the wheels from the coater today. Rear tire is here. Have to fit the bearings, and prep the flanges for the discs. Yup, the flanges got power coated in spite of two phone calls, a face to face, including a drawing of what I wanted, not nearly as bad as the first set of wheels I had done by a different coater that coated the bearing races, flanges, and all the threaded holes. At least on this one, the bearing bores and threads are not coated.

I will get the wheels ready, and the tires mounted tomorrow, Friday, or Saturday. After that, it's fun time! Supposed to cold n rainy this weekend. Perfect time to start this for earnest.

I'll post more pics soon.

[fast1075]

Got the tires mounted today. I am one lucky guy. A friend, who is an avid rider owns a tire store. He doesn't sell motorcycle tires, but he has a top of the line Coates motorcycle tire machine.

Both tires mounted, with new valve stems. $17.50 Wooot Woot.

[fast1075]

I was so excited I forgot the pic of the new wheels n tires. I did the same basic setup on my Dizzy, except the front was a single disc GS-500 wheel. My 250 will run circles around the Dizzy.

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by fast1075

The guys at Suncoast Cycle Sports are all about good customer service. (I am always happy when i get exceptional service from anyone).

There is acctually a thread in the marketplace to share good or bad vendors, some folks enjoy staying in the know about the customer service of a potential vendor while shopping around!

Sweet build

[fast1075]

I cleaned out the bearing bores. They really were not bad, the media they blasted them with was very fine. A little work with some 220 sandpaper and they looked great. The bearings that came in front wheel #2 were in gret shape after cleaning, and repacking with grease.

I ran a tap thru the disc mount hole threads, drove in the bearings, and mounted the discs. I bought a bearing driver kit because, well, I AM a tool whore, then the bearings went in undamaged easily. It is always important that the driver pushes the inner and outer race so you don't side load the bearings. I got that kit from Harbor Freight.

The rear wheel bearings, I thought would be good to reuse, were discovered to be spalled after a good cleaning, so it will be tomorrow before the rear wheel is ready to go.

[fast1075]

Today, I actually tore into my bike and began the transformation. I took some pics as I went, but my phone is acting up again. I'll have to post the pics later.

Anyways. The stock steering head bearings were like new when I took it apart. Disassembly was uneventful. I pulled off the fairings, and used a jack under the engine.

The stock bearing races came out easily with a hammer and drift. I wiped out all the old grease, and buffed the bearing bores with some scotchbrite. Bearing races went in easily. I used my bearing driver on the bottom bearing. Made it very easy. The upper bearing race is a funny size. I tapped it in with a hammer and brass punch. Easy enough. I pressed the lower bearing on the stem with the dust seal, and a spacer from the All Balls kit under the dust seal.

After I fit the triple tree, I found that the steering stops on the triple tree just barely hit the bottom of the fairing stay. I cut a 1/4" or so off the stops, and everything worked fine after that. Everything about the fork tubes and triple clamp clears, nothing hits the tank or frame at full lock either way. Good to go there.

When I mounted the clip-ons, they came very close to the tank. A little investigating showed they are both badly bent backwards. It is weird, they are equally bent, so they looked normal until I realized they were bent. Note to self: Don't buy an EX Stunta parts bike next time. Luckily, the Suzuki bar design uses plain, straight tubing. I have some 7/8" 4130 tubing, I will cut to fit and paint black. If I have any problems after that, I will either make some risers for the clip-ons, or buy some 2" risers and use conventional handle bars. I "think" the clip-ons will work fine one I replace the bent up stock bars.

As it sits at the moment, The triple clamp is finish installed. The forks and front wheel are bolted on and trial mounted. So far so good. Now it's the little detail stuff. Easy, but time consuming.

The Suzuki speedometer cable has the same size and thread as the stock cable and screws in place, so it should work fine. I still need to check the ratio of the speedo drives to see if they are the same, but at least the speedo will work. Hopefully accurately. The new tire/wheel is taller than the Sport Demon 16". It may actually put me closer to accurate if the drive ratios are the same.

I "may" be able to make the 250 fender fit, with a lot of fab work, but it looks more likely that it will end up with the Zuke fender. They mount completely different.

Pretty happy so far, In 4 hours time, I can roll it around if I want. More coming. I just have to get the pics to work. I send them to my E-mail, and the attachment does not come thru. I'm going to reboot the firmware to see if that helps. More on this soon!

[fast1075]

Replaced the bent up clip-on tubes. Test fit the controls. Everything clears the tank. I drilled out the ignition switch screws and got the ignition switch off the 250 top clamp.

Problem. The Suzuki top clamp's ignition switch hole is too close to the steering neck for the stock switch to work. A switch that does not have an integral fork lock should work. I just have to find one.

Cables, handlebar switches, etc, etc will work fine after I locate and drill holes for the locator pins on the switch gear. Brake lines, etc fit.

Once I get the ignition switch thing sorted, It all comes back apart for touch up and adjustment before final assembly.

[fast1075]

Edit: 6 wire switch. Grey wire to ECM. Will need to add a 100 ohm resistor to the grey wire, and tire the wires together in three circuits: Brown-White-100 ohm resistor-Grey for ignition, Blue-Red for tail light, White/black-White/green for turn signals, accessories. Sucks, the factory service manual had the wrong wiring diagram....it is not the same as an early Pregen, or a Newgen.

The resistor for the anti-theft is built into the stock switch. I will be using a Radio Shack 100 ohm 1/2 watt resistor part number 271-1108. The Radio Shack resistor will work fine, but I found some better tolerance 2 watt resisters that I will use.

I won't have a fork lock. No biggie, I have a good disc lock.

I ordered a caliper rebuild kit for the front calipers. I missed that on my check list, and they do need rebuilding.

[fast1075]

Pic of the front mocked up for fit. And pic of the steering stem where I trimmed down the steering stops to clear the fairing stay where they were too "tall". There is a taper about 1/4 to 3/8 down from the tip, that is where i cut them off. Filed the edges and a shot of paint and..

[verboten1]

nice! I like fork swaps.

My CB550 is running an SV650 Front end

[jkv45]

Looks good, but I'd like to see some larger photos...

[crazymadbastard]

Can you describe what comes in the all balls kit? Is it must bearings? I am looking to swap a zx600r(c)1992 fork and twin caliper wheels and they sell a kit for this swap.

[fast1075]

The kits I got include the bearings, A dust seal (washer with a rubber wiper seal around the outside, and two washers to space the bearings if needed.

It is a good, complete kit. The thing to remember is even though the bearings fit an XXX stem to a YYY steering head, It does not mean it bolts together.

If it has been done before (bolted together), awesome. The main tripping point is if the donor stem is long enough. In my case, the Suzuki stem was quite a bit too short.

Luckily, I have posted the stem length (220 mm) of the 250 stem (with the bearing removed). So all you need to do is measure the 600 stem. In fact, luckier yet if the fork you are using is the same as the ZZR600 in that year range, since I have one of those I bought, but didn't use because the tubes have some rust pits. I'll drag it out and check it for you.

[crazymadbastard]

Thanks man!

[fast1075]

I "could" just rig a hidden toggle switch, but I want a keyed ignition switch in the normal place. I found a new KZ-650 / 1000 switch for a 1980 model. It is compact so will fit. ***edited*** I originally posted that the KZ switch would not work. It will, it is a 3 pole switch, and I will be using it wired directly in with a 100 ohm resistor to the grey wire.

Anyways, the shaft of the switch is quite a bit smaller than the mount hole in the top clamp. I used a piece of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC glued inside a 3/4 coupling, which I machined down in my bench lathe. It fits from underneath with a washer on top, and the plastic bezel nut.

[fast1075]

This is a ZZR600 fork. If yours looks like this, we have something to compare.
The stem in a 250 ends about 2 or 3mm before the top of the top clamp.
This fork stem is in the 220mm range to about the top of the clamp, but it is made to protrude with a nut on top instead of recess with a bolt in it.

Answer is: it may be fairly close to working. Here is a pic of the fork. The down side, is It is most likely to wide to fit under the fairing, which is a deal breaker for me.

[crazymadbastard]

Thanks for posting, mine is from a 92 zx600r a little different. Another member a while back measure the frame neck and it was close. I ordered the AllBalls kit earlier today. What size tubes are those? mine are 38mm. I am not keeping the fairings- going naked.

keep up the good work, I am enjoying your build.

[fast1075]

Those are 46mm!

[fast1075]

To do my ignition transplant, I needed to get a 100 ohm resistor for the grey antitheft wire. I found some 2 watt 100 ohm 1% resistors on Amazon. I just realized there are 200 in the package.

If anyone needs one for a race bike build, let me know. I'll give you a killer deal.

[fast1075]

KZ 1000 (1980 model) ignition switch is wired in, and she runs! Fully functional too, including parking light. It is remarkably easy, although it is not something you would normally do, but it definitely took care of my clearance issue.

I will draw a diagram and post it soon. The resister to the grey wire worked perfectly. It cranked and ran on what fuel was in the bowl since I had the tank off. Lights, turn signals, etc all work. I still need to mount my horn.

My caliper rebuild kit will be in tomorrow. I partially disassembled the calipers tonight, and hopefully none of the pistons are rusty. If all goes well I will have completed the front end by Saturday except refinishing the fender, which is in good shape other than multiple coats of various rattle can paint.

Hopefully I can test ride the front end Sunday before it goes on the lift for the rear wheel stuff. Wish me luck.

[fast1075]

Rebuilt the front calipers today. Each of them had a sticking piston and would not release. I never took a four pot caliper apart before, so I learned a bit.

Got them apart, the fluid was dark and discolored, When I got the pistons out, there was sludge in the calipers pretty badly. The pistons had a ridge of hardened crud around the outside where they are exposed to brake dust and road grime.

I have a bench buffer, so I took some white compound and went to it. Ended up with 8 gleaming pistons. One has a tiny pit near the outside edge, but it is nowhere near where the seals run, and so I will use it.

It took some work to get the bores nice and clean, but they are good once I got the "varnish" off. New seals and wipers, and orings for the halves.
Bolted back together and painted with a fresh coat of caliper paint.

Tomorrow, after it warms up a bit, I hope to finish the front end (except the fender, it needs some love). I will take a crack at bench bleeding the whole assembly. Each caliper has two bleeders, which is something new to me.

Several people have recommended going to Dot5 fluid. But after reading up on it, I am staying with conventional fluid. Any water you get in the system with Dot5 puddles up in low spots and causes corrosion, It also does not lubricate as well. Dot3-4 absorbs water, and the mix is flushed out with fluid replacement.

Jury is still out on if I leave the clip-ons on, or change over to risers and a conventional bar. I had added a set of Soupy's risers to the stock bars, and really liked the riding position. The Suzuki bars are lower than the stock ones were, and come really close to the tank. We will see.

[fast1075]

Busy day. I took the forks off, replaced the dust seals, put them back on, torqued everything, Final torqued the front brake rotors, cleaned and greased the speedo drive. Mounted the wheel, mounted the brake calipers, installed new pads and hardware. Mounted the master cylinder after washing it out with brakleen, and reconnected the brake lines.

Spent a couple of hours futzing around trying to bleed the brakes. In the end I realized the bleed hole in the master cylinder is gummed up, and I don't have a kit. On goes the stock 250 master cylinder, which is a 1/2" bore instead of the 5/8" bore for the 600 master cylinder.

Gravity bled the system for half an hour, keeping the fluid level full, when a bit of pump up and bleed. The lever ahs a lot of travel because of the small bore, and the lever is a bit mushy from the old stock rubber lines. Anyways.

Installed the speedo cable, and it fit and attaches to the stock speedo. Put the bodywork back on and confirmed everything clears and fits up. There is at least as much room between the fairing and the forks as the stock forks. I call it a perfect fit. Lost my left hand grip somewhere in a box, and I can't find the stock mirror mount bolts, and the bar ends won't fit the ne clip-ons because they are not threaded on the end.

Feeling like a true anarchist, I went for a ride minus mirrors and a horn. Now the good part. I had been afraid the front would be too stiff, with my 155 pounds it feels remarkably good. Gone is the huge front end dive on braking. And crossing bumps and railroad tracks, while firm is definitely not overly stiff.

Handling is good holds a neutral line, has good turn in, no bad manners at all. Of course, I was not about to go railing a new unknown set up on a brand new tire. I am extremely pleased to say the least.

The speedo works. I will have to go for a run with my GPS to see how far off it is. The cable screwed right onto the stock speedo nipple like it was made for it.

Brakes: I only rode 5 or 6 miles so the brakes (and tire for that matter) are nowhere near bedded in. The rebuilt calipers work perfectly, and there is no pulsing or other odd behavior. The brakes are very progressive and have good power even at this early point. I am sure I will end up installing braded lines and either rebuilding the stock M/C or going with a different one of the correct size.

At this point I am calling the front half essentially complete except the front fender, and (being picky) clearance issues for the bars to tank at full lock.

This has gone far better than I expected. While not a Sunday afternoon bolt parts on project, it has gone well, and I am thrilled. Next will the rear half, and maybe the skins go to the paint shop too...I'll keep everybody informed.

Oh yeah, Pics.

[fast1075]

Been stupid busy at work. No spare time at all. Hopefully this weekend, I get back on it. All I got done was to make a mount plate to help install the front fender without taking the wheel off to do it. Pics later.

[ninjunk]

I like it!

When you made the handlebars did you have to do anything to keep them from turning?

Stock has that little stub-plane tabby thing welded on.

i was thinking about turning them out of solid SS to try to damp vibrations, like a built-in bar end.

[crazymadbastard]

Very nice and clean install.

[fast1075]

The Suzuki system is a bit different than the Kawi one. The bars are straight pieces of tubing. the clamp has two allen head bolts. One of the bolts is offset towards the bar centerline about 4mm. You have to cut a groove in the bar so the bolt goes in.

The tubing I had is a bit short. I bought some 7/8" 6061 aluminum bar. I am thinking about using that for the bars. I and drill and tap the ends, and reinstall my bar end mirrors if I do it that way, otherwise I will have to machine threaded plugs and weld them into the existing tubing, or go back to the original mirrors.

[fast1075]

Today was an all day affair. I wanted to accomplish getting the bars to work. When I rode it at first, I found the bars came very close to the tank at full lock. Today I went to move the bike from my storage area to the work shop. When I was turning right, I smashed my thumb between the throttle grip and the tank. So I need some more room.

The 7/8" aluminum bar stock came in yesterday. I machined out two spacers to move the clip-ons up. Put those on and gained the room I needed. Then I decided to make new bars from the bar stock so I could make them a little longer, and drill and tap the ends to mount by bar end mirrors. So I did.
Front end is now completely done besides painting the fender, and a couple of enhancements: radial master cylinder from a gixxer, and all new braided steel brake lines. (parts on order).

Rear wheel: To recap, 1992 GSX600F wheel, 1992 GS500E sprocket carrier and spacer. Stock GSX600F sprocket side spacer, Stock GSX600F right side wheel-to brake carrier spacer, Stock GSX600F brake carrier, Custom cut to length spacer between the brake carrier and the chain adjuster. Used the stock 250 chain adjusters (remember I didn't change the swing arm)..

Wham! bolted right up. Chain lines up, every thing clears. Left me thinking I had missed something, nope. The brake torque arm: My first thought was to cut it apart and weld it back together offset. I noticed that it lined up with the outside of the mount perfectly, except there is a tab welded to the bar to keep the bolt from turning. I ground the tab off, machined a spacer to fill the inside gap in the torque arm, and using a new longer bolt, bolted it together,

The GSX600F caliper has the brake line attach to the side. The stock caliper attaches to the front. I needed a brake line with the fittings 90 degrees twisted. Didn't have one, but found I could loop the line and make it work for now. Haven't ridden it yet, but will in the morning.

For the brake lines, I make my own. From Summit Racing, or Jegs, I buy Earl's Speed Flex hose, size -3, and the appropriate banjo and adapter fittings. You get a completely custom line set, because you made it. The rear is getting a new line, and on the front, it is getting dual lines direct from the master cylinder to the calipers. Warning. If you try any of this, the banjo bolts in the Suzuki components are a finer thread than the bolts from the Kawasaki.

Before I put it on the lift for the wheel change, I rode it with my GPS on my tank bag to check speedo error. It reads about 10% high, about what it did with the 16" wheels and the stock size tire. Not perfect, but I know how to read it, good enough.

In the morning, shakedown ride. My first ride in a while, except on my scooter, which is a whole different class of fun.

I took some pics with my new smart phone, but I haven't figured out how to post them here yet. Hopefully the old Dawg can learn a new trick.

[crazymadbastard]

Look forward to seeing pictures. Especially the diy brake lines.

[fast1075]

Today I rode up to Spring Hill, about 60 miles from my house. Rode around some, hit a few twisties. I have a new bike. It handles great, even better than before. Why did I wait this long? The front brake is bedding in nicely. The rear is taking longer. I came up with some more mods to do (I'm nuts like that). One of the guys at Spring Hill suggested a carbon fiber look vinyl wrap on the bodywork. I'm leaning more towards painting it. Why am I thinking Corbin seat?

Pics of the aluminum handle bar fit up, and a couple from after the ride. Hope to get something done with that front fender soon. I stopped by Lowes and picked up an 8mm x 1.25 thread tap/drill bit combo to drill and tap the bars for the bar ends, (I already grooved them so they can be rotated, and I drilled them for the switch locator pins) and the bars get buffed to a shiny gleam when I take them off. I can pull the bar tubes in maybe two minutes with a 5 mm allen, a 10 mm wrench and a screw driver. The stock mirrors are coming back off. I can see my elbows really well with them. The spacers under the clip-ons did the trick for bar height.

The 2005 GSXR-1000 rear shock is on the bench, begging for a clean up, and a plasti-dip bath for the spring, then on she goes. The stock rear shock has almost no rebound control left once it warms up. So much to do. Shave the grab rail? Hey this is all WAY cheaper than buying a new bike. and it's the way I want it.

[fast1075]

My supplier took a long time to send notice that some of the parts for the brake lines I ordered are not "readily" available. Not really wanting to wait for order fulfillment from Great Britain. I am looking at some other options.

It is supposed to be cold this weekend, so I may put the bike back on the lift and look at installing the rear shock. We will see how that goes.

[ninjunk]

Try these guys

http://www.brakequip.com/find-a-dealer

they have a dealer in lakeland and orlando... your profile says 'central florida'

The hydraulic hose supplier I used to go to in NC carried their stuff, it was real nice quality and super reasonably priced. Probably cheaper to get a custom line than a lot of the 'off the shelf' lines that i've seen for sale for ninjas.

A short line with standard fittings crimped on was about 30-40 bucks.

[fast1075]

There is a location about 10 miles from me in Lakekand. I already bought a set of Russell two line racing hoses. I will be running the gixxer radial master, and they are for the gixxer 600, so I should be good to go.

I still need a rear hose with the fittings rotated 90 degrees. I'll go by and talk to them about making up a hose.