Got the bright idea to use my other yamaha's forks and did the swap. This is simple write up being that ill probly forget something, but if you have questions ill do my best to provide details.
Ive thought about swapping some of the parts from the 600r a couple of times in the past, but the bike was still running strong and the details of the swap were blowing my mind. Playing with suspension scares me sometimes, and the parts werent meant for the fz. So all of this combined was enough to stop me.
Then this happened...
View attachment 33038
Guy i sold it to only pays half, and wrecks it, and cracked the blocked behind the stator cover. No more go, but now i can steal her adjustable forks
Normally i would leave the fz like it is, but the fz has blown fork seal and swapping is less messy than doing fork seals.
I gathered some general info on fork diameter and length, and came up with a few problems. Good news first, the fork diameters are the same (41mm) and after a look i saw the brake lines have the same ends. The fz6r's fork is about 2.5/3 inches shorter than the yzf but theres a good bit of space under the fz bars. At this point my only concerns were not being able to use my fz wheel with the forks and brakes. Did i mention the yzf has 4 piston brembo brakes?? Yeah those are coming too
View attachment 33039
My first step in this was to dismantle the front end of the yzf. The bikes missing the front fairings so it was relatively easy in this case. I ended up hanging the bike from my carport with a tie down strap
I shouldve snapped some pics of this, but i got excited lol
-Front fairing comes off with these two screws, and four more on the back half.
- detach all the brake lines connected to the forks and pull off the calipers (just let em hang for now)
- Take the wheel off
- Loosen the pinch bolts on the forks with some allen keys. each side has a bolt on the clip-on, and one bolt on each of the triple trees.
- At this point i tried rotating the forks with no avail. A little WD on the triples and the forks slid right on out.
Now the fz6r.
Fender, calipers, pinch bolts, cut zip ties, pull the wheel, all that good stuff.
- Twist out the old forks, clean the new ones, and slide em up.
- The yzf forks are longer and stuck out above the triple tree, but just under the bars. At first i had the forks as high as i could get them to account for the difference in length, but the forks wouldnt allow for proper movement of the throttle cables when turning extreme left. (i have aftermarket bars so its already a stretch)
- Dropped the forks to 2 1/4 inches from the top of the triple tree to the notch on the forks. Now i can turn left without dying.. WOOT! Sits a bit higher but im thinkin i can adjust for that?
- Snug up the pinch bolts
So one of my concerns from the beginning was not being able to use the nicer tire already on the fz rim, because i figured the rotors may be different and they aren't interchangeable from rim to rim. Turns out the sizes are exactly the same, so on goes the fz rim.
The pic above shows the washers i had to use to evenly fill the space left over between the fork and rim on the axle. I dont know exactly why theres a space here, but im guessing the other rim is wider and maybe the triple trees on the yzf are more narrow.
Now that its snugged and spinning freely, its time to see how the brakes fit. I originally took the complete brake line and caliper and handle off the yzf intending to swap it all over without cracking and brake lines and having to bleed. But the brake lines were too short... So instead i swapped the brembo calipers onto the fz brake lines. (same fittings)
Writing this write-up is making me sleeeeepy lol
Btw dont try to spread the brake pads without a brake line on the caliper... brake fluid is not a tasty liquid or at least try not to aim at your face.
Ok with the caliper just sittin on the rotors of the fz rim, theres a good half inch gap between the caliper and the form mount. More washers and some longer caliper bolts (i know there m10 and fine pitch but not sure if 1.25, 1.50, ect.. just take the old bolt to the hardware store and compare)
The point here is to get the rotor centered in the middle of the caliper, so it doesn't rub the caliper, and the pads wear correctly. just play with different washer combos on the top bolt of each caliper (each side was different for me), and copy them to the bottom bolt.
double check your controls, cables, pinch bolts and brake lines. anything you might have hand tightened and forgotten . Also the DIRECTION OF THE TIRE... I put it on backwards myself
Bleed the brakes and do another once over.
Been riding it for a day or two and theres a HUGE difference! I havent tuned the forks yet (Gotta find a howto), but she feels more stable and sticky on the curvy's. Brakes are like OH MY GOD better. They have a more gradual, light but reactive grab. Ill experiment with other master cylinders and lines later on but for now im still better off. Im thinking of swapping the rear shock for the yzf's adjustable ohlins. Too sleepy to type more. Questions comment and concerns are welcome.
Ive thought about swapping some of the parts from the 600r a couple of times in the past, but the bike was still running strong and the details of the swap were blowing my mind. Playing with suspension scares me sometimes, and the parts werent meant for the fz. So all of this combined was enough to stop me.
Then this happened...
View attachment 33038
Guy i sold it to only pays half, and wrecks it, and cracked the blocked behind the stator cover. No more go, but now i can steal her adjustable forks
Normally i would leave the fz like it is, but the fz has blown fork seal and swapping is less messy than doing fork seals.I gathered some general info on fork diameter and length, and came up with a few problems. Good news first, the fork diameters are the same (41mm) and after a look i saw the brake lines have the same ends. The fz6r's fork is about 2.5/3 inches shorter than the yzf but theres a good bit of space under the fz bars. At this point my only concerns were not being able to use my fz wheel with the forks and brakes. Did i mention the yzf has 4 piston brembo brakes?? Yeah those are coming too
View attachment 33039
My first step in this was to dismantle the front end of the yzf. The bikes missing the front fairings so it was relatively easy in this case. I ended up hanging the bike from my carport with a tie down strap
I shouldve snapped some pics of this, but i got excited lol
-Front fairing comes off with these two screws, and four more on the back half.
- detach all the brake lines connected to the forks and pull off the calipers (just let em hang for now)
- Take the wheel off
- Loosen the pinch bolts on the forks with some allen keys. each side has a bolt on the clip-on, and one bolt on each of the triple trees.
- At this point i tried rotating the forks with no avail. A little WD on the triples and the forks slid right on out.
Now the fz6r.
Fender, calipers, pinch bolts, cut zip ties, pull the wheel, all that good stuff.
- Twist out the old forks, clean the new ones, and slide em up.
- The yzf forks are longer and stuck out above the triple tree, but just under the bars. At first i had the forks as high as i could get them to account for the difference in length, but the forks wouldnt allow for proper movement of the throttle cables when turning extreme left. (i have aftermarket bars so its already a stretch)
- Dropped the forks to 2 1/4 inches from the top of the triple tree to the notch on the forks. Now i can turn left without dying.. WOOT! Sits a bit higher but im thinkin i can adjust for that?
- Snug up the pinch bolts
So one of my concerns from the beginning was not being able to use the nicer tire already on the fz rim, because i figured the rotors may be different and they aren't interchangeable from rim to rim. Turns out the sizes are exactly the same, so on goes the fz rim.
The pic above shows the washers i had to use to evenly fill the space left over between the fork and rim on the axle. I dont know exactly why theres a space here, but im guessing the other rim is wider and maybe the triple trees on the yzf are more narrow.
Now that its snugged and spinning freely, its time to see how the brakes fit. I originally took the complete brake line and caliper and handle off the yzf intending to swap it all over without cracking and brake lines and having to bleed. But the brake lines were too short... So instead i swapped the brembo calipers onto the fz brake lines. (same fittings)
Writing this write-up is making me sleeeeepy lol
Btw dont try to spread the brake pads without a brake line on the caliper... brake fluid is not a tasty liquid
or at least try not to aim at your face.Ok with the caliper just sittin on the rotors of the fz rim, theres a good half inch gap between the caliper and the form mount. More washers and some longer caliper bolts (i know there m10 and fine pitch but not sure if 1.25, 1.50, ect.. just take the old bolt to the hardware store and compare)
The point here is to get the rotor centered in the middle of the caliper, so it doesn't rub the caliper, and the pads wear correctly. just play with different washer combos on the top bolt of each caliper (each side was different for me), and copy them to the bottom bolt.
double check your controls, cables, pinch bolts and brake lines. anything you might have hand tightened and forgotten . Also the DIRECTION OF THE TIRE... I put it on backwards myself
Bleed the brakes and do another once over.
Been riding it for a day or two and theres a HUGE difference! I havent tuned the forks yet (Gotta find a howto), but she feels more stable and sticky on the curvy's. Brakes are like OH MY GOD better. They have a more gradual, light but reactive grab. Ill experiment with other master cylinders and lines later on but for now im still better off. Im thinking of swapping the rear shock for the yzf's adjustable ohlins. Too sleepy to type more. Questions comment and concerns are welcome.
