New fz6 project from damaged bike

[bigborer]

Hello,

After pondering for some time about getting a naked bike and fitting it with the fully adjustable suspension from a sports bike, or buying a sports bike and turning it naked, I came across a good deal on a 2004 fz6n and 3 days later it's sitting in my yard

Current status of the bike:
-completely bent fork tubes and triple trees
-no signs of frame damage
-apparently good rim, rotors and calipers
-other cosmetic damage

I have read for 10+ hours everything I could find on google for "fz6 fork swap". The final decision is to put a fork from an R1 or R6.

I understood the main ideas and I'm 100% confident I could do the job, but my main concerns are:
1-what triple trees will fit the head tube? What is the head tube size for a fz4 vs r6 vs r1?
2-what triple tree / fork tubes/ calipers/ rim axle combos work together?
3-will the total fork length be shorter?
4-what are the main routes I could take? From what I learned so far (and please correct me if wrong), it should be able to:
a- 99-01 r6 fork + tripple tree + fork tubes + rim axle, not sure what bearings for the head tube, and fully keep the front brakes system and wheel (spacer for rim axle needed)
b- full front end swap from a r6 (now sure about the year)
c- full front end swap from a r1 (now sure about the year)
5-will the lock fit the r6/r1 triple tree?

I'd really appreciate your input on this.

 

[FinalImpact]

02-03 R6 or 06-09 R6S forks bolt in. Use the R6 axel and acquire the wheel spacer and fender mount kit. Dako ?? Sells the kit for ~ 70...

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/28956-r6-fork.html?highlight=Dako

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...er-r6-forks-few-questions.html?highlight=Dako


FORKS & SUSPENSION:
First thanks in advance all of you folks that did the R6 fork mod!!! Here are some helpful links in one place for reference (mainly me :/). . .

R6 Spork
R6 Fork Install Another One
Help Need Correct PN for 2004 R6 Axle
R6 Forks Arrived, Couple of questions
Hyperpro lowering springs
HyperPro Springs installed
Front fork mods pita factor vs payoff
Bolt-r6-fork-upgrade
Ricor Intiminator fork mod
R6 Fork Mod Spacers

 

[FinalImpact]

Hindsight: i would like to see pictures of the damaged Triple. Thoughts are that the triple is one of the most structurally robust parts on this bike. If yours is damaged from frontal impact (something more than road rash), I find it very likely your frame is stressed and perhaps it is not obvious that it is potentially at risk of cracking later.

If I were you i would unfasten both left and right upper engine mounts and verify the frame sections do not pull away from the heads mounting surface. A tiny gap of hair is one thing, being able to stick a finger between the head and frame would concern me as it indicates the cast frame is stressed. As it took a hit and bent deforming it but the bolts are holding it in place.

Give it some thought and look it over real close.

 

[bigborer]

Thank you a lot! I've finished reading all the links you listed.

I'd try to fabricate the kit myself, as the labor costs are low here most likely I could get a lathe operator the make them for 10-20$.

I understand that 02-03 R6 forks fits directly in the stock triple trees, however since they are bent I'll be replacing the triple trees as well.

Unless someone is kind enough to tell me what models R1's and R6's triple trees fit the head tube, it will take me forever to meet with people from the local classifieds to manually measure each type of part

 

[bigborer]

Hindsight: i would like to see pictures of the damaged Triple. Thoughts are that the triple is one of the most structurally robust parts on this bike. If yours is damaged from frontal impact (something more than road rash), I find it very likely your frame is stressed and perhaps it is not obvious that it is potentially at risk of cracking later.

If I were you i would unfasten both left and right upper engine mounts and verify the frame sections do not pull away from the heads mounting surface. A tiny gap of hair is one thing, being able to stick a finger between the head and frame would concern me as it indicates the cast from is stressed. As it took a hit and bent deforming it but the bolts are holding it in place.

Give it some thought and look it over real close.

Please see attached picture. I specifically asked the the guy if the impact was head-on and told me that he was about to overtake a car, the car turned left, he locked the brakes and slid on the ground until stopping in the car's left rear wheel, only then the front wheel making the first contact.
Normally I wouldn't even buy a bicycle that had a head-on collision, but while the rim looks fine, the total dislocation not extremely severe (few centimeters until the exhaust manifold) and the guy seemed reliable, a damaged frame is a risk I took, hoping that the since Aluminum is not really flexible, any serious stress would just make it (visibly) crack.

I will try the test you suggested as soon as possible.

 

[FinalImpact]

I'm scratching my head wondering how that is even possible other than of neither clamp was actually tight enought to secure the stanchion????
** Maybe** after being down something caught and pulled the stanchion from the upper clamp and then impact bent the lower? That could have saved the frame as a lot of energy was shed bending stanchion and cast steel lower triple.... You may be in luck....

PS because the triple is a none wearing assembly you can't hardly give them away on fleebay, so IF you found a set of R6S forks you could grab a stock triple and be up and running.....

Also, stock the bikes forks are silver and yours are black. Are they painted or did someone change to S2 forks and 4 piston brake calipers?

If you have the 4 piston calipers, another good reason to do the R6S swap as wheels and calipers bolt right on. Just a thought.

 

[bigborer]

Yes I noticed that originally the forks were silver; the previous owner did a perl black pain job on the tank, cowl and various bits such as the radiator side cover, and while I forgot to ask about the paint on the forks, he did tell me that he had them fully serviced last year, so most likely they got painted at that time.

About the brakes: I'm quite sure they are the original 2 piston caliper model, because looking at pictures of newer models the calipers seem to have a silver circle with a star engraved inside, and mine are plain black. I'm not really sure on the necessity of better brakes for this season, especially since I haven't ridden for 6+ years, however if it were necessary and/or cheap enough I'd have no problem replacing them.

Getting another stock triple tree is almost 100% out of question, because fz6 parts here are quite few and very expensive. The closest I could find were on ebay from UK, and they'd charge 100-120$ for a triple tree set. With any parts of this kind I'd like the chance to personally inspect them for damage before giving the money, so local buying is highly preferred. I've inquired a few guys dismantling yamahas for r6 triples + fork tubes + wheel axle and got quoted around 165$ for 99-01 model and 280$ for the 03-05 model.

If I knew for sure what other triple trees work with my head tube, I'd post a classifieds and/or contact some guys who bring parts by request. I think I logged at least 15 hours reading about fz6 fork swaps, but I'm still confused about precisely what parts would fit :don'tknow:


PS:If you are curious I've attached pics from different angles. Apart from the forks and tank damage, other damage was: broken shifter peg, broken front brake lever, chipped headlight as seen in photo, small scratch on left cowl, scratched left frame slider. This bike could have easily been bought, repaired and resold as "works as new, never crashed, never raced, previous owner slow old lady who only took it to the supermarket and doctors appointment"

 

[bigborer]

Any other ideas?
And does anyone if (and why not if no) 99 R6 forks fit the fz6?

 

[bigborer]

Such an avalanche of responses

After a lot more research I found out that the 99-02 fork have different offset, and different leg length (?!).
I've decided to go on the proven combo of original triples + r6 03-04 forks. I've already gotten the forks (seemingly in good condition, apart from needing new seals), and have the triples in shipping.

Would there be any chance of reusing the fz6 axle, perhaps with some sort of shims? I can't find them except for paying 2x-3x their price in shipping . From what is listed here http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/28956-r6-fork.html the axles don't seem to be that different.

 

[FinalImpact]

I would say they are very different! The FZ is threaded externally and screws into the fork. R6 uses a bolt and is threaded internally. The bolt pulls the wheel and spacers to the right side fork.

I'd suggest getting the proper axle and bolt.