S2 (07-09) Forks and Calipers on S1 (04-06)

[Jj5cool1]

Okay I own a 2006 FZ6 and I love her, but the front suspension and brakes are meh. So I've searched for upgrades and swaps, but most of what I see is everyone hyping about the R6 fork conversion. :BLAA: Then there are a few step-by-step DIY for R1, FZ1, inverted forks, and even a GSX-R front end swap. But I haven't found much info going into detail about swapping the S2 (2007 and up) forks with the 4-piston monoblock calipers on S1 FZ6 (pre-2007) bikes. Can anyone shine some light on this?

I just bought a set of 2007 FZ6 S2 black forks and want to get the most info I can before ordering calipers.

So far I know that the S2 forks will fit on the S1 triple clamps, but the S1 fender will not fit on the S2 forks with custon brackets.

My questions are:

1.) Do the FZ6 S2 4 pot calipers need shims to work with the S1 wheel and rotor?
2.) Can any other 4 pot calipers be installed with the S2 forks (i.e R6, R6S, FZ1, R1)? Will those need shims?
3.) Are the S1 and S2 axles interchangeable? What about the wheel spacers?
4.) Will the S1 master and brake lines fit and work with the S2 4 pot calipers?
5.) Has anyone does this mod before and how did it work out?

Thank you reading and any help would be awesome. I will eventually end up posting a DIY with pictures for this mod if i do it.

 

[SovietRobot]

The s2 forks and calipers won't need shimming. The wheels and rotors are the same for all years(99% sure).

R6(S) brakes might work, if the mounts are the same height and width apart.

The brake lines would work, but I highly recommend getting a pair of stainless steel brake lines.

Hope this helps.

Edit: also the s2 forks internally aren't better than the s1 forks, so better springs and possibly valving is recommended.

 

[Jj5cool1]

Thank you much!

I know the S2 forks are not much better, other than some metion of revised dampening that creates a softer ride, but the mission was to obtain the 4 pot caliper system without shimming and still create an OEM look. I would go with R6 forks if it wasn't so trickiy to track down the shims and spacers, plus I read something about the axle being too short or something.

Axle and spacers should be the same, too, right?

Stainlees steel lines are definately next!
But first is figuring out the fender issue (find or create a bracket OR get an S2 fender).

 

[SovietRobot]

No matter what forks you swap out, you'll need to address the fender issue.
Getting an S2 fender for S2 forks is the easiest, or getting adapters for the R6 forks.

The shims needed for the R6 swap are simple washers you can get online
"here are the numbers to order from Mcmaster-carr.com
98126A797-axle shims(only sold in 5 pack)
93475A280-caliper spacers(only sold in 50 pack)"
FZ6 fork mod spacer kit - Sportbikes.net

However fender adapters were sort of a one off community made thing that are hard to come by.
Wheel spacers should work with all types, and according to Ronayers.com the axles are the same for S1 and S2.

 

[Jj5cool1]

Thanks again! I am thinking of looking into that R6 swap a little more. And much thanks for the extra info and help. Don't have internet at home and my phone browser is very primitive. so researching is hard sometimes.

 

[Sway1989]

How easy of a swap was it. Is it a plug and play(Fork wise)? Can I use everything from my fz6 and just put new 07+ forks and work well?

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

Master-cylinder made to push 4 slave-pistons,switching to 8 slave-pistons?My horse sense says different Master-cylinder would be in order.What do our Math wizards say about this?I know i love my S-2,and really love the front brakes!To say nothing about the rest of ol' Felix!

 

[Doctor T]

2019 so let's continue the discussion! )

I plan to put FZ6 S2 "blue dots" calipers on my S1. is it possible to just swap outer fork tubes from S2 to S1 without further modifications so they can take S2 calipers?

 

[MattR302]

2019 so let's continue the discussion! )

I plan to put FZ6 S2 "blue dots" calipers on my S1. is it possible to just swap outer fork tubes from S2 to S1 without further modifications so they can take S2 calipers?

Check the fiche drawings on bikebandit or ronayers and see if the uppers and internals are the same for the S1 and S2 models

 

[FinalImpact]

But why?
If going that route grab some forks with controllable damping rates as you'll end up buying a set of used forks anyways. Spend the extra and throw on R6 forks.

It will be 2020 soon!

 

[trepetti]

+++++1

While the 4 piston calipers are a nice upgrade, they are nowhere near the value of a fork change. Take it from me, who resisted the R6 for swap for a long time, a fork swap is by FAR the best change to make. Because I have an S1, I also went to the 4 piston calipers, but if given the choice of calipers or forks, forks win hands down.

Remember, a fork / caliper swap is way less complicated than rebuilding S1 works with S2.