Ascalon Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 I saw a bike advertised locally that has had a front end swap. A 2001 VFR800 has had the CABS system plugged and the front end from a VTR grafted in. Looks neatly done. Only issue is there is no mention of adjustment of the VTR forks for the extra heft of the VFR. Specs say VFR is 208 dry, from my own experience with a 99 Fi-X, they are about 230-235kg on the road. A VTR says 192 dry. With no real adjustment on the front, would there be enough latitude in fork oil weight and height to accommodate the VFR's bulk? Or would the VFR just dive on the brakes and be generally mushy as it overwhelms the poor VTR's pogos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLRS Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 5 hours ago, Ascalon said: I saw a bike advertised locally that has had a front end swap. A 2001 VFR800 has had the CABS system plugged and the front end from a VTR grafted in. Looks neatly done. Only issue is there is no mention of adjustment of the VTR forks for the extra heft of the VFR. Specs say VFR is 208 dry, from my own experience with a 99 Fi-X, they are about 230-235kg on the road. A VTR says 192 dry. With no real adjustment on the front, would there be enough latitude in fork oil weight and height to accommodate the VFR's bulk? Or would the VFR just dive on the brakes and be generally mushy as it overwhelms the poor VTR's pogos? Which VTR.. Firestorm? With a bit of luck you can find spring rates on enthusiasts forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David W Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 New springs and oil is a £100 fix even if they are all wrong 🤷♂️ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
426hemi Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 K tech sell uprated vtr springs, I’ve got a set in my gsxr1100. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansp1 Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 Firestorm forks were shite as standard 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascalon Posted July 25 Author Report Share Posted July 25 1 hour ago, TLRS said: Which VTR.. Firestorm? With a bit of luck you can find spring rates on enthusiasts forums. The vanilla one, unfortunately. 10 minutes ago, dansp1 said: Firestorm forks were shite as standard Aye, that's why I was asking. @426hemi Do the springs and oil make much difference? Of course, all this is wildly speculative on my part because I'm not buying the damn thing, but I am curious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
426hemi Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 If you’re putting under sprung forks on a bike then yes re springing the forks will make a huge difference, the correct springs are a fundamental of suspension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superdunc Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 35 minutes ago, Ascalon said: The vanilla one, unfortunately. Aye, that's why I was asking. @426hemi Do the springs and oil make much difference? Of course, all this is wildly speculative on my part because I'm not buying the damn thing, but I am curious. The springs carry the weight. More weight = stiffer springs, first and for most. Thicker oil is the simpliest way to control the stiffer springs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansp1 Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 Thicker oil will also exacerbate the problems of crude forks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David W Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 Just correct weight springs and new oil will make a positive difference, assuming the existing oil is what they left the factory with. You could mess around with air gaps and oil weight but unless you know what you’re doing will probably make it worse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascalon Posted July 26 Author Report Share Posted July 26 Yeah, back when I had to run a Honda Bros due to licence restrictions, I played with the forks as they were just awful. They were very cheap damper rod forks and I messed about with fork weight and air gap and it did not make much difference. In the end I made custom spacers and got the springs from a CBR6, but they were not an ideal length. Much work, many frustration! I suspect the Firestorm forks aren't much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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