1997+ Forks

[archon]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of upgrading my forks to 2001 units. The parts I needed are as follows:

1997+ Forks
1997+ front wheel
1997+ Front rotors
1997+ Front fender (2 pieces)
1997+ Front Axle
You have to have the newer style axle. My bike is still on stands until I get one

the swap is quite easy if you're mechanically inclined. You'll need:
Front stand that lifts from the triple clamp (or another way to get the front end off the ground)
Rear stand
18mm socket
24mm socket
5, 6, and 10mm allen sockets (L shaped wrenches will not work - they're too wimpy).

The old calipers will still work but I got the cool blue plug monoblocks for my conversion.

I'll post my results later.

[doubledeezy]

you don't really need the wheel because i upgraded my bike with '97 fork all i needed was the forks, brake calipers, and axel. i put thick washers to make the wheel centered and modified the front fender to fit.

[archon]

The axle arrived today and I got my bike on the road for the first time in a week.

The front end is money well spent for sure. The spring rates are correct out of the box for me (155 suited) and the damping is beautiful. There is some road construction near my house and while the old units would wallow over them, the new cartridge forks floated over.

The front end feel is different too. Every little movement of my hand is transmitted to the bike. Direction changes are immediate with no hesitation.

Part of the radical change was due to switching from a 120/70-17 Michelin Pilot Sport to a Pilot Race in the same size. The profile of the Race tire is triangular whereas the Sport tire was more rounded.