FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

got my hybrid 400/600 fzr running well but front end is terrible as using stock front end from a 88 fzr 1000 ,
i'm after a quality front end, gsxr1000 k8/k9 /r1.busa or similar i weigh around 200lbs fully kitted

which forks would be better, dont mind spending few $$$

Which fork is the best to use is a purely subjective question and you will get a lot of different answers. Going to a newer fork set up age wise will help for nothing else than to be able to find a shop willing to work on them and parts availability. You need to identify what you what from it first and how much you are willing to spend on it. I'm assuming this is a dedicated track bike from the picture. I liked the 06-07 R6 forks that were on my hybrid bike, but they were a lot shorter than stock FZR600 forks and majorly changed the dynamics of the bike. I've herd the Showa Big Piston Forks are great once you get them set up correctly. But those are only available on the newest ZX6R, ZX10R, and GSXR1000 so far.

By the time you are done spending the money though on all the parts it wouldn't really be that much more to go to Ohlins forks or at least Ohlins cartridge drop in (or equal). Either way, from a performance standpoint you should have the forks set up by a shop for you and the bike. I'd find one first and ask them their opinion on cost and performance for the set up to get an idea about which forks to start looking at.

Good luck, and I love the bike. Looks awesome.

Do u have racetech springs and emulators in those forks on your bike ? or are they pure stock ?. If stock you could drop some racetech springs, and gold emulators and change the fork oil, i have heard it makes quite a difference, not that exspensive, thats what im going to do on my 400 hybrid.

Fzrmike33 wrote:Do u have racetech springs and emulators in those forks on your bike ? or are they pure stock ?. If stock you could drop some racetech springs, and gold emulators and change the fork oil, i have heard it makes quite a difference, not that exspensive, thats what im going to do on my 400 hybrid.

Having done that Mod (see my web site for how I did it) I can say that it's nice to ride a bike that does not behave like a Pogo stick made of macaroni.

I would pay special attention to fork length (ride height) and fork off-set (trail) to maintain proper geometry. Aside from that, most modern forks can be tuned to work for you application. At 200lbs, you will most likely want a spring rate close to .95 (race), and I don't know of any production forks that come with that. Thus, you will likely be changing springs regardless of your choice. As far as production forks, the 4 port and HMAS Showas found on the CBR600RR are said to be very good. Again, I would be more concerned with geometry than the actual dampers.

As has been said, you should get good results with springs and emulators. That would be the easier/cost effective route. YZF600R forks work pretty good and are nearly "bolt-on", but the offset is smaller. This can be compensated for by running a 60 series tire (as found on the YZF600). If you want to spend money, I would go with custom triples (adjustable off-set) and some Ohlins forks. I always thought a TZ250 front end would be trick upgrade (probably save a bunch of weight), as well.

the newer FZR 1000/YZF 750 USD's should slide right in to what the 87-8 stem fits in......get some springs/emulators in those and you would hae a nice setup

cad600 wrote:Which fork is the best to use is a purely subjective question and you will get a lot of different answers. Going to a newer fork set up age wise will help for nothing else than to be able to find a shop willing to work on them and parts availability. You need to identify what you what from it first and how much you are willing to spend on it. I'm assuming this is a dedicated track bike from the picture. I liked the 06-07 R6 forks that were on my hybrid bike, but they were a lot shorter than stock FZR600 forks and majorly changed the dynamics of the bike. I've herd the Showa Big Piston Forks are great once you get them set up correctly. But those are only available on the newest ZX6R, ZX10R, and GSXR1000 so far.

By the time you are done spending the money though on all the parts it wouldn't really be that much more to go to Ohlins forks or at least Ohlins cartridge drop in (or equal). Either way, from a performance standpoint you should have the forks set up by a shop for you and the bike. I'd find one first and ask them their opinion on cost and performance for the set up to get an idea about which forks to start looking at.

Good luck, and I love the bike. Looks awesome.

thanks for all the replys, which forks suit the fzr 400 the best in terms of offset and length? can get hold of some 07 r6 forks quite cheap, what changes did it make to handling on yours?

yamaha_george wrote:

Fzrmike33 wrote:Do u have racetech springs and emulators in those forks on your bike ? or are they pure stock ?. If stock you could drop some racetech springs, and gold emulators and change the fork oil, i have heard it makes quite a difference, not that exspensive, thats what im going to do on my 400 hybrid.

Having done that Mod (see my web site for how I did it) I can say that it's nice to ride a bike that does not behave like a Pogo stick made of macaroni.

can you get these in the uk?

I can try and measure my r6 forks on my lunch break

EZMOTO wrote:thanks for all the replys, which forks suit the fzr 400 the best in terms of offset and length? can get hold of some 07 r6 forks quite cheap, what changes did it make to handling on yours?

I used a custom lower triple clamp to take the FZR600 steering stem and the R6 forks. But I kept the R6 stock geometry so I wouldn't have to use a custom top clamp as well. I liked it as it lowered the front end a good bit and gave it a much sportier riding position. But it was definetly not the best handling bike with these changes. I should have changed the spring rate as my 600 was far heavier than a newer R6. This wold have changed everything I think. But the R6 forks are great for how adjustable they are. A few tweaks there and things work better. I would not use them for a race bike though. If you look at the suspension manufactures, they don't really make a lot of items for the R6 because of the way the shock adjustments are set up.

As far as the same offset and trail goes, I don't really know.

I didn't think of this before, but take a set of 3TJ (FZR400RRSP) yokes and you should be able to slide the 99-02 R6 forks into them. They are not USD, but they are very adjustable compared to what you have now and the spring weight will be very close. This would be a bolt on mod as the 3TJ stem is the same as the 3EN I believe.

EZMOTO wrote:thanks for all the replys, which forks suit the fzr 400 the best in terms of offset and length? can get hold of some 07 r6 forks quite cheap, what changes did it make to handling on yours?

Offset is determined by the triple clamp. I measured 35mm on my 1WG. '07 R6 forks are too short for my taste. Ground clearance is an issue on a race bike. '08+ R6 are barely long enough for my comfort. They come with .90 Kg/mm springs which may get you by.

cad600 wrote: I didn't think of this before, but take a set of 3TJ (FZR400RRSP) yokes and you should be able to slide the 99-02 R6 forks into them. They are not USD, but they are very adjustable compared to what you have now and the spring weight will be very close. This would be a bolt on mod as the 3TJ stem is the same as the 3EN I believe.

I had this set-up on a 1WG. 3TJ triples are a great way to fit 43mm forks, but they will give you 5mm less offset (than 1WG), which will increase your trail by about the same amount. The '99-'02 R6 forks came with .76 kg.mm springs. I weigh 140lbs and they were too soft for me. '03-'04 R6 are stiffer (.85) but probably too short.

I would think that the OEM offset for the 3EN would be the same as 1WG, but that would call for some speculation. Not sure about your FZR1000 offset, but you could slide T-Cat forks in either those or some 3EN triples and have some decent cartridge dampers... but I guess you asked for inverted.

If you go that route, at least get radial mount calipers. I used '05 R6 triples to get the off-set I wanted and put '09 R6 forks in them because they were a bit longer than '06-'07. '05 R6 forks are also longer, but I'm still voting for a TZ250 set-up.

BTW... Nice job with the body work!