5280nrg Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 Greetings from SW Florida!! My neighbor had the ‘83 under a tarp in a garage with only 3400miles on it, and basically gave it to me for helping to clean out their garage. It has a bent fork from their kid hitting it in the garage. I’ve never seen a scrambler build with this bike… so into the unknown I wade. I want to swap the front end out for something with a 17” spoked wheel, and a little more travel. So I’ve been considering forks from early 90’s gsxr 1100, or an early 2000’s 1200 Bandit for a more upright riding position. I know it sounds nuts but I’m trying to keep the entire budget to under $2k US. This will be a fun kick around town bike with an occasional dirt road to a good fishing spot. Any tips (aside from don’t do it LOL) would be greatly appreciated, especially from the fork swap crowd. thanks greatly for the input Quote
wraith Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 Welcome to OSS, You will find Suzuki have a lot of parts that will swap, the gsxr forks and yokes will bolt straight in, just need to sort lock stops (if you're bothered about that lol) bandit will also work but the stems on the bottom yoke are longer so you would need to swap them. The gsxr slabside forks are longer than the slingshot fork. B12 are 43mm diameter forks Gsxr slingshot are 43mm diameter Slabside are 41mm diameter (For the RWU forks) B6 forks will also work but will be softer than the gsxr or b12 forks. Start a build thread in the project section with lots of pictures, as we like pictures lol. Ifi was you, as the bike has been studying for so long, I'd get it running before anything else as the carbs on the gsx550 can be a manger pain. Quote
TonyGee Posted February 1, 2023 Posted February 1, 2023 are you talking about a street scrambler or an off road type scrambler ? Quote
5280nrg Posted February 2, 2023 Author Posted February 2, 2023 10 hours ago, wraith said: Welcome to OSS, You will find Suzuki have a lot of parts that will swap, the gsxr forks and yokes will bolt straight in, just need to sort lock stops (if you're bothered about that lol) bandit will also work but the stems on the bottom yoke are longer so you would need to swap them. The gsxr slabside forks are longer than the slingshot fork. B12 are 43mm diameter forks Gsxr slingshot are 43mm diameter Slabside are 41mm diameter (For the RWU forks) B6 forks will also work but will be softer than the gsxr or b12 forks. Start a build thread in the project section with lots of pictures, as we like pictures lol. Ifi was you, as the bike has been studying for so long, I'd get it running before anything else as the carbs on the gsx550 can be a manger pain. Thank you! I found a set gsxr forks (the whole front end actually) so for time and $’s I think it’s the best option. I saw a post about a company that makes a new stem for the swap but can’t find it again. It’s an outfit from London I think?? Will search for it. I’ll post pics as soon as I get moving on the project. I want to find parts first. Quote
5280nrg Posted February 2, 2023 Author Posted February 2, 2023 7 hours ago, TonyGee said: are you talking about a street scrambler or an off road type scrambler ? Will be 70/30 city/dirt trails. It’s Florida so lots of sandy shell paths. Quote
krazy kat Posted February 2, 2023 Posted February 2, 2023 Sounds like a plan.That gsxr front end should slot in without a stem change.Lots of dirt up here (actually more cows than people) live north of you in Cedar Key. Quote
5280nrg Posted February 2, 2023 Author Posted February 2, 2023 17 hours ago, krazy kat said: Sounds like a plan.That gsxr front end should slot in without a stem change.Lots of dirt up here (actually more cows than people) live north of you in Cedar Key. We are down in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area. I like most cows better than most people LOL (ex-cattle guy from Colorado speaking) Quote
5280nrg Posted February 5, 2023 Author Posted February 5, 2023 Should have the bike in the next few days. Finding the title has been a bit of a challenge. Here is a pic before any mods Quote
5280nrg Posted February 5, 2023 Author Posted February 5, 2023 I also think I’ve settled in on a set of ‘94 GSXR750 forks. Finding the longer 1100 USD forks has been a no go. Will pick up a set of All Balls bearings and a Cognito top clamp triple. Most of the sets of forks I have found don’t come with the top plate which is strange. I already have a set of protaper bars off my old wr450, so I can’t wait to get the process moving. Trying to decide on spoked or forged wheels. Might just stick with a used 17” GSXR front until I can lace up a new set of wheels. I’ll be keeping the rear as is until I sort out the rest out. Clean running motor is the true first priority, so I will need deep clean the tank and carbs straight away. Quote
krazy kat Posted February 6, 2023 Posted February 6, 2023 How long are the 550 forks.CBR 954 tripple has same center as the gsxr you have with a bit of a drop to them,have a set in the barn with riseres for them just needes bearing swap. I will never use them. Sent you a message. Quote
krazy kat Posted February 6, 2023 Posted February 6, 2023 7 minutes ago, krazy kat said: How long are the 550 forks.CBR 954 tripple has same center as the gsxr you have with a bit of a drop to them,have a set in the barn with riseres for them just needes bearing swap. I will never use them. Sent you a message. Forgot they 50mm top 54mm bottom Quote
5280nrg Posted February 6, 2023 Author Posted February 6, 2023 Unfortunately, the deal fell thru and no bike. Very bummed, but a family member wanted it and family comes first. Thanks everyone for the input. 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.