USD Front / ZRX Rear

[motomick76]

Soon in my garage will be Bud's (Moore) Vmax, and it seems everyone here is familiar with it. Of course I plan on taking it to the next level. It has more motor than I will ever need, so I want to refine the suspension to match the motor. (Reality is it cannot be matched, but we try! h yeah

It already has the +3 swingarm w/ chain, R1 wheels front / rear, Sportmax tires, (How are the Sportmax?) but stock shocks and stock forks. I have been doing alot of suspension research, and it seems to assist the Max, more weight needs to be distributed to the front. Since the 'arm has been extended +3, would installing ZRX 1200 in the rear help. (Since they are longer than stock.) If so, what years work the best? (I am hoping to find a good used set on ebay, or if someone has a set available, lets make a deal.)

Now the front end and I want to do a R1 setup. With the R1 front wheel, what else would I need to complete the setup? Do I need to find a complete front end with calipers, brake lines, etc? Or do I just need the forks, and then get trees and extenders from ? What years of forks do I need to find?

When I get everything together, what is ballpark setup for a bike like this? (Height of forks in tubes, sag, compression, rebound, etc?) I am 6'1", 175 lbs, and will not be carrying passengers.

I know much of this has been covered many times, but I want to make the best and right choice.

 

[Rollie]

Congrats on picking a great bike to start with . Take your time and look around for the best deal , they are out there. Talk to Sean Morley , as he knows exactly what you need to put the package together. Who knows , he may have something on the shelf like this dropped triple tree ( no extenders needed ) w/ chrome R1 front end . unk:

 

[motomick76]

Thank you!

That is also on my list, as he is only 45 min away! Has anybody been to his shop, does he have 'walk in' retail?

Is that your ride? It is beautiful, I love all the chrome. Since this one is already mostly black, I wanted the front end to be black too.

Sean has been helpful for me when I got my first Max, as it had carb issues. I gave me good advice, and it runs great.

 

[[email protected]]

It looks like your pcw swingarm has relocated shock mounts so even though its extended a few inches it may not be any lower than stock.

The front end has a wheel, rotors, and calipers from a r1. You would need forks, fender, and a custom triple tree. Not sure how pcw gets the wheel to work on vmax forks but I'm guessing you will need the r1 axle and wheel bearings also to get it on the r1 forks. Plan on buying fork extensions. Id say the brake lines would work but may have a little extra slack in them depending on whose triple you buy and extension length. Based off the pictures, I would think 99-03 r1 forks would work. Pcw may be able to give some difinite info on the parts they used

Places to go for custom triples and extensions would be coo, otec, billet bike bits, etc....

 

[motomick76]

It looks like your pcw swingarm has relocated shock mounts so even though its extended a few inches it may not be any lower than stock.

The front end has a wheel, rotors, and calipers from a r1. You would need forks, fender, and a custom triple tree. Not sure how pcw gets the wheel to work on vmax forks but I'm guessing you will need the r1 axle and wheel bearings also to get it on the r1 forks. Plan on buying fork extensions. Id say the brake lines would work but may have a little extra slack in them depending on whose triple you buy and extension length. Based off the pictures, I would think 99-03 r1 forks would work. Pcw may be able to give some difinite info on the parts they used

Places to go for custom triples and extensions would be coo, otec, billet bike bits, etc....

I see you have the Billet Bike, and I like their design. How was the install? Did you have any issues, or was it pretty painless? How did you know what length of extensions to get when setting up your front end? Can you adjust the forks in the trees with the extensions?

What did you end up doing for your rear? Did you go with 430's or a different setup?

Thanks

 

[[email protected]]

I see you have the Billet Bike, and I like their design. How was the install? Did you have any issues, or was it pretty painless? How did you know what length of extensions to get when setting up your front end? Can you adjust the forks in the trees with the extensions?

What did you end up doing for your rear? Did you go with 430's or a different setup?

Thanks

I had an issue fitting the headlight. I had to make a spacer thet fit between the underside of the top triple and the bracket that bolts there. Other than that, no issues. Roy from billet bike bits said that was the first he has heard of the issue.

I had an issue that I caused... after chroming the forks, and hard anodizing the triples and extensions all the clearance was gone. Everthing went together perfectly before coating. Guess a few mill here and a couple thousands there add up. I ended up stripping the extensions, had them turned a few thousands, then chromed. Problem solved and looked better that way.

As far as extension length, I went with 2". The triples also have a built in drop. Overall fork length is still shorter than stock plus a 17" wheel/tire, so the front end is lower than oem a fair bit. I do have the exact # somewhere but it escapes me at the moment.

I have 12.5" shocks out back. 440s. They were already on the bike before the swingarm swap. Mine is extended 3" also but the mounts were moved 1.5" so it was not an extreme drop in ride height. I switched over to HD springs figuring the longer arm would provide more leverage to compress the springs. Plus, I'm about 220lbs at this point. I don't have an exact # on how much lower the rear is compared to oem. I did ask for, and receive, info on stock ride height measurements. I have been tied up with some other projects and haven't had a chance to compare.

My bike has an old hindle 4-1. The front header are stacked which reduces ground clearance. Add in the lower stance and ground clearance is now an issue. Right hand turns make me wince a bit. I know I will scrape if I lean it over too far. If I come across an off camber right at, even at low speed, I scrape. I need a different exhaust.

Now some opinion. If you already have 93+ forks, good springs, (maybe emulators?) and a radial front, a usd fork give a poor return on investment. Are they better? Yes. Are they sooo much better than what you already have that the cost is warranted? Only you can say. I don't regret doing it but, if I were in your position I would consider some better rear shocks and keeping the forks and adding emulators if not installed.

One more consideration is the speedo. Not sure if its possible to keep oem with a complete r1 usd fork. I could not with my busa setup. No room to install a speedo gear. Not sure if that bike even has a stock speedo? Just figured id mention it.

 

[Redbone]

Just to add that Cycle One-off makes a Vmax wheel to R1 forks axle/ speedometer drive conversion kit. This is only if you're keeping your Vmax wheel to go with R1 forks.
LINK HERE

 

[[email protected]]

He's got a r1 wheel on vmax forks and looking to put on r1 forks that work with the wheel.

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

[motomick76]

I had an issue fitting the headlight. I had to make a spacer thet fit between the underside of the top triple and the bracket that bolts there. Other than that, no issues. Roy from billet bike bits said that was the first he has heard of the issue.

I had an issue that I caused... after chroming the forks, and hard anodizing the triples and extensions all the clearance was gone. Everthing went together perfectly before coating. Guess a few mill here and a couple thousands there add up. I ended up stripping the extensions, had them turned a few thousands, then chromed. Problem solved and looked better that way.

As far as extension length, I went with 2". The triples also have a built in drop. Overall fork length is still shorter than stock plus a 17" wheel/tire, so the front end is lower than oem a fair bit. I do have the exact # somewhere but it escapes me at the moment.

I have 12.5" shocks out back. 440s. They were already on the bike before the swingarm swap. Mine is extended 3" also but the mounts were moved 1.5" so it was not an extreme drop in ride height. I switched over to HD springs figuring the longer arm would provide more leverage to compress the springs. Plus, I'm about 220lbs at this point. I don't have an exact # on how much lower the rear is compared to oem. I did ask for, and receive, info on stock ride height measurements. I have been tied up with some other projects and haven't had a chance to compare.

My bike has an old hindle 4-1. The front header are stacked which reduces ground clearance. Add in the lower stance and ground clearance is now an issue. Right hand turns make me wince a bit. I know I will scrape if I lean it over too far. If I come across an off camber right at, even at low speed, I scrape. I need a different exhaust.

Now some opinion. If you already have 93+ forks, good springs, (maybe emulators?) and a radial front, a usd fork give a poor return on investment. Are they better? Yes. Are they sooo much better than what you already have that the cost is warranted? Only you can say. I don't regret doing it but, if I were in your position I would consider some better rear shocks and keeping the forks and adding emulators if not installed.

One more consideration is the speedo. Not sure if its possible to keep oem with a complete r1 usd fork. I could not with my busa setup. No room to install a speedo gear. Not sure if that bike even has a stock speedo? Just figured id mention it.

I love the look of the USD, but can I justify the $1,500 - $2,000 total investment? I don't know, but my investment should be on rear shocks, and go with emulators and WP or Progressives? (I will contact Sean, plus I have many questions for him anyway.)

For the look, I was planning on finding forks already andonized black or gold, and keep it that way, as the wheels and everything else on bike is black. I fully understand that when you chrome or powdercoat a part, there are chances it will not fit.

This one must have a newer style Hindle as far as I can tell from the pictures. I do not know the difference.

Along with the build I was planning a Koso RX-N2 gauge. Then remodel the dash with oil pressure and water temp gauges. Has anybody tried using the full functionality of the Koso gauge? Integrating the dash lights into the Koso, using the water temp, oil temp, fuel level? It would be an interesting endeavor, but well worth using capacity of guage.

 

[motomick76]

Who would know or how could I properly set up the bike? I understand weight bias is very important, and dampening, pre-load of suspension. What is standard guide to setup the suspension?

I know the R1 setup may not pay off, I think I want to move forward with project. How do I know how much drop I want in the forks to balance the bike? I see some trees with 1.5" , 2"; and that much difference I know can make a drastic change in handling.

 

[gamorg02]

might be worth finding your local GMD computrack

 

[[email protected]]

There is no right or wrong. Best thing you can do is get opinions from others who have done it and get specifics from their setup and how it has worked for them.

Maybe go as far as starting a thread asking guys that have USD forks to detail their setup and how it works for them.

A 17" wheel with a 120 tire will lower your front end about 1.1" as compared to the stock wheel. Vmax forks are about 34" long c/l axle to the top of the fork tube. Depending on what year R1 forks you get they can be 4.25" shorter (or more). I would reccommend to get 2" extensions and triple with a minimum of a 1.5" drop. Your front end will still be a couple inches lower than stock at this point.

If you are going to go for a USD front end you will probably want to replace the springs. The bike they come off of is much lighter than the vmax. Most guys use anywhere from a .9 to a 1.0 in their USD setups on the max. You could go all out and pay someone to revavle the forks too but it is not cheap if you farm the work out.

As far as the rear end goes, I would think anywhere from a stock ride height to 1.5" lower than stock would be OK. Any more than this and you are asking for trouble with ground clearance. I think the bike handles better with the rear end closer to stock height but, that is just my opinion.

 

[donnelly317]

Sorry but im sad to see he had to sell this bike very sentimental to him