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RC-51 fork installation


Guest Pete McCrary

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Once you guys get this all sorted out can you build me a kit... :wheel:

If you only knew how much money I'm sinking into this whole setup - but I want it done right. All new moving parts in the wheel, all new seals and hardware on the calipers, and the forks completely rebuilt. I ordered over $900 worth of parts from RonAyers yesterday. That includes one outer fork leg (one of mine is scratched really bad) and a new SP-2 master cylinder.

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ps - the wheel looks good, just don't forget to chase the rotor bolt threads with a tap. It's so easy, I had my son do my last set:

:wheel: :beer:

Definitely!

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Once you guys get this all sorted out can you build me a kit... :wheel:

If you only knew how much money I'm sinking into this whole setup -

I didn't keep exact track, but my conversion totaled nearly 2 grand (Cdn).

That's counting the CF front fender, new steering head bearings, new Helibars, the cost of getting them welded and powdercoated, new brake pads, brake lines, new front tire, powdercoating the wheel, etc, etc.

But that was offset quite a bit by selling off my existing front end as a complete setup.

Also, that was back when the exchange rate was in the toilet. 80-something cents per greenback.

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:beer:

I'm not sure I'll ever put 2K into my VFR, but I would love to put this fork swap on my '98 some day. Trouble is, with 60K on the clock and the bike having a bit of rash from being knocked over, the whole thing is only worth about 2K to begin with. sad.gif

Maybe I'll start looking for a low mileage 5th Gen that a little old lady only drove to church on Sundays...

Meanwhile, you guys just keep clearing all the garbage off ebay for me, okay? :wheel:

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:beer:

I'm not sure I'll ever put 2K into my VFR, but I would love to put this fork swap on my '98 some day. Trouble is, with 60K on the clock and the bike having a bit of rash from being knocked over, the whole thing is only worth about 2K to begin with. sad.gif

Maybe I'll start looking for a low mileage 5th Gen that a little old lady only drove to church on Sundays...

Meanwhile, you guys just keep clearing all the garbage off ebay for me, okay? :wheel:

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, billet VORTEX racing upper triple clamp, plus black anodizing, yadda yadda.

I could have done it cheaper by using lower spec parts but hey, you only live once.

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  • 1 month later...

1. Wheels are being shipped from the real painters tomorrow. I machined up a couple of "rings" that I bolted to each side where the disk attach to act as masking devices for the surface the brake rotors bolt to. I have absolutely fallen in love with Delrin. So easy to machine and holds tolerances well.

2. Ohlins (Thermosman Suspension) has my forks and are revalving them. I went with RaceTech's 1.1 springs. I know Sonic's are cheaper, but the piece of PVC electrical conduit for a spacer seemed tacky.

3. Need to take a pic of my 929 steering stem. Russ and I both decided the heavy casting ridge on them looked like crap. He sanded his off and repainted the stem. I filed mine off with an aluminum file, taking just the minimum amount of metal with it. I then took a Gator brand paint removal/polishing disk (available in the tool section of Lowe's) on my right angle grinder to the rest. They look like a green Scotch Brite pad. Took about 10 minutes. About a half hour of Dremel work with a #520 polishing wheel and some Mother's Polish. Thing looks chrome plated. I took off the casting ridge, the boss sticking out for the brake line, etc.

4. Got a Suzuki SV650 junction block for the brake lines. This way I can run one hose off the master cylinder and then split it into two for the wheel calipers. I aluminum soldered the depressed area in the middle of the junction block and then belt sanded both sides. Got a nice big piece of flat aluminum attached to the brake line barrel so I can bolt it to the bottom of the stem. Should have that finished this weekend.

5. Carved all my pieces for my "de-link connector" for the rear caliper out of 316 stainless the last couple of nights. Just have to drill the connector pipe holes and then silver solder it all together. I fashioned mine slightly different than Ralph (Tok Tokkie) did so my brake line bolts on the outside of the rear most brake port. That way I can use any type of brake line I want. My original method had the rear brake line under the connector. As each manufacturer uses a different thickness of banjo fitting, I would have had to have my rear brake line first. This way I can use any brand of brake line (including the stock Honda). 316 stainless is a pure biatch to machine and make look nice.

I should have detailed progress pics to post Monday if the weekend goes as expected.

So that's where I'm at.

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1. Wheels are being shipped from the real painters tomorrow. I machined up a couple of "rings" that I bolted to each side where the disk attach to act as masking devices for the surface the brake rotors bolt to. I have absolutely fallen in love with Delrin. So easy to machine and holds tolerances well.

2. Ohlins (Thermosman Suspension) has my forks and are revalving them. I went with RaceTech's 1.1 springs. I know Sonic's are cheaper, but the piece of PVC electrical conduit for a spacer seemed tacky.

3. Need to take a pic of my 929 steering stem. Russ and I both decided the heavy casting ridge on them looked like crap. He sanded his off and repainted the stem. I filed mine off with an aluminum file, taking just the minimum amount of metal with it. I then took a Gator brand paint removal/polishing disk (available in the tool section of Lowe's) on my right angle grinder to the rest. They look like a green Scotch Brite pad. Took about 10 minutes. About a half hour of Dremel work with a #520 polishing wheel and some Mother's Polish. Thing looks chrome plated. I took off the casting ridge, the boss sticking out for the brake line, etc.

4. Got a Suzuki SV650 junction block for the brake lines. This way I can run one hose off the master cylinder and then split it into two for the wheel calipers. I aluminum soldered the depressed area in the middle of the junction block and then belt sanded both sides. Got a nice big piece of flat aluminum attached to the brake line barrel so I can bolt it to the bottom of the stem. Should have that finished this weekend.

5. Carved all my pieces for my "de-link connector" for the rear caliper out of 316 stainless the last couple of nights. Just have to drill the connector pipe holes and then silver solder it all together. I fashioned mine slightly different than Ralph (Tok Tokkie) did so my brake line bolts on the outside of the rear most brake port. That way I can use any type of brake line I want. My original method had the rear brake line under the connector. As each manufacturer uses a different thickness of banjo fitting, I would have had to have my rear brake line first. This way I can use any brand of brake line (including the stock Honda). 316 stainless is a pure biatch to machine and make look nice.

I should have detailed progress pics to post Monday if the weekend goes as expected.

So that's where I'm at.

So the custom delink connector that you were going to have made and available for the rest of us is no more? I'm still trying to source all my parts, but doing ok since I have the forks, triples, front wheel, rotors. Just need to figure out which bars and the front master cylinder and whether to spring for the carbon fiber fender.

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  • 6 years later...

I am new to the forum but Pete was a dear friend. He passed away before finishing the bike. His wife called me this week and told me I could have the bike if I would come and get it. I do not know what it will take to finish it. So I will be asking for help. I might decide to sell the set up he has now and just go back stock. I will decide after I get it home. Sounds like he has it ready to go back together. He was a great engineer and was very picky with his work. Sometimes when I am out riding and get to remembering the fun we had riding through the mountains it breaks my heart. It was a race everytime we got together. He was an awesome person. I miss him a lot. 

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Mate... sorry to hear of your friend's passing. Condolences and thanks for the update.

Good to see you've come to the right place to (hopefully) continue his project.

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I will just have to wait and see. We are going to get it on Sat. Since I am retired it will give my something to do while the weather is bad. I just can't let it interfere with my riding and fishing. My wife had VFR 800 when we were dating. She now has a 1250 Bandit but she has been talking about another VFR so maybe this will be the ticket.  

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Oh Man,  how heart breaking indeed.  Thank you for letting us know.  Yes please if it feels right just give a shout out,  lots of great peps here that would lend a helping hand. 

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I really do not know yet how far he was on the bike. I will find out on Sat.  I did do the paint work on the wheels for him. The last thing he posted here must have been it. He passed away on Jan. 2014 after being sick for a long time. It will be interesting to see what he has done. 

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Sorry about your friend. Continuing his project and completing it for him, would be an amazing tribute to him though. I have done a front end swap, so if you need any pointers, don't hesitate to send me a pm.

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Got the bike home and it is in pieces. I think Pete got two of everything. I have two sets of RC51 forks and I will sell one set. Maybe both before it's over with. I have got to do a lot of thinking about this. It has been setting since 2010 with no exhaust on it so I am hoping that no mice have entered the engine. It has been kelp in inside storage building. So that's a plus. I found the lower triple tree but not the upper. The rear brake line is missing. Any suggestions will be awesome. 

 

 

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I had decided to leave the bike stock but after seeing what Pete had done so far I decided what the hell and I am going to install the RC51 forks. I ordered a few more parts today. I know Pete had them somewhere but we could not find them. The only question I have at this time is since Pete had the 929 lower why do you need to use an RC51 upper ? I ordered an F4I rear master cylinder and I might need some info on the length of line it takes to go from the master to the caliper. 

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I think that's the right decision, but only you know the answer to that.  Onward and upward!

 

The RC51 upper is flat, and most people don't use it.  The 929/954 upper is the reverse gull wing, which allows the clip ons to mount on top of the top clamp, or the use of shorter forks with the clip ons mounted below.  Most people use the RC51 lower, but I believe others may have used the 929 lower.  Should be easier to deal with the bump stop issue, but other things could be more complicated, as it is the less-trodden path.

 

No idea on the brake line length, but it might be better to measure yourself how long you need it to be, given the exact route you're planning on using to get from the caliper to the master cylinder.  I'm going through the SSSA on mine, so the length will be totally different.  I'm pretty sure you can get custom-lengh lines made in the 'States, but it's been a while since I've done it, so I don't know for sure which companies do it.  Is there a HEL USA?  I think I had them do my last US lines.

 

Ciao,

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I have cbr929 upper and lower triple trees. I had to mill off a lot of steering stop material to get my steering clearance back. I can't quite lock the steering to the left, but I can still lock to the right. Maybe I need to mill more off or maybe I should have searched for an RC51 lower, but I am okay with it as is, so I am going to leave it as good enough.

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