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[axiom-r]

Well.....   I made some progress with the rear end.  I had the R1 swingarm pivot cut down to match the FJ arm.


Then my machinist sectioned the R1 inner spacer removing enough material to match the length of the FJ inner spacer and welded it back together.




The R1 inner spacer is a larger diameter and is only machined to a tight tolerance at the ends where the bearings ride- so we made some bushings about an inch long and with the correct ID for the FJ swingarm axle then pressed them into the ID of the R1 spacer and voila!  The FJ swingarm axle now rides perfectly in the R1 sleeve.  I ordered the pivot end caps from Yamaha for the R1 axle and they will have to be modified slightly to be used (made skinnier to fit on the reduced shoulder of the pivot).  The center hole on the R1 caps will be too big as well but there is an inner washer in the FJ caps and those will be inserted in the new R1 caps so they should function just fine.  I could not use the FJ caps because the R1 has a 2mm larger diameter on one side and 1.5mm larger on the other- no they are not the same size, thus I ordered R1 parts and we will make them work. Even the bearings on the R1 are different sizes- the bearing on the drive side (and the diameter of the pivot shoulder) is larger to support the stress of the drive train.


R1 inner spacer with the FJ swingarm axle fitted.


I mocked up the swingarm and wheel to begin the process of dealing with the sprocket offset challenge and to measure for shock and dogbone length etc.  One of the issues to address is that the FJ shock mounts are offset slightly to the chain side of the bike.  The R1 swingarm is designed with the shock cavity offset even more (to the same side) so I will need some custom mounts (upper and lower) for the new Penske shock that will eventually take up residence on my FJR1.  From the initial look it seems like I may be able to get away with spacers and collars and no welding on top- the bottom will require a new mount adapter. While I measure and deliberate over the shock and linkage issues I will have my machinist start the work on the triple trees.  Taking the guidance provided by Marc Rittner and other smart board members, we will build up material on the press fit end of the triple spindle, machine it down to the correct size and press it into the R1 lower..... Here is the swing arm mock up- makes me smile!!




I would really prefer to use the stock exhaust as mine is in excellent condition and the black chrome cans look freaking awesome with the beefy black swing arm and black 5-spoke wheels.  But it looks like the subframe would need to be spread about an inch to accommodate the R1 swinger so I will probably go with the Delkavic Stainless cans for XJR. One more upside to using the R1 stuff-  there is no brake arm link between the rear caliper and the swing arm. The R1 design has a brake carrier that has a "notch-in" to hold it in place. Makes the rear look cleaner.

More to come!  

Cheers- Tim

[craigo]

Wow Tim,

That is just a work of art.  Very nice.    Just wondering, what do you have into this?

CraigO
90FJ1200

[axiom-r]

Well....

I scored the complete R1 front and rear ends for $800 from a low mileage bike that had some rough times- see the scrapes on the swinger....
Then I bought the ThunderAce swingarm and some FZR1000 wheels to compare and see what I liked best and what worked etc- $150 for the swingarm and $200 for the wheels- both these buys came with hardware including axles pivot shafts etc.

$100 for the R1 pivot machining from my local guy- I am lucky to have a skilled guy nearby that likes this stuff.

I still have to buy a penske shock- call that a $1000 shipped.

I still have a few more parts to machine - the cush drive, the triple clamps etc- another $200-300.

I bought a Delkavic SS collector box and will probably buy their down tube and muffler set in SS so about another $500 on the pipe.

All in I am estimating this mod will be $3000 but I may sell the ThunderAce and FZR1000 stuff or use it on a Kawasaki Triple... so there is a value back there..

I considered buying an Aprilla Futura after riding my buddy's and realized two things; the Futura would be at least $6k an the FJ will not sell for more than $3500-4000 even though my bike is pristine and loaded with touring accessories...

The only thing I did not like about the FJ was the handling so I decided to go for it- plus I am enjoying the process.  Hopefully this wont take me all winter!

Cheers,

tim

[racerman_27410]

Tim, you will be surprised how much the handling is going to be improved.

like a brand new modern motorcycle with all the lustful character of the FJ engine.


keep us updated on your progress!


KOokaloo!

[andyb]

Into the mod faq you go...

Good info, actually looks pretty good on there too.

[Mark Olson]

Tim, thumbs up

we all know the mods we do to the fj are expensive and time consuming and we will never get the money back if we ever sell.

however it is like a drug to personalize your fj and the pride of doing it yourself is priceless.

definitive bragging rights around the campfire will be your reward.

[axiom-r]

Work got in the way and I had to wait it out....

Meanwhile, back at the outhouse... my machinist friend pressed apart the 2007 R1 triple clamps and the spare set of FJ triples I acquired to destroy if need be. The immediate facts gleaned are:

1- the lower triple clamp from the R1 is considerably thicker than the stock FJ unit. To resolve this, the FJ spindle will get cleaned up on the bottom end and an extension will be press fitted to give us the length needed to compensate for the super thick R1 lower triple.




2- the R1 spindle diameter is a good mm or so thicker- the FJ spindle is not the "kind of tight" fit as reported on other conversions. This simply does not fit. So, if needed, we will follow the Marc Rittner route and build up material to be turned back to proper size for a .0025 press fit.  It is possible that the new extension will be sized in advance and no build up of material will be required- TBD. Regardless, the press fit extension will be welded in place and those welds will have to be cleaned up.




3- the top triple requires a shouldered collar to fit the FJ spindle. This was the first thing my machinist buddy turned out. Once the R1 top triple top is seated on the new collar (and the FJ spindle) we were able to start angling to determine how big the extension needed to be.  Still not confirmed.








There are several more things to modify to get the triples converted completely.  The remaining challenges with the front are:

• Figure out the ignition mounting
• Figure out the steering stops
• Figure out a speedo replacement
• Figure out handle bar set up
• Figure out fork extensions so that the geometry can be adjusted to with in stock spec
• Figure out a new clutch master cylinder that resembles the R1 levers.

The Rear End:

We had trimmed the swingarm and the internal spacer of the R1 and press fit some bushings into the ends of the spacer so that the FJ swinger bolt fit it properly.  I had to wait for some new sealing end caps for the R1 swingarm because these parts were not included when I found the R1 stuff.  Once the trimming was done these spacers barely had room to go on without hitting the shoulder of the swingarm- but once mounted the entire assembly is snug and has good motion. I had hoped to use the washers that come inside the FJ end caps because they are the right size to mount around the FJ swingarm axle- but the trimming we did was not enough to include these.  On a second pass we would trim a bit more to allow these washers to go into the R1 end caps.  Shown; the two R1 end-caps (each with different diameter and thickness) and the spacer used to trim the swingarm and then the mounted arm- you can see the bigger end cap there.  The fit was not perfect for the seals but I concluded that they would find a new way to sit.  The seal is not critical if you stay out of deep water!








The length of the shock is too long to let the stock linkage connect properly. The length is not the problem the problem is the linkage is not designed to couple to the stock FJ locations. The shape of the R1 shock and the piggyback res was in slight conflict with the FJ top mount. I removed the entire ABS system to make room for the shock with piggyback res.  It had to go anyway as the R1 wheels were not going to accept the ABS gear. Then to make the shock clear, I used my grinder to shape the R1 shock a bit. With minor removal of material the top mount goes right on.  I will make a spacer to take up the 10mm offset in the mount.




To my amazement, the shock will nearly bolt right in as far as the alignment goes. The R1 swingarm is offset to the chain side of the bike to accommodate the exhaust system coming up through the notch out in the arm.  So overall the R1 suspension is more offset to the chain side than the FJ is.  The R1 shock has a top clevis that I removed.  The collar in the top eye mount is 30mm wide compared to the FJ shock with a 40mm collar insert.   This difference allows the R1 shock to shift 10mm over in the FJ top mount to near perfect alignment with the R1 offset.  I have a bit further to go on this but it is very close and likely will require only some minor adjustment to the lower R1 triangle mount.  






It was a good day.  The bike started like this:


And ended like this:


Tomorrow the rest of the exhaust system will come off and I will work on the shock linkage- trying to find a way to tie it all in.


Tim

[tqmx1]

Tim, For the upper tree use the G2 (06 or newer) with the spacer you made it will be a direct bolt on. I used the same combo when I put inverted forks on my G1 FZ1. It will save a bunch of hassle down the road. As for the lower tree with the FZ we had to remove about 6MM off the steering head stops 1 to get the turning radius back to stock and 2 so you can lock the steering column.

Kim

[Klavdy]

Well done that man.

Your posts are so cool, well written,educational & entertaining

Please keep 'em coming and hopefully you'll have the bike buttoned up in time for the NorCal Rally so we can all drool over it...

[Grey runner]

I'm already drooling!!

[racerman_27410]

definitely nice work.

I'm curious as to how your shock linkage turns out (having been thru the shock linkage grinder myself)



KOokaloo!


Frank

[axiom-r]

Kim- are you referring to a FZ1 triple top from 2006 or newer (they were USD forks from 06 on I think)?  What was the main benefit from using it?  I see it has the handle bar set up out of the way right off....  the ignition is located at center too this must help with the steering lock?

Thanks a bunch Klavdy- trying to keep it short in words and long in pictures!  It would be great to have it ready for the rally- we'll see!

Frank- the alignment left to right is within a mm or so and should not be a problem. The linkage however is going to be the trick.  I can get the stuff connected but I am not sure what the leveraging effect will be etc.  The dogbone should lay nearly horizontal when mounted but the connection on the FJ frame is too high.  Having a full adjustable dogbone will handle part of the problem.  If I could get a Penske Shock that is only 10.5 or 11 inches from center to center (shorter than stock) this will greatly improve the angle that the dogbone connects at.  If I cannot get the 07 linkage to work- the 08 and newer bikes reversed the linking placing the triangle connector against the frame and the dogbone reaches to connect the swingarm.  The 07 hardware has the triangle connected to the arm and dogbone linking to the frame....  All else being the same switching to the newer design linkage may solve it.

Man it felt good to get all the ABS junk off my bike!  I have the computer and the pump in a box and it is not light!

tim

[tqmx1]

Kim- are you referring to a FZ1 triple top from 2006 or newer (they were USD forks from 06 on I think)?  What was the main benefit from using it?  I see it has the handle bar set up out of the way right off....  the ignition is located at center too this must help with the steering lock?

Yes G2 FZ1,The main advantage is a bolt on (with the spacer you have all ready made) so no welding and drilling of the R1 unit. The FZ1 is all ready set up  for handle bar mounts (rubber mounted so even less vibration) and yes for the steering lock it's dam near a bolt in. Now if you are thinking about clipons stay with the R1 upper.

[axiom-r]

I had assumed I would have to go with top mount bars like the FZ1...  Is the FZ1 top clamp for a 50mm USD fork- same diameter as R1?

If so.... MORE PARTS!

[tqmx1]

Yes it's a bolt on they all have 50mm fork holes