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