Monday, December 27, 2010

Project xs400 - Front Suspension

I like my xs for sure, but the forks that come stock are just too soft. Even after i rebuilt them using heavier weight oil, I didn't notice much of a difference. Lucky for me, a friend of mine is putting a set of inverted GSXR forks on his 650 and donating the stock 650 front end to me. The front end is off of a 79', which means all the brake parts will swap over with no problem. The steering stem may be an issue, but with a little poking around on a few xs boards I've found that the stem lengths are nearly identical. With any luck the triple trees will swap right over also, but I'll keep you posted. I wont be able to start this till early march, when I do the unthinkable and drive back to Milwaukee to pick up the bike. About the only thing that I can do at this point is go to mikesxs.net and pick up all the goodies i need to rebuild the 650 front end. I also may pick up a new tarozzi fork brace and clip ons, as the current ones will no longer fit. Sooooo.....if anybody knows a xs400 owner with a stock front end who wants to purchase any of those parts or a 650 chopper builder who wants a 400 front end, drop me a line.

My new FREEBIE forks...sorta beat, but the tubes are perfect and they aught to clean up well.











Fork rebuild shopping list:
From Mikexs.net -
Front Fork Damper Valve Set - $49
Fork Tube Caps - $34
Progressive Front Fork Springs - $59
Fork Seal Set - $10
Fork seal Dust Covers - $20

Total = $172

yikes. At least the shipping is free.

From Fast from the past -
Tarozzi low rise clip-ons - $129
Tarozzi fork brace - $99

these two will only happen if i can sell off my current parts. If i can't, I'll try to find some cheaper alternatives. Mikes xs has a $59 fork brace, but it's not nearly as effective.

March is too far away....

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