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Fork Swap 09+ BPF into 05 1K

6K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  rotamonkey 
#1 ·
Whats up guys, I would say Im an aggressive track rider that wants to get my bike up to par with some newer machines over the winter. I currently have an 05 1K with only racetech valves and springs and a stock rear shock. The front is pretty much maxed out full stiff and I heard the 05-06 forks suck. It seems the 07-08 will almost drop in, what about the 09+ BPF Showas? Obviuosly a lot more $$ but Im willing to invest if it will make a big difference lap time wise. I tried searching all around but havent found much. Can anybody help with this or point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Jay
 
#3 ·
Whats up guys, I would say Im an aggressive track rider that wants to get my bike up to par with some newer machines over the winter. I currently have an 05 1K with only racetech valves and springs and a stock rear shock. The front is pretty much maxed out full stiff and I heard the 05-06 forks suck. It seems the 07-08 will almost drop in, what about the 09+ BPF Showas? Obviuosly a lot more $$ but Im willing to invest if it will make a big difference lap time wise. I tried searching all around but havent found much. Can anybody help with this or point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Jay

So you want to take your current forks which are revalved and resprung (was it done for you or someone else, maxed out full stiff doesn't sound like they were setup for you)........and replace them with a set of stock forks that also have not been set up for you.

I don't understand the logic there?

If you want great performing forks you'd be better off dropping a set of Traxxion AK-20 or Ohlins cartridges with the proper rate springs for your weight. Then you'll have race-grade front suspension rather than just having another stock front end on your bike..........not to mention it's probably going to cost you more money to track down a set of 09+ forks and clamps to graft onto your front end.
 
#11 ·
So you want to take your current forks which are revalved and resprung (was it done for you or someone else, maxed out full stiff doesn't sound like they were setup for you)........and replace them with a set of stock forks that also have not been set up for you.

I don't understand the logic there?

IMO the Showas are a massive improvement over the KYBs in any event, thats just me though, my guess is Suzuki didn't pay anything over $200 a set for those KYBs. lol :eek:hmy
 
#4 ·
There is much better valving choices out there!

Traxxion Dynamics
GMD Computrac
 
#5 ·
the 07/08s' will not drop in, they are different diameter and the clamps are probably a different offset too. You forks are fine, get a cartridge upgrade, and then.... heres the kicker, you really need to have someone dial it in. Any upgrade is useless unless someone adjusts it properly.
 
#6 ·
I think you need to set up your forks properly...

I upgraded from the 2005-06 GSXR 1000 front end to the 2007-08 GSXR 1000 front end because I was able to get a deal on a set of AK20...

The 2007 and up GSXR 1000 front end, including the BPF come wit 28mm triples which give you 2mm extra trail at the same rake angle...

So if your bike has the Racetech swing arm shaft adjusting plates, you do not need to raise the front end to get back some trail...

Some people say suspension is key to go fast... I think Suspension and Geometry are both important... When your bike is dial right, it will rail the corners effortlessly...

:D Luis
 
#7 ·
I appreciate the concern, I am doing the Racetech valves in the BPFs as well. I finally got time to just start this, the top Triple is the same 50mm and the bottom is only 1mm bigger. Any of the Drop ins I see for the 05 Forks are $2K? I am keeping the budget to $1K for doing the swap with the Racetech valves which are $250, I am doing the labor myself. I am surprised more people haven't done this honestly. I will try to keep updating on the project.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Just sounds to me like the current forks where not set up correctly from the start by having the wrong springs so why not get the correct ones, while at it put in some fresh fork oil set to correct height. Then put some money into getting a rear shock to complete the set up and have a better balanced package over all. Why bother spending money on another set of forks and then setting them up, only to still run the stock shock that is not going to get close to operating at the same level of the forks.
 
#12 ·
Hey mate, how did you go with getting these forks on? The coating is gone on my 01 forks and they look like crap and wanted to try a radial brake upgrade anyway. Looks like getting a late model front end with the bpf is comparable to any fork upgrade with radial brakes for me. Any issues with the fitting? Did you need to do any machining?
 
#24 ·
For anyone interested thought I might post up I got a new front end from a 2011 600 w/ BPF cheap and fitted it to my 01 1000, took a bit of work to get the bike setup right but came out nice.

Think everyone is right, not worth it for the forks so far, comparable to my well setup 01 forks, brakes on the other hand are 10 times better than my old 01 brakes so it turned out good...
 
#20 ·
Sounds to me as this may have been a problem on those forks only...

I do not think Suzuki would have purposely put less, or cheap performance on the GSXR1000 than on the GSXR600 and GSXR750...

In fact, I think they may have gone with KYB on the GSXR1000 because they figure it was better than the suspension on GSXR600 and GSXR750...
 
#21 ·
Nope.....they put what's cost effective to put in there. Street guys don't care and racers rip it out anyway.


Look at the latest bunch bikes out now. Nearly every Japanese bike (aside from Yamaha) now comes with Showa BPF front forks.

09 and later GSXR-1000, 11 and later GSXR-600/750
11 and later ZX-10, 09 and later ZX-6
12 and later CBR-1000, 13 and later CBR-600

All of these bikes now have BPF forks. Why? It's not that great of a design, its difficult to swap fork springs because the spring is buried at the bottom of the fork, VERY impractical for racer. Pretty much anyone that races any of these bikes would be ripping the internals out.

So why?.....because apparently its a cheap (inexpensive) design. Go figure.
 
#22 ·
Except for the HP4. Active Sachs suspension front and rear. :yumyum
 
#23 ·
The HP4 is not a Japanese bike, it's German. There's still plenty of EU bikes that are not on Japanese suspension of course. I was just referring to the BIG-4.



.....actually there's several Italian bikes that come with Showa suspension (not BPF). :D
 
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