front end: gsxr swap or racetech?

conditions: street/highway

possible track day at end of summer

I was told that i brake very late when riding at higher speeds.

I can also acquire a full 04 gsxr600 front forks for just $250.

it is tempting, i hate to say it but the gold forks are just plain sexy too.

racetech's are only $115 plus oil plus....

some opinions please.

Q

If you like hard braking, go for the gixxer front, good rotors/pads and a Brembo master cylinder. I can practically flip my bike end over end with a slight touch of the lever, it's very cool!

****, i'd snap those forks up real fast, the only down side i see to the gsxr forks, other than if your gonna race, is it ruins the resale value tremendously, because of the speedometer issues, i'll buy them if you don't :wink:

i just did the GSXR swap (to an '02 GSXR 1000). I had racetech eumulaors, springs, preload adjusters and thicker oil in the stockers before.

not sure if the GSXR is an improvement. the rotors on mine are HUGE.. 320mm, and i'm convinced this is making my turn ins a bit slower.. although your GSXR 600 will have smaller rotors. i'm just can't tell if the ride is better or not with the GSXR vs. racetech.. although the GSXR definetely isn't "dialed in" yet, and the racetech was.

the stock fork with racetech internals is pretty nice, but its actually expensive when you add up all the bits.

the brakes on the GSXR are incredible though. they suck all the blood into your head.

so, in closing:
GSXR good = bling bling, better brakes, more adjustability (although how much do you need?), can "easily" mount the cheap GSXR steering damper.
GSXR bad = perhaps heavier turn in?? pain-in-the-ass to get all the parts from ebay. pain-in-the-ass to relocate your speedo to rear wheel, need new everything (clipons, wheel etc..), loose wheel lock, loose turn stops.

Racetech good = pretty sweet setup for the SV. seems to keep the front wheel on teh ground on street and track, keep all turn stops, locks, and stock parts, speedo.
racetech bad = still have those wussy looking skinny little forks. pretty pricey in the end.

oh.. and i made about $100 swapping out my racetech front end for the GSXR front end after all shipping and ebaying, and that's with a few major ebay blunders... just to give you a comparision on price.

If you like hard braking, go for the gixxer front, good rotors/pads and a Brembo master cylinder. I can practically flip my bike end over end with a slight touch of the lever, it's very cool!

not to jack this thread, but i'm haveing some problems with my front right rotor on my new GSXR front end. can rotors "go bad". the "eyelets" on this rotor seem "loose" from side to side. i can move the drilled out part of the rotor from left to right a bit with my hand (can't on the left side), and i'm hearing a rhythmic rubbing of the rotor on the brake pads. after taking everyyhing out and putting it back in (pads included), i'm starting to get a "pulsing" while stopping at low speeds and low brake lever pressure.

is this "normal" or "bad".

and if answer is "bad", can a rotor be fixed (tightening eyelets?).

and furhtermore, do you think the rotor was bad from the get-go, or could my fork be bent a bit or something and that caused the rotor to become a bit "loose".

"sorry" to use so many "quotes". :D

I have always been saying to myself "Id get that GSXR fork if it was allowed in SVCUP rules". But recently I had a meeting with a very knowledgeable suspension guy and picked up a few good points. For what most people can do, and done up SV work will work better than a stock GSXR fork. A GSXR fork will still need emmulators springs and valves before it runs as well as a tuned SV fork.

Of course, a good thing about the GSXR fork is radial brakes and bad assed rotors. And steering dampener too I guess goes on easier. Hope you enjoy whatever choice you make.

GSXR bad = perhaps heavier turn in?? pain-in-the-ass to get all the parts from ebay. pain-in-the-ass to relocate your speedo to rear wheel, need new everything (clipons, wheel etc..), loose wheel lock, loose turn stops.

why you think turn in is heavier?gsxr rotors should be lighter than sv rotors.

GSXR bad = perhaps heavier turn in?? pain-in-the-ass to get all the parts from ebay. pain-in-the-ass to relocate your speedo to rear wheel, need new everything (clipons, wheel etc..), loose wheel lock, loose turn stops.

why you think turn in is heavier?gsxr rotors should be lighter than sv rotors.

well.. i just assumed since they are 320mm. don't know actual weights. the turn in was sluggish.. but i raised the forks 5mm more for a total of 10mm above the triples and now it feels nimble again. still worried about that one rotor though.

we keep forks flush with triples.10mm sticking out would destroy my radiator.
what shock you have?
if rotor is pulsing it may be warped,in which case it is junk.lose buttons are not reason for pulsing.

we keep forks flush with triples.10mm sticking out would destroy my radiator.
what shock you have?
if rotor is pulsing it may be warped,in which case it is junk.lose buttons are not reason for pulsing.

It's an '02 GSXR 1000 front end.

is there any advantage to lowering/raising front forks if you can, and have room to do so? My stock ones are flush right now with the triple. I never thought there would be any serious gains by moving the forks a few mm's.

:?:

I thought it made a huge difference on the SV. but i also got a new tire put on at the same time, so there's no way to tell if it was the new tire profile, or the change in bike geometry from the fork height change. but i hear-say that 5mm can make a noticable difference.

****, i'd snap those forks up real fast, the only down side i see to the gsxr forks, other than if your gonna race, is it ruins the resale value tremendously, because of the speedometer issues, i'll buy them if you don't :wink:

Don't be so sure yet. Jimsv650s is working on a new method to keep your speedo and he should have a write up soon. I'm going to be using it myself on my swap, and I think it's by far the best method out there right now.

Stock Gixxer forks will not work very well on the SV, they need to be set up with correct springs and valving before they'll be better than well set-up SV forks. But once they're set up, they're very nice. Pulsing on brakes sounds like a warped disc. The gixxer rotors are light, turn-in is not going to be hurt by them, it's indicative of a geometry problem, probably the rear and if you've switched tire profiles it's easy to get all screwed up. I run the same as Zoran with the Gixxer front, forks flush with the triples.

Stock Gixxer forks will not work very well on the SV, they need to be set up with correct springs and valving before they'll be better than well set-up SV forks. But once they're set up, they're very nice. Pulsing on brakes sounds like a warped disc. The gixxer rotors are light, turn-in is not going to be hurt by them, it's indicative of a geometry problem, probably the rear and if you've switched tire profiles it's easy to get all screwed up. I run the same as Zoran with the Gixxer front, forks flush with the triples.

my rear is way jacked up by a GSXR 750 shock that is terribly undersprung.

my rear is way jacked up by a GSXR 750 shock that is terribly undersprung.

Must be an older one, '96-'99??

my rear is way jacked up by a GSXR 750 shock that is terribly undersprung.

Must be an older one, '96-'99??

it looks like the modern one's, but has a shady past. got it for free and don't really know anything about it.

The only Gixxer 750 shocks that were longer than the stock 1st gen SV shock were the 96-99. And those had a 375# spring on them, so I hope you weigh no more than 105 lbs.! :wink:

jarelj, why don't you guys use the 96-99 GSXR shocks? are the newer ones bettter??

The only Gixxer 750 shocks that were longer than the stock 1st gen SV shock were the 96-99. And those had a 375# spring on them, so I hope you weigh no more than 105 lbs.! :wink:

yeah.. we might have a problem with that weight limit. i like combo meal #6 from Wendy's too much. :lol:

Spicy chicken combo is the ONLY way to go! :lol:

jarelj, why don't you guys use the 96-99 GSXR shocks? are the newer ones bettter??

Because the newer versions work very well with our mods. I'll work on a 96~99 GSXR750 shocks but it's not something we chase after. Same with 636 & ZX10 shocks, I'll work on them but they are not nearly as friendly as the newer GSXR shocks.

Isn't it ironic that the new 636/6RR now come with Showa's at both ends?

Is there a possiblity that the term "Jack-up" is being used completely differently by you too?

Is there a possiblity that the term "Jack-up" is being used completely differently by you too?

by jacked up, i mean the tail is VERY high with the gsxr shock. not sure about ride height difference when i'm sitting on the bike. i'll have to measure. but the spring had to be maxed out on preload to come anywhre close to the right sag.

I guess I am th only one using it differently... pls ignore me

jarelj, why don't you guys use the 96-99 GSXR shocks? are the newer ones bettter??

Because the newer versions work very well with our mods. I'll work on a 96~99 GSXR750 shocks but it's not something we chase after. Same with 636 & ZX10 shocks, I'll work on them but they are not nearly as friendly as the newer GSXR shocks.

Isn't it ironic that the new 636/6RR now come with Showa's at both ends?

thanks for the answer bro

I have always been saying to myself "Id get that GSXR fork if it was allowed in SVCUP rules". But recently I had a meeting with a very knowledgeable suspension guy and picked up a few good points. For what most people can do, and done up SV work will work better than a stock GSXR fork. A GSXR fork will still need emmulators springs and valves before it runs as well as a tuned SV fork.

Of course, a good thing about the GSXR fork is radial brakes and bad assed rotors. And steering dampener too I guess goes on easier. Hope you enjoy whatever choice you make.


so what do you think of this? a good deal? on either the stock sv upgrade and Full gixxer kit?
http://www.motospecialties.com/MSInventoryList.asp?Store=SVRaceShop&Category=Suspension%20-%20Forks&Type=Products%20by%20Bike&Type1=Suzuki&Type2=SV650

I should also mention that I would like to make my 02 SV650S into a track bike. I am just starting to look for all these info am wondering if it would be cheaper for me to buy those parts seperately or buy them as a whole from svraceshop?

If I had the luxury of money growing on trees in my backyard, I would experiment. Since that's not happening in my world, I'm trying to get it as close as I can (to what I like) on my first shot. Probably not going to happen but im trying to keep expenses down.

****, i'd snap those forks up real fast, the only down side i see to the gsxr forks, other than if your gonna race, is it ruins the resale value tremendously, because of the speedometer issues, i'll buy them if you don't :wink:


Not really an issue anymore- you can do the rear wheel speedo drive mod very easily on a carbed one, or get the sensor kit for a FI one. Or keep your 650 bits and change back if you ever come to resell!

Northy is right on, there are many ways to solve the speedo issue. Some of the guys on this forum have come up with some clean installs.*

The GSXR front end is the best way to go short of a real race frontend. I'm going to put Ohlins forks on my next SBK SV.

Kris87 will inherit my current 05 GSXR6/7 radial frontend for his SBK and I'll get a new one! You guys in the southeast better be ready, when Kris has a SVRaceShop GSVR700 SBK he's going to be even faster!