Front End Forks Swap YZ

[Gibster]

Race Tech is now offering springs for the Terra.

 

[Rickyme]

Of the 2500 + miles I have rode the bike I have bottomed the front fork less ten times ,and each time I just herd the typical tire to fender "crunch" sound. Never did the bike get out of line, jerk or slow me down. I have never had no damage to the fender from it.
I just got back today from a 200 mikes ride and I lofted the front end a few times without bottoming the front end.
I am an ex off-road racer from a long time ago, but I still have the need for speed and I'm not your typical "Squid or Poser" rider. I ride fast and hard(for the most part), but I definitely know the limits of the Terra. I ride 90% fast fire road, 8% double track and 2% single track.
I have .48kg forks springs installed, 10w oil and the oil level one inch higher than stock.

I am very looking forward to reporting on how good my new front end is, shouldnt be long now

 

[Shawn Johnson]

I am very looking forward to reporting on how good my new front end is, shouldnt be long now

Race Tech is now offering springs for the Terra.

When you do post some photos with the new front end.

 

[Baddrapp]

When mine bottoms it is not a tire hitting a fender. It is metal to metal bang. Loud and hard. Evidently they do not any form of cushion for bottoming out. It is a metal to metal bottoming out. We had packed in and my bike was stripped of gear. Just me on the bike. They do good going slow but as soon as you start picking up the speed you hit their limit very quickly.

 

[Glengemen]

Shawn, do you have the forks set longer than stock(for the Husky) giving it more rake? If so is that giving the bike more stability?
I've taken mine to 110mph several times, but it sure isn't confidence inspiring at speed. 60-70 or so is about as fast as I can feel good on dirt. The longer forks help that. I really want to get rid of that uneasy feeling this bike gives me at speed.

 

[Shawn Johnson]

Shawn, do you have the forks set longer than stock(for the Husky) giving it more rake? If so is that giving the bike more stability?
I've taken mine to 110mph several times, but it sure isn't confidence inspiring at speed. 60-70 or so is about as fast as I can feel good on dirt. The longer forks help that. I really want to get rid of that uneasy feeling this bike gives me at speed.

If you do my conversion you can make the rake longer for more stability( up to 1 1/2" longer). I kept mine the stock height because I prefer the better handling at speeds 65mph and below since I rarely go faster than that.

 

[Shawn Johnson]

When mine bottoms it is not a tire hitting a fender. It is metal to metal bang. Loud and hard. Evidently they do not any form of cushion for bottoming out. It is a metal to metal bottoming out. We had packed in and my bike was stripped of gear. Just me on the bike. They do good going slow but as soon as you start picking up the speed you hit their limit very quickly.

What forks are you talking about, stock or YZ?

 

[Baddrapp]

Sorry, I was still going off about the stockers.

 

[Rickyme]

Job Done!!!

I gave the assembly job to a mechanic mate of mine, much tidier than I would have done.

But first was it worth it?
A different bike completely. I think the addition of proper sag has helped a lot here, it actually feels like a trailbike - a heavy one with a very high ist gear but yep its fun off road now. The rear suspension is now obviously lacking but that will have to wait a little while.
I put new pads on the front brake and once scrubbed in they are ok, fine for off road. Ive spoken with Aquatic, hes up in Qld and may get an axle machined up and use his caliper mount for the terra brembo set up after Christmas as he is too busy at the moment .
But for now Im just going to ride it. It is like getting a new bike.
The work I had done on the old YZ forks was well worth it and a big shout out to Trooper Lu's in Sydney, talk to Christian if you want a no bullshit quality result.
Ive only just got the 250mm clearance under the guard so Ill drop the forks another 10mm which will give 10mm left out of the triple clamp.
My mechanic didn't use the extra spacer on the axle When the front is properly alligned (by leaving it loose and bouncing the suspension before tightening) the axle sits about 10mm inside the clamp as there is no lug on it like the Terra axle.
I think if you use bar risers you wont get the slow speed handling advantage as much so I recommend shortening the fork to 250mm travel.In fact as soon as tried it the bike felt much more nimble and less weight up top and thats with the fork length increase





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[Shawn Johnson]

Job Done!!!

I gave the assembly job to a mechanic mate of mine, much tidier than I would have done.

But first was it worth it?
A different bike completely. I think the addition of proper sag has helped a lot here, it actually feels like a trailbike - a heavy one with a very high ist gear but yep its fun off road now. The rear suspension is now obviously lacking but that will have to wait a little while.
I put new pads on the front brake and once scrubbed in they are ok, fine for off road. Ive spoken with Aquatic, hes up in Qld and may get an axle machined up and use his caliper mount for the terra brembo set up after Christmas as he is too busy at the moment .
But for now Im just going to ride it. It is like getting a new bike.
The work I had done on the old YZ forks was well worth it and a big shout out to Trooper Lu's in Sydney, talk to Christian if you want a no bullshit quality result.
Ive only just got the 250mm clearance under the guard so Ill drop the forks another 10mm which will give 10mm left out of the triple clamp.
My mechanic didn't use the extra spacer on the axle When the front is properly alligned (by leaving it loose and bouncing the suspension before tightening) the axle sits about 10mm inside the clamp as there is no lug on it like the Terra axle.
I think if you use bar risers you wont get the slow speed handling advantage as much so I recommend shortening the fork to 250mm travel.In fact as soon as tried it the bike felt much more nimble and less weight up top and thats with the fork length increase





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Looks awesome! I know I have WAY more fun riding my bike with the fork conversion.

 

[Rickyme]

Yeah thanks for posting this thread Shawn , I didnt think the terra could be this good.
Im just amazed by how much negativity there is around this mod which basically makes it safer to ride

 

[engineerk9]

I GIVE UP ON THIS THREAD, DONE!!!

WanyeC, AKA (MR KNOW IT ALL) CAN ANSWER ALL YOU QUESTIONS FROM NOW ON.

If anyone wants my help with my fork conversion from this thread I started, you must message me directly.

Shawn please show a little respect WayneC has a huge range of experience & knowledge gained over decades of doing the work, he's more than willing to share that wisdom, be gratefull

 

[engineerk9]

Yeah thanks for posting this thread Shawn , I didnt think the terra could be this good.
Im just amazed by how much negativity there is around this mod which basically makes it safer to ride

The Terry Hay - Shock Treatment conversion makes more sense & is simpler

 

[engineerk9]

Looks awesome! I know I have WAY more fun riding my bike with the fork conversion.

Placebo effect ??

 

[Thumpa]

The Terry Hay - Shock Treatment conversion makes more sense & is simpler

Can you be a little more graffic as to what this conversion consists of?

 

[engineerk9]

Can you be a little more graffic as to what this conversion consists of?

Modifications to both tubes & one of the compression & rebound valves, finally shim pack to suit riders preferences, takes only a few hours, produces literally a magical carpet ride at the front, amazing difference
Terry Hay is a professional Suspension specialist it would be unethical to divulge the specifics

 

[Rickyme]

Modifications to both tubes & one of the compression & rebound valves, finally shim pack to suit riders preferences, takes only a few hours, produces literally a magical carpet ride at the front, amazing difference
Terry Hay is a professional Suspension specialist it would be unethical to divulge the specifics

OMG !!! yes please post another thread ...
You will still end up with the same limited travel and no adjustability

 

[engineerk9]

OMG !!! yes please post another thread ...
You will still end up with the same limited travel and no adjustability

190mm is a reasonable amount of travel, having a great setting for compression & rebound damping, spring & pre-load rates set for individual rider preference for most of us is good enough - certainly for me & I do adventure rides of several thousand kilometres at a time

 

[Rickyme]

fair enough, not disagreeing with your logic there
for me I like the extra travel for the emergency moments and also to make adjustments for when I load a lot of gear on it.
Also my attention span is pretty short so 5-600 km over a couple of days is enough for me.
Probably should have bought a KTM 690

 

[Aquatic]

Just read this thread from Start to finish.

@Shawn - I admire what you have done. Like me you went the "value for money" option. It is how I got started with my conversion kits. Put something out there that is plug and play without have to go to the expense of getting machining done. I agree that my parts are not cheap. But they are cheaper than most.
As a person with an engineering background I have really only have 1 major concern. Brakes and travel can be fixed, but if my understanding of the parts you used is correct. Your forks are no longer parallel!
Without getting into the maths of it, forcing the bigger diameter YZ forks into the smaller Husky lower clamp puts the forks out of parallel by 0.5mm over the distance of the top and bottom clamp. Roughly 0.75mm over the full travel of the fork.
Not a huge a mount, but that will be enough to cause wear of the sliding internals over time.
In my opinion. The ideal fix for you would be to get the lower Husky triple machined out to the correct diameter for the YZ forks.

As I said to Ricky the other day, another option for the brakes is too modify a BMW/Husky OEM front disc to fit a YZ hub. It is possible, I have done it.
Then use the caliper hanger I have and you have the full husky brake system.

Keep the rubber side down!

Cheers
C