Bandit Front Forks On GS1150

[geezer1967]

I have heard that this is a mod that will vault the 1150 into the modern braking world. My questions are: what if any is the difference in total length between the 1150 forks and the Bandits; if there is a difference, what methods are used to equalize the length; what wheels are available so that the front wheel matches the back without having to find Merlin's magic; and does anyone have pics of the conversion.

Thanks!

[pedda]

I for one wouldn't bother lengthening the B12 forks in a 1150 as long as you do average street riding. They are shorter, yes, can't tell exact measurements though. A slightly shorter fork will give you  a better handling, the B12 fork is long enough to not lead you into ground clearance issues, at least it is on a Katana. Sporty riding is still possible.

I would throw away that 16" front wheel. Similar rim design have been used in Slabbies and several Triumphs (as a guess: early 90ies models). By using these 18" rims you will regain some height at the front.

A mate of mine took the whole Triumph front for his Katana. Better brakes included. Must have a trawl through my thousands of pics to find a shot of that one...

[pedda]

Found some. It's the blueish Kat.





Here's another shot of that bike in his workshop:





In the background you can see his race Kat. And if I'm not mistaken the front end in that one is off a Triumph as well:

[arnout]

Although the B12 forks are still quite long (and so are a popular choice for upgrading aircooled Suzukis), compared to original EFE forks they are quite a bit shorter (as EFE forks are really long..)
But if you're going to do a full front end swap including yokes, dropping the front is a good thing.. Because if you were to fit the B12 front at the original rake of the EFE the steering would become very heavy.. So the shorter forks will steepen the angle of the forks, thus getting nearer to the original setup of the Bandit forks in the donor bike.. Perhaps it is still not enough though and further steepening is needed if the EFE takes too much force to steer after the swap.. Lifting the rear of the bike is a way to both steepen the forks and increase ground clearence.. Another (costlier) way to shorten the trail is by fitting custom made yokes with a larger offset instead of the B12 ones..

As far as fitting the B12 front end goes, the steering stem is too long and would need to be swapped for a GSX-R one (of perhaps the one from the EFE can be made to fit the B12 top yoke).. Sadly though the Bandit press fit is a slightly bigger diameter (do a search on this topic on the board)..
An easier way to fit Bandit forks is to use the yokes and stem from a GSX-R750J or GSX-R1100K as these have 43mm fork tubes like the B12, and the stem is the right length for the EFE..

As for the front wheel itself.. Yeah, like Pedda writes, 17" is the way to go, mostly because of the best tyre options in this size..
Keeping the 16" stock wheel (at least the wheel diameter) might however help with regaining some handling if you're not keen to lift the rear, now I come to think about it..