what forks to use

G

gassergrant

New member
Hi all im thinking about modernizing the old girl as im starting to find the 45 zokes crap.

ive been looking in to kyb sss or the Honda crf showa . I personally would like some that just bolted straight up but from reading stuff that does not look possible can the original clamps be used with mods etc

what is needed for the kyb and what do I need and from which year

the Honda showa again what's needed and what do I do

what about ktm wp or is it a new bike but the new one are out of my price range at the mo

thanks in advance for info :)
 
Search BrantMartel for his 47mm Showa Conversion. Believe he may have ran the honda brakes, front wheel, axel, and forks with some machining and mods to the OEM 45mm triple clamps.

KYB is similar approach but use Yamaha triples too. Lots of info in a thread for this.

I wouldn't waste you time with WP. Will have to go through the conversion process and still end up with a so so result. From what I read on the 'other site', some of them are going the Showa route.
 
What problems are you having with the 45's ? There might be a solution by working with what's already there instead of starting again from scratch. Also, putting time and money into extensive modification of a 10 + year old bike might be false economy.
 
Yeah man I fiollow ya there that's why I'm trying to see if it's worth doing
Basically I feel every bump and am fighting with the bike, I noticed it after riding a crf and the glided over it all nicely
I am going to have a play with the forks next time I'm out at a enduro practice
 
Are you referring to MX-forks when you are talking about showa and KYB conversions? In my mind mx forks will be a pain over bumps and roots.
 
gnilrub said:
Are you referring to MX-forks when you are talking about showa and KYB conversions? In my mind mx forks will be a pain over bumps and roots.
Click to expand...

Talking about closed chamber forks. A fork can be tuned for a particular application so obviously as part of the conversion the forks would be valved and sprung to suit the rider and purpose.

In terms of cost and time investment, having a reputable tuner set the 45mm zokes up would be the best approach. With open chamber forks most tuners can set them up well for a specific application easy enough, but the scope of their use isn't as broad as a well configured CC. For a plush woods bike that doesn't see too many big impacts it shouldn't be too hard at all.
 
I use the bike for both Mx and enduro I'm just trying to get ideas to see if it's worth doing or getting a year or so old bike, I can't fault the bike it's self but will need money throwen at it as it's a bit tired looking. I was thinking tranformation kit too.
Like the new 300 racing tho very nice
 
I put a set of '07 YZ450 forks on my '06 EC300. Stock valving and springs as far as I can tell. I cleaned them out, put in new oil and new fork seals.

The YZ forks are light years ahead of the 45mm Zokes. They are way more stable and track straight where I point the front wheel. The YZ forks work much better at any speed, under any condition, from riding rocks on 4x4 rock crawl courses to skipping across the tops of whoops. They absorb whoops and huge trail chop without any complaints or front end deflection. They rock!


This is what I did...

Installed Yamaha 2007 YZ450F 48mm forks and 2009 YZ450F triple clamps. The later year triple clamps (around 2009) had 2 bar mount positions. Please note that around 2010 Yamaha changed the upper fork tube outside diameter so you need to check on triple clamp & fork compatibility if you match from different years.

I welded on a steering rotation stop from a 1985 CR500 frame that was lying around. I left the old bearing race in when welding. However, it still distorted the bearing race housing in the frame that required some die grinder work to open up.

I used Bearing Connections steering head bearings for a 2009 YZ450.

I used the 2006 stock GasGas wheel and brake rotor. This required...
1) Installation of the smaller bearings. I used a Moose bearing set for a 2001 GasGas front wheel.
2) Install front brake Braking bracket POW13.
3) 2006 YZ250F axle

I also needed a YZ front fender.

These forks have spoiled me. It was well worth the cost and effort.
 
Last edited:
hi Eric thanks for your input mate ill start looking out for the bit and build it up, the bike is a bloody good bike old or new. its just the zokes that let it down
 
I sent my forks to Drew Smith WER in PA and he turned my 45 Zokes into some very good forks. Very good in the rocks and roots still to be desired on an mx track.
 
Well I've taken the plunge & bought a set of local '06 YZ250 sss forks, axle & triples. I'm probably going to try mod the triples to get steering rotation stops but we'll see. Biggest thing to do first is machine up a caliper mount as I'm too cheap (out of funds) to buy the braking one.

Thanks for the ideas esp Eric.
 
(F5) said:
Well I've taken the plunge & bought a set of local '06 YZ250 sss forks, axle & triples. I'm probably going to try mod the triples to get steering rotation stops but we'll see. Biggest thing to do first is machine up a caliper mount as I'm too cheap (out of funds) to buy the braking one.

Thanks for the ideas esp Eric.
Click to expand...
On my 08' SSS forks (different caliper mount than your 06) I used / modified the oe GG caliper mount. One mounting hole lined up and I just welded one mounting hole shut and drilled and tapped a new one. Just get crafty if you need to. I did shim it out from the forks with a couple shim washers to center it on the disc.
 
Last edited:
nknudsen said:
On my 08' SSS forks (different caliper mount than your 06) I used / modified the oe GG caliper mount. One mounting hole lined up and I just welded one mounting hole shut and drilled and tapped a new one. Just get crafty if you need to.
Click to expand...

Cool, yeah I'd read that post during my research. I've done a few brackets for road & roadrace bikes so I'm not that scared of it, but I could do without $80 & shipping added onto the conversion cost. Better spent on bearings for which I'll need steering & smaller ID front wheel by the looks.

I usually dummy up plates in plywood to get the holes aligned & then transpose to allly.
 
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