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- Aug 24, 2007
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Well, I finally pulled the trigger and did the R6 fork mod (http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/28956-r6-fork.html) on my 2007 FZ6. If you saw my R6 fork comparison post, then you knew it was coming. I got trigger happy with the camera so I thought I might as well post them with some explanations from the pictures and of some modifications that I did to mine.
To do this mod, and it has been mentioned a few times on this form (http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/15252-r6-fork-mod-would-work.html) you need the minimum:
- R6 forks (mine is a parted out 2003)
- R6 front wheel axle (to match the year of fork)
- R6 front wheel axle bolt (to match the axle)
- dako81's (Brad) awesomely machined from RyanK spec'd R6 fork kit which consists of:
2 stainless steel wheel spacers (collars)
2 front fender brackets
2 rear fender brackets
4 stainless steel brake caliper spacers
2 M6x10 button head hex socket screws (these should really be 15mm long)
2 M6x20 flat head hex socket screws (these could be 25mm long)
2 M6x12 flat head hex socket screws (these could be 16mm long)
2 M6 nylock nuts
4 caliper spacers (washers which I didn't bother to measure)
- and tools, various sizes of hex sockets including the 19mm for the front axle, metric sockets, wrenches, phillips screw driver, and CNC machine (okay, not really).
The first thing you need to do is cut up slots in the front fender. I wasn't overly crazy about doing this but the fork upgrade outweighs this small sacrifice any day, and besides, even if you return the bike back to its original equipment, the slots are not easily visible without looking really hard for it. The reason for the slots is the R6 fork front fender mounts sit higher up on the legs than then ones on the FZ6.
To make this task easier, I took the cut-out template and printed it onto a mailing label, then affixed it to the fender.
I cut some areas away from the label before applying it to the fender to make it easier to align it.
Using a 1/8" drill, I piloted a hole on the center mark of the half circle at the top of the cut-out.
I then enlarged the hole with incremental steps of larger drills. With a razor saw, I cut inside the line leaving ample space for error and removed the cut-out. Using a Dremel (115) high speed carbide cutter, I got as close to the line as I dared and then finished the rest off with flat and round files.
Peel away the cut-out template and the slot looks very acceptable, even for the anal retentive like me.
Mount the front and rear fender brackets on the R6 legs.
I kept the legs together with the axle in place. The fender is placed on the legs while I checked the dry fit. If I wasn't a picky person, the rest of this installation would have been completed on this same day.
The fender as it sits on the FZ6 fork legs has a gap between it and the fender large enough to pass a 1/4" drill through it.
With the original fender brackets, I felt the fender was too close to the legs for my liking. If I tried to manipulate the position of the fender to attain a descent enough of a gap, the fender would either be under tension or not run parallel to the legs, messing up the line. I used some cardboard as spacers to maintain a gap between the fender and the R6 legs and in doing so felt the rear brackets could be shorter; 1/8" shorter to be exact.
To do this mod, and it has been mentioned a few times on this form (http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/15252-r6-fork-mod-would-work.html) you need the minimum:
- R6 forks (mine is a parted out 2003)
- R6 front wheel axle (to match the year of fork)
- R6 front wheel axle bolt (to match the axle)
- dako81's (Brad) awesomely machined from RyanK spec'd R6 fork kit which consists of:
2 stainless steel wheel spacers (collars)
2 front fender brackets
2 rear fender brackets
4 stainless steel brake caliper spacers
2 M6x10 button head hex socket screws (these should really be 15mm long)
2 M6x20 flat head hex socket screws (these could be 25mm long)
2 M6x12 flat head hex socket screws (these could be 16mm long)
2 M6 nylock nuts
4 caliper spacers (washers which I didn't bother to measure)
- and tools, various sizes of hex sockets including the 19mm for the front axle, metric sockets, wrenches, phillips screw driver, and CNC machine (okay, not really).
The first thing you need to do is cut up slots in the front fender. I wasn't overly crazy about doing this but the fork upgrade outweighs this small sacrifice any day, and besides, even if you return the bike back to its original equipment, the slots are not easily visible without looking really hard for it. The reason for the slots is the R6 fork front fender mounts sit higher up on the legs than then ones on the FZ6.
To make this task easier, I took the cut-out template and printed it onto a mailing label, then affixed it to the fender.
I cut some areas away from the label before applying it to the fender to make it easier to align it.
Using a 1/8" drill, I piloted a hole on the center mark of the half circle at the top of the cut-out.
I then enlarged the hole with incremental steps of larger drills. With a razor saw, I cut inside the line leaving ample space for error and removed the cut-out. Using a Dremel (115) high speed carbide cutter, I got as close to the line as I dared and then finished the rest off with flat and round files.
Peel away the cut-out template and the slot looks very acceptable, even for the anal retentive like me.
Mount the front and rear fender brackets on the R6 legs.
I kept the legs together with the axle in place. The fender is placed on the legs while I checked the dry fit. If I wasn't a picky person, the rest of this installation would have been completed on this same day.
The fender as it sits on the FZ6 fork legs has a gap between it and the fender large enough to pass a 1/4" drill through it.
With the original fender brackets, I felt the fender was too close to the legs for my liking. If I tried to manipulate the position of the fender to attain a descent enough of a gap, the fender would either be under tension or not run parallel to the legs, messing up the line. I used some cardboard as spacers to maintain a gap between the fender and the R6 legs and in doing so felt the rear brackets could be shorter; 1/8" shorter to be exact.
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