*blush* You say that to all the part horders. Pretty much (if those are the correct bearings, I put the stock bearings for a DR650 in mine). You'll want to put in new springs at some point ... something about 50% stronger. If you can buy the whole front end. PS - I have a friend who'sd putting the whole front end from an RMZ250 in his ... Those springs are a little stronger ...
The stock DR bearings are 52mm OD, as are airheads'. That's what makes this such a nice swap. I just bought a Showa USD front end for Suzuki; it's in the mail to me. Gonna make me a scrambler out of a basket case R60 I've got. Actually, "basket case" is generous. Frame, motor, part of a wiring harness, gearbox, and final drive. That's what I've got. Easy peasy.
Bump for this tread as I'm looking for more information about the conversion out of necessity (unholy union after unholy connection with truck)
there's mention of DR650 forks being same as DRZ ... if true that would greatly expand the number donor bikes.
The DR650 fork is only the same in apperance as a DRZ400 fork. The DR is a 43mm fork the DRZ is 49mm. the DR has damper rods to control the damping, the DRZ is a cartridge fork. There would not be much benefit from fitting a DR fork to an airhead. You could improve the stock forks and get as good of a result.
If you go with DR forks, make sure you have the wheel too (DR650 or DR250). But if you go with the DRZ, then many years of RM 125/250 wheels are also compatible.
I am looking to put a set of DRZ400 forks on my 95 R100GS. Is there anyway I can use my BMW rim? I have an upgraded brake kit with a 320mm disc to install as well. From my research it seems I will loose some offset, how will this affect my handling? I do ride high speeds as well as offroad like fire roads. Thanks for any help!
Update...I did this. Haven't ridden it yet, but it all went together pretty simple. I used the spacers that came in the bearing packaging. It would be nice to have an elegant machined spacer, but I don't have access to a lathe. So I have three steel washers of the correct size. I also welded a wider steering stop to the headtube. I did shorten the forks. Cut the springs and installed a spacer to the damper rod, as described above somewhere. In this pic, the tape that says "remove" shows how to cut the spring spacer if you don't want to cut the spring. But I cut the spring instead.
