R6 front end on FZ6R


Lilday

New Member
Alright so I've ran a few searches on multiple sites, and I can't find anybody who has successfully put an R6 front on an FZ6R.

So, here are my questions. I'm gonna go ahead and predict this thread will be stickied in the coming months - because I'm going to do everything possible to make this possible and others may find my findings useful.

  • Has anybody successfully done this?
  • Does anybody know if it is even possible?
  • If so, what year parts from an R6 will fit our bike?

I'm looking for the improvement in suspension & braking from the R6.

I predict the process will require Forks, Brakes, Wheel, and Yokes from the R6. Essentially the entire front end.

My bike is a 2010 XJ6N (Naked FZ6R - UK Spec).

Current progress:

15th September 2013 - Idea
06th October 2013 - Bike booked in for service - gonna chat with mechanic
12th October 2013 - Spoke with mechanic @ Yamaha dealer. He seems to think it is definitely possible with some machining of the steering stem
13th November 2013 - MT03 headlight bought
20th November 2013 - Decided to go for it and buy R6 forks, wheel, brakes etc. The only R6 at the local breakers was not for sale :(
23rd November 2013 - Decided it doesn't need to be R6. If the stem requires machining anyway, I can look into GSXR/R6/R1/ZX6/ZX10 forks as options
26th November 2013 - Just submitted a fork to PartFinderUK to try and source an R6 front end.
28th November 2013 - R6 Front end sourced. Full load (bars/grips/controls/clutch lever/brake lever/master cylinder/hoses/yokes/forks/calipres/discs/wheel/mudguard etc
30th November 2013 - R6 Front end collected
02nd December 2013 - All bits cleaned up and looking good. I've found that the XJ6/FZ6R steering stem is 23mm in diameter and the R6 steering stem is 27mm in diameter, so will require top yoke modification.
16th December 2013 - Bar mounts ordered - I intend to drill and strengthen the R6 top yoke
18th December 2013 - The FZ6R stem CANNOT be pressed into the R6 stem - Also, the R6 stem is slightly shorter than the FZ6R stem - will need somehow extending
18th December 2013 - Custom bearings ordered to fit R6 stem in FZ6R frame. These are: TOP: 30x47x12, BOTTOM: 31x55x18
21st December 2013 - Bearings and Renthal bar mounts arrived ALMOST ready to go - the machining shop is closed over the holidays :( Next updates in January I guess
12th January 2014 - Bearings arrived. Old bearings removed at engineering place. Bottom Yoke sent for Powdercoating (black). Tire fitted to front wheel. Top yoke ordered from topyokes.com
24th January 2013 - Top yoke returned from powder coating.

Next steps:

Waiting for delivery of top Yoke
Paint R6 mudguard red to match bike

Other useful links:

Custom FZ6R with R6 forks (Successful conversion from 2010). User no longer active.
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f87/custom-fz6r-18629/index5.html

Custom FZ6R with R6 forks (No updates since 2010 - looks unsuccessful). User no longer active.
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f88/r6-forks-fz6r-18359/index3.html

AllBallsRacing Fork Conversion:
http://www.allballsracing.com/index.php/forkconversion


Images:
Bike with original forks:


Bike with future plans (Photoshop):


R6 bits:


R6 parts arrived:


The XJ6/FZ6R steering stem is 23mm in diameter.
The R6 steering stem is 27mm in diameter.


- The bearings needed for this swap are here:
(For 2009- R6 forks) TOP: 30x47x12, BOTTOM: 31x55x18
99-3540-5 All Balls Racing
99-3538 All Balls Racing

The R6 stem is shorter than the FZ6R - meaning I'll have to get it extended if possible, or find another way to fit the lock nut.

Bearings are ordered, as well as new bar mounts. I'll be drilling & strengthening the R6 top yoke.



All coming together.

 
Last edited:

MistahT

Mistah T
Elite Member

Hellgate

New Member
As long as the static sag is set correctly no problem.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 

Lilday

New Member
UPDATE 06 OCTOBER 2013

I've booked my bike in for a service on the 12th October where I'll speak to the Yamaha mechanics and see if they can offer any insight.

In the mean time, I was out on a ride today and came across an FZ8.

(I think in America this is an FZ6?)

Either way - I thin the forks/front from that may be a better candidate if the R6 is not successful.
 
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Lilday

New Member
Updated OP with links and latest progress...

Still not even started and doing research - but this will happen.
 

Lilday

New Member
Another update:

I have R6 parts ready to get started :D



Forks
Yokes
Front wheel inc spindle and spacers
Mud guard
Clip-on bars
R6 controls (horn/lights etc)
Brake discs
Brake calipers
Brake hoses
Brake levers
 

SoCal600

New Member
wouldnt it be alot easier to find fully adjustable 41mm forks and just drop them in ? i think honda f3 forks are 41mm i know the 99 yzf1000 thunder cat or what ever is 41mm. all u would need is just the forks, wheels and brakes. with the r6 i think you need to bore out the steering stem so the whold tripple tree will fit.....
 

ST3RL0

New Member
wouldnt it be alot easier to find fully adjustable 41mm forks and just drop them in ? i think honda f3 forks are 41mm i know the 99 yzf1000 thunder cat or what ever is 41mm. all u would need is just the forks, wheels and brakes. with the r6 i think you need to bore out the steering stem so the whold tripple tree will fit.....
cbr600rr from 05 onwards have 41mm forks
 

Lilday

New Member
It would be easier to do that yeah, but then there may be issues with brakes/front wheel compatibility etc

This way I get better forks, better brakes with radial calipers, and it doesn't actually look too difficult.

Updates:

- I've got a friend at Yamaha checking for an old XJ6 (FZ6R) yoke/steering stem. Having this would mean I don't need to disassemble my bike - and so I can have all the engineering work done whilst my bike is still on the road and then (hopefully) do the swap in one day.

- I've contacted the engineering place local to me, they said they've done similar things with other bikes so should be alright.

Bottom yoke and steering stem from R6:


XJ6 and R6 yoke nuts showing the size difference:


My basic measurements (probably not exact) tell me that:

  • The XJ6 (FZ6R) steering stem is 23mm in diameter.
  • The R6 steering stem is 27mm in diameter.

Therefore, I will need to use some form of washer(s) or spacer in the top-yoke, to hold it perfectly in place. Hopefully the engineering place can press some sort of 5mm spacer into the top yoke to hold it securely.

Here is a diagram of my plan, to help understand.

 
Y

yellowfz

Are the bearings larger on the R6? Bearings will make the shaft center in the yoke if the bearings fit into the yoke the triple clamp will fit.
 

bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member
Y

yellowfz

bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member

Lilday

New Member
The problem is the length of the steering stem though.

If I buy new bearings I'll need to get a new steering stem made to the R6 threads but the FZ6R length, Get me?

If I simply pop the R6 steering column out of the bottom yoke, and pop the FZ6R one in, then I can use all the existing spacers and bearings from the FZ6R and have the top yoke hole re-sized (They can press a spacer in or weld over it and re-drill).

I need to re-check all of this (measure the length of both steering columns) before anything goes head. I'm still trying to source an FZ6R bottom yoke to work on.
 
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Y

yellowfz

Did we miss something here, I thought I read it worked. :)

"Ask and ye shall receive...

The All Balls top bearing came with some shims to allow you to put underneath the dust boot. I left the shims out, and let the stem bearing nut push the dust boot down a little further than stock to gain the stem threads for the triple nut. Otherwise, it all installs just as the stock FZ6 setup." [Fork Conversion Bearing Chart - Page 2 - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum]

Setup is as follows:

2008 R6 Triple Clamp/Stem ($100)
2008 R6 USD Forks ($245)
2008 R6 Brake Rotors ($10)
2007 R6 Radial Calipers ($85)
2007 R6 Master Cylinder (Came with calipers)
2007 R6 Front Fender ($20)
2006 R6 Throttle Assembly ($20)
2008 FZ6 Front Wheel/Spacers
2008 FZ6 Front Axle
All Balls Top Bearing 99-3540-5 ($40)
All Balls Bottom Bearing 99-3538 ($30)
2009 CBR1000RR HeliBars Black ($180)
[Fork Conversion Bearing Chart - Page 2 - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum]
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Lilday

New Member
Did we miss something here, I thought I read it worked. :)

"Ask and ye shall receive...

The All Balls top bearing came with some shims to allow you to put underneath the dust boot. I left the shims out, and let the stem bearing nut push the dust boot down a little further than stock to gain the stem threads for the triple nut. Otherwise, it all installs just as the stock FZ6 setup." [Fork Conversion Bearing Chart - Page 2 - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum]

Setup is as follows:

2008 R6 Triple Clamp/Stem ($100)
2008 R6 USD Forks ($245)
2008 R6 Brake Rotors ($10)
2007 R6 Radial Calipers ($85)
2007 R6 Master Cylinder (Came with calipers)
2007 R6 Front Fender ($20)
2006 R6 Throttle Assembly ($20)
2008 FZ6 Front Wheel/Spacers
2008 FZ6 Front Axle
All Balls Top Bearing 99-3540-5 ($40)
All Balls Bottom Bearing 99-3538 ($30)
2009 CBR1000RR HeliBars Black ($180)
[Fork Conversion Bearing Chart - Page 2 - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum]
That is an FZ6, not an FZ6R.

The naming conventions are similar, but form what I've read the bikes are very different.
 

SoCal600

New Member
u said that swapping the front end with other 41mm forks might cause issues and bad compatibility with wheel and such, arent u already doing that with the r6 front end ? ur using r6 front wheel forks and brakes. sounds like the same thing as if u were swapping with drop in 41mm forks. please dont take this wrong im not challenging you. but if fully adjustable 41mm forks from a cbr 600rr are already "race ready" you could leave ur tripples ans stem alone and just literaly drop them in with the front wheel brakes and everything attached. hell if u had the master cylinder u wouldnt need to change the lines. i dont know what u meen by the r6 having radial brakes, ours dont ? i know u either have fixed or floating disc brakes. not bagging on you just asking an honest question, from one rider to another. i think i could find a full 600rr front end with brakes, master cylinder and wheel for under $500 and it would take me about 45 minutes to drop my old forks out and throw these in and i would have supersport front suspension fully adjustable.....
 


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