TR650 fork conversion - YZ/WR

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Aquatic

Race Dog
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
1,907
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Location
Buderim, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Bike
BMW F650GS / Dakar
Mike Malloy(here in Aus) contacted me and asked if I could help him with the WR fork conversion on his TR650.

After some discussion we decided to get his bike into my workshop to at least measure it up and check what I would need to do to make my BMW conversion work on the Terra.
Due to circumstances, mike's bike was off the road and in need of repairs. So His mate Ralph's bike was brought in

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So I took measurements and did some wheel swapping. Put the Husky wheel on my YZ converted Dakar. And what do you know, no special parts to make. I only needed to make the axle 5mm longer.
The Terra has a 195mm fork pitch and the yamaha triples have a 190mm offset.
Could it real be this easy? No not really!

The Terra and KYB forks have the same diametre at the top clamp. But at the bottom clamp the Terra forks measure Ø58mm and the KYB forks Ø58.4mm.
Only 1 way fix this. Machine out the lower clamp to the correct size.

All was put on hold for a bit until Mike's forks and bike made it to my workshop.
Ralph's bikes left with a dire needs for headstock bearings.

What i did do while waiting was machine up the new axle kits.
Thai is what is needed
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Axle and nut, Non ABS spacer and a caliper hanger.

Once all the goodies arrived it was time to strip Mike's bike down and start the conversion.

Old and new
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One thing I did notice was that Mike needed some headstock bearings as well.
Stripped them out and found this. The wear is clearly visible
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And also something that bothers me. The bearing locations have been powder coated? IMHO this is not the way it should be.
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I removed the powder coating before re assembly.

Next was to machine the lower clamp
setup
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Boring head ready to go
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Machining done it was time to put it all back together.
New bearings greased up and in, lower clamp and spindle all tightened up and ready
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The manual says tighten to 19Nm. Not having a driver for the ring nut I tightened up by feel. Never had a problem with this way in the past.

Because of the nature of Mike's cockpit setup, the headlight shroud had to go on at the same time as the top clamp.
Top clamp on, shroud on, KYB fork in place.
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Top clamp nut tightened to 80Nm
Fork tube clamp bolts to 19Nm

Time to install the front wheel
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Everything lines up just sweet
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Next is the brakes
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Strip down the OEM caliper hanger
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Transfer the pin grommet and plate to the Ratel hanger
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Put it together
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And install on the bike. The disc is perfectly spaced in the hanger
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And there you have it, all together
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As you can see, you wouldn't even notice what was done unless you were told or noticed the colour differences.

I'm not sure if the OEM brake line would work with the extra length forks. Mike already had an aftermarket brake line installed.

Mike's headlight shroud made things a little difficult, but I would say that the whole operation can be done in a day. That is if you have a machine ready to cut the lower clamp.

Feel free to ask questions
 
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