[re7426]

Hey all, I went for a ride today and snapped a few pictures so that I could share my updates. I have gotten a few rides in this season, but this was the first long ride on my new swingarm.

The new mods/maintenance from this winter are:

- 06-07 GSXR swingarm
- 636 rear shock
- heat wrapped exhaust sections
- painted wheels
- +1/-1
- lightened flywheel
- new tank pad
- adjusted valves
- heated grips

Overall, I think the bike is coming along nicely. There are still a few things on my list but this should satisfy me for this season at least.. Oh yeah, I have a tire on the way, so don't judge. haha

Let me know what you guys/gals think!

 

[NIKDSZ1000]

Nice conversion on the swing arm. Was there any benefit other then cosmetic? Did you weigth the stocker compaired to the new?

 

[mode3sour]

Really love the rawness, and the gold/white combo of this bike

 

[re7426]

Nice conversion on the swing arm. Was there any benefit other then cosmetic? Did you weigth the stocker compaired to the new?

Well, to be honest I didn't weigh the new one. But if i were to guess, the new one is probably a little heavier than stock. Definitely more rigid though. I swapped it because I was tired of looking at my bike without being able to ride it... so i tore into it. It was quite an ordeal. I would not recommend it unless you have access to a machine shop like I do. Cosmetically it looks great in my opinion, plus I don't think anyone has done it before? The 636 shock made the biggest difference in ride quality. It is like a new bike. Thanks for the positive comments .

 

[re7426]

here is a pic from the swap, it was like this for about a month while I fabbed parts and got everything lined up. good thing i have a climate controlled garage.. (aka: my bedroom. haha)

 

[BigSexyZ]

Very nice, you're just like me. I have my Z partially stripped down in the living room. haha

 

[03kraz1000]

Nice work, that swingarm definitely looks good . . . I'm diggin the different wheel color too! How's that exhuast wrap holding up?

 

[bjn]

Those poor brake lines. Nice work though.

 

[re7426]

Nice work, that swingarm definitely looks good . . . I'm diggin the different wheel color too! How's that exhuast wrap holding up?

The wrap is holding up great so far. It is a generic brand, but I took my time with it and had great results. We will see how well it lasts long term though. I did it because I kept hitting my heel on the pipe and leaving melted boot scuffs that I couldn't get off. Not sure about the whole moisture thing on the metal though. Has anyone had ill side effects (rust) by wrapping their exhaust?

Those poor brake lines. Nice work though.

ya, I knew that someone would call me out on that... I had just taken the front wheel off before the picture, and wired the calipers up shortly after this picture. No worries.

 

[BigSexyZ]

Unless your bike sits out in the rain I doubt you'll have to worry about rust underneath the wrap. Just let it idle for a bit after you wash it to dry the wrap out. Besides, if it's stainless or titanium, rust shouldn't be an issue.

 

[atschach]

Sweet looking Z. I like the wheel color. I am currently tossing around the idea of painting my wheels race gold, but I dunno with the black and titanium and other gold I have if it would be too much. Did you use high temp paint over the heat wrap? I painted mine and everyone I talked to at different shops and looking online said to paint it or it will fade in certain places and look bad.

 

[re7426]

Sweet looking Z. I like the wheel color. I am currently tossing around the idea of painting my wheels race gold, but I dunno with the black and titanium and other gold I have if it would be too much. Did you use high temp paint over the heat wrap? I painted mine and everyone I talked to at different shops and looking online said to paint it or it will fade in certain places and look bad.

Ya i sprayed them with black header paint. It worked really well and soaked in nicely. I too was weary about the gold wheels, but I figured if they looked bad I would just blast and powder coat them anyways. I like them for now. I used VHT engine enamel gold with a wheel clear coat and they seem to be really durable so far after a few cleanings and about 500 miles. Time will tell though.

 

[UglyMutt]

Those poor brake lines. Nice work though.

Dont worry about that.

 

[wood7169]

Looks good :righton:

 

[Zdunbar77]

:notworthyso sexxxy

 

[Gandal]

Hello everyone, your bike is very very nice, but I can a few questions:
the swingarm is 100% compatible? the swingarm pivot bolt, the bolt wheel, and wheel spacers for the alignment, are same?
the shock location is the same? a bit rough on the right.

thanks for your answers

 

[re7426]

Thanks for the positive comments guys, it means a lot considering the work I put into it.

Gandal, as far as the compatibility goes it is in no way an easy swap. I am using the z1000 pivot and rear axle. For the rear axle, i made custom axle blocks to fit the z1000 axle into the gsxr swinger. The pivot axle required me to turn (lathe) the internal gsxr sleeve bushings' ID to one that matched the stock z1000 pivot axle's OD. After those things, I had to custom make spacers for both the pivot and rear axles. Once this was done, I milled down the gsxr brake caliper bracket to fit into the original location ( the z1000 hub is pretty wide), pressed in a sleeve bearing to accommodate the z1000 axle size, and got everything lined up with the spacers.
Once everything was lined up properly, it was time to deal with the shock/linkage. For this, I used 636 shock and linkage components with lowering links to bring the bike down to about the stock height. the gsxr swing arm geometry is a little different from the z1000. the offset on the shock was different so i had to mill a little bit off of the upper and lower shock mounts in order to shift the shock over a little bit. Because I did that I needed to make spacers for the rest of the linkage to shift over that same amount.

So, to answer your question, it is not very compatible. I am not sure if there are pre-made parts that could be used for the swap, because that may be easier. In hindsight, I should have just done a SSSA... Maybe I will do that next time though when I get bored.

 

[Gandal]

thanks for your answers, congratulations again a great job, but for me it's hard, I would need the drawings of all parts made. If one day you like to do a guide with pictures I will try to do.