Winter project: upgrading time! (R6 forks and more...)

Here's what I got, from a YZF600R, ones a 98 the other was a 2005
Stock steel lower triple.
20201130_205014.jpg 20201130_205022.jpg 20201130_205007.jpg
 
And another question? Are you using the stock R6 lower triple and stem? Is that lower triple steel or aluminium?

Im running the original aluminium R6 lower tripple including the stem. Unmodified with the exception of added stops. Details should be in the first pages.
 
Would be interesting to know the weight of early R6 (43 mm RWU) ,with triples, compared to FZ/FZR 38 mm forks with triples. The steel vs alloy triples may well be 0.5 to 1 kilo just there. Obviously, the R6 is a more modern cartridge fork, while the FZ/FZR is a traditional damping rod type.
 
Im running the original aluminium R6 lower tripple including the stem. Unmodified with the exception of added stops. Details should be in the first pages.

What modifications did you make to the steering stops Bjorn? I’ve just re-read your thread from page 1 but didn’t see you mention this? I did skim-read so I may have missed it?

Daniel.
 
Here is picture of the steering stops
IMG_20201202_204323749.jpg

IMG_20201202_204332928.jpg


Made a new handlebar riser clamp, The old one was solid steel and could use some weight shedding hehe
IMG_20201202_205752082.jpg


Also started with a proto of the brake pedal. Working in CAD is one thing, but some times you need to fab up something. It looks like its going to be tight but with a rotating pedal tip it could work.
IMG_20201206_171052908.jpg
 
Still impressive work! Are you going to keep the stock brake shaft/arm setup, and use a short linkage? That looks like it will make things pretty crowded around the footpeg and brake pedal.
On my RD 350, which is very similar, I ended up having the linkage arm almost horizontal, under the footpeg, and the linkage behind the footpeg. This using LSL pegs, with similar concentric pedal bearing as you have.
On that RD, I am now almost finished converting to cable actuation, quite similar to that on old Yamaha roadracers with drum rear brake (TR3, early TZ, etc)
This gives a much simpler, lighter an neater rear brake setup. I used rear brake cable from Venhill in the UK, made for an old KX400 MXer.
Have you considered cable actuation for your bike? It is definitely worthwhile looking into IMHO.
 
Exactly what im gonna do! Running the stock linkage on the bike with the arm running underneath the peg to the splined shaft. I bought a old brake pedal with the same splines, cut that up and weld a small arm to it.

I plan on keeping the drum this year. Its not the original one but from a TX750. I know that i need 10° of rotation to actuate it. Originally I planned on making the brake pedal longer (with the pivot behind the peg) to create a longer arm. However after some testing with a C-clamp half way on the original brake pedal, I found it should work. With the better front brakes i barley use the rear anyway.

I have not considered a cable. In the future I want to run a disk setup. But to prevent scope creep I will do that some other time:D

If im gonna mess with the rear brake, I want to combine it with a new swingarm (lighter and compatible with wider tires, new hub, disk, diskcarrier, calliper and lighter axle. Toooo much for this winter haha.
 
Hi, it's been awhile

Been working on the bike a lot since basically everything is closed around here. Spend most my time on the rearsets, are a few trial and errors they are shaping up! Learned that making simple prototypes to confirm all the dimensions and properties pays off. Instead of making them in aluminium straight away :whistle:

here was the first machined brake pedal. The tip wasn't ready but while fitting it to the bike, i didn't like the look. To bulky. It did show me that my concept works and the brake is going to work (lever and force wise).
brake lever V1.jpg

brake lever V1_2.jpg


So after this it was back to the digital drawing board (again haha) to come up with another design. More pleasing to the eye and lighter.
Rempedaal versie 5000-1.jpg

Rempedaal 5000 tip.jpg


I liked the idea, it looks better and the brake tip is supported on both ends so a bit stronger.
rempedaal 5000-2.jpg

was able to shave of some more grams compared to the previous design

Rempedaal versie 5000-3.jpg
Rempedaal versie 5000-4.jpg

Im happy how this turned out! Cant describe how many hours it took me to get this rearset in combination with kickstarter to work.

brake bolt.jpg

Made a stainless bolt for the brake tip to pivot around.
 
For the shifter I used the same design, in order to create a matching pair.
shifter 1.jpg

Its hiding in there somewhere...

shifter 2.jpg

shifter done.jpg

I have some combinations to get the force to throw ratio right. Going to need to test that on the road.
In case somebody's interested, I bought a used shifter and brake pedal on the junkyard in order to re-use the spline. And remodel the rest. The parts I got, and which fit the XS are:

brake spline: Yamaha Virago XV 750
Shifter spline: Yamaha YBR 125 (2005)

got these because they were the cheapest. While researching that I also found these models have a very good change of working. But i cannot confirm it 100%

Brake: XS750, XS850, RD350, RD400, XV920
shifter: honda CB 350, CB500F, XS 850, SR 500, KZ750, XS400

Maybe this pops up in a future search request*

That pretty much finishes the rearsets. It was a great learning experience, both in CAD and CAM. Right now im gonna send the parts of for anodizing. Most of the alloy's I used are incredibly strong but have very poor corrosion resistance. In case you are wondering how the whole ''set'' looks:
XS 650 rearsets complete.jpg
 
I have to say that chasing weight in every part is quite addictive haha. A bit like that Mazda philosophy, shave grams on every part to add lightness. I know the bike will never be a powerhouse, but removing weight will definitely help with the handling and acceleration.

I realize that i'm not really following the 80/20 rule here. Since most gains in weight can probably be found elsewhere. But making a new swingarm of even a new frame it not really fitting into the 2021 timeline haha. Maybe some other year. We all know these projects never finish.

In case you want to see more ''realtime'' updates, might want to take a look on Instagram. I always need to sit down and upload all the picture here so yeah....
https://www.instagram.com/bjornswarte/
 
all right, last one for now:

Ignition coil bracket from the PRE-CNC era haha:D
coil bracket 1.jpg


and the 2021 model
Coil bracket 2.jpg


Since the rearsets are sort of done, im now working on the new battery-/electronics tray underneath the seat. The battery used to be neatly tucked away underneath the swingarm. But after growing up and learning the hard way that its a massive pain in the ass location to get to if you have electrical troubles:shootme:

Ask me how I know (Help save my trip........)

Im relocating the ignition module, and making a non-CNC bracket. Can barely believe it haha. Easiest thing to do would be to bend a steel strip. But yeah.. you know... the weight and stuff. Kinda fun to make something in the shed every now and then.

relocation ign.jpg

ign bracket 2.jpg
 
received_227095485565716.jpeg Nice to see that I'm not the only weight obsessed XS owner
And I'm still both impressed and envious of your cad/cam skills and resources!

I would love to have a set of your rearset plates, as the attempt I made, look bland in comparison....The only change I would have done, is using a bit more conventional looking pegs/ rubbers. But that is a purely subjective thing, mainly looks.
Also, for anyone looking for the lightest possible folding pegs, the original bare cast alloy pegs from early Ducati Monster/ 916 are hard to beat, at only 55 grams each, see attached pic. Later Monsters came with a rubber coated version that were a little bit heavier, maybe 80 or 90 g each.
 
Last edited:
Yeah you are right about the lighter pegs Artic! I have a set of those (i believe from a kawa) as passenger pegs. They are lighter.

I just want to try something a bit more comfortable with the rubber and all. Thats why i picked these. If the rubber doesn't bring what im looking for, i might go for your option.
 
Back
Top