New Modification Project

[Paul Young]

…has just landed in my garage. Forks from a 2022 1250GS TE and Brembo calipers should look very nice on my 2000 model 1150

I popped into Bowkers here in Preston to take some measurements and found that the distance between fork tops is the same on both.
Both use the same size nuts on the fork tops so I should be able to use the 1150 top yoke.
The ball joint is slightly smaller, but a 16x18x15 split bush (ouch) sorts that for £3.50 so it fits the Rockster wishbone I’ve fitted.
Wheel spindles are essentially the same, although the wider part on the 1150 is longer so just sticks out. The 1250 just sits flush.
Brake calipers don’t line up with the discs - 126mm spacing vs 130mm for the 1250, so some 2mm shims on the discs mounts will deal with that.

Looks like a goer…

 

[GedJack]

Probably more of the same in your garage roof. . Look forward to seeing the finished product

 

[timeandtide]

Will you be doing a new IOM video when it’s done?

 

[Paul Young]

Will you be doing a new IOM video when it’s done?

Well I’ll be there next summer so…

 

[Paul Young]

I had a few hours spare this afternoon, so tried a first ‘lash-up’ to see how stuff fits together. It went quite well, but identified a couple of small issues that I need to sort.

The main problem is that the wheel is offset slightly to the right in the forks. This means the right caliper lines up perfectly, but the left one won’t seat on its dowels. The 1150 wheel spindle works best, but it’s about 2mm to the right of where it needs to be. This means I need to shave 2mm off the inside face of the left fork bottom so everything moves 2mm in that direction, then some 2mm washers will line the right disc back up to its caliper. A job for another day, but nothing is outside the scope of a man with an angle grinder

I considered changing the 25x52x20.6 left wheel bearing for one that’s narrower at 18mm, but the speedo drive and its dog mean this isn’t feasible and won’t resolve the issue.



Tried the 1250 spindle first but it’s slightly shorter and doesn’t position the wheel where it needs to be



Fork bridge fit perfectly with a bronze split bush slotted in.



Both forks slotted into their bushes in the top yoke, with the spindle installed at the bottom to ensure everything is lined up in the fork bridge.



Clearance on the right fork…



Speedo drive clamps up tight so the speedo works perfectly



1150 spindle tightens up nicely against both the right spacer and the speedo drive on the left.



Right caliper dropped into place perfectly, but left one wouldn’t seat on the dowels whilst astride the disc



Very tight clearance for the disc bolts. Clearly sitting much closer than it is to the left fork.







1150 spindle still shows a couple of mm when tightened up, so shaving 2mm off the inner face on the left fork bottom will draw this flush.



It almost looks like there is a line, 2mm away from the joint between the speedo drive and the fork bottom…

 

[timeandtide]

Supremely confident you’ll sort it nae bother!

 

[GedJack]

Supremely confident you’ll sort it nae bother!

Me too

 

[Aidan1150]

Most interesting.

 

[Wrigsby1]

"A job for another day, but nothing is outside the scope of a man with an angle grinder "

My sort of language... What advice have got on knobbly tyre choices...

 

[Paul Young]

What advice have got on knobbly tyre choices...

Fit them to a smaller bike…?

 

[EVskiy]

Looking great Paul!

 

[theoneandonly]

wouldn't it be easier to just space a disc out ?
when you crash it , you will have to redo all the mods again .
modify the small things , like the spindle , not the big expensive things,

 

[Paul Young]

wouldn't it be easier to just space a disc out ?

Much easier. It’s just a shame they didn’t think of that when they designed it. The discs will be spaced out by 2mm each side to get the correct distance apart - currently 126mm and need to be 130mm separation.

when you crash it , you will have to redo all the mods again .

That’s the fun bit since the insurance pays for them after I claim the salvage

modify the small things , like the spindle , not the big expensive things,

Look carefully… get in close… The 1150 spindle fits without modification

I took the speedo drive out this afternoon and moved the wheel around to centre it between the forks. This confirmed my initial calculation was wrong and that 4mm needs to come off the inner face of the left fork bottom, but see above re spacing the discs. If it wasn’t for the speedo drive, I’d just change the seal for one with a smaller ID and get hold of a bush the appropriate OD and length…

Stand-off spacers have been ordered for the discs, at the exorbitant cost of £10, but does anyone near Preston have access to an engineering workshop to remove the offending 4mm..? Otherwise it’s the angle grinder. The good thing is that fitting a 1250GS wheel in the future would just need a 4mm bush to put it back to OEM spec.

Thats it for a few days as m’off to Florence for a bit, so ciao for now.

 

[theoneandonly]

"That's it for a few days as m’off to Florence for a bit, so ciao for now."

that's right , rub it in ...i 'ope it rains .

i do like Florence .

 

[GedJack]

"That's it for a few days as m’off to Florence for a bit, so ciao for now."

that's right , rub it in ...i 'ope it rains .

i do like Florence .

So do I , lovely girl

 

[Paul Young]

Wel, we had a great time in Florence and then celebrating my 60th with the family yesterday, but things happened whilst I was away. Packages arrived in number (though some are still in transit…), so today was literally back to the (angle) grind. A flappy disc, some patience, and numerous dismantle/assemble cycles later and the wheel is central in the forks. The calipers now both sit on their posts and the discs are equidistant within the calipers. The 2mm spacers are one of the outstanding packages so a job for next week sometime.
I took a look at lots of different front mudguards while I was away. Some were discounted quickly and it looked like a toss-up between something from an old R1200S or something newer like an S1000. Luck fell on the modern side and an XR mudguard hit the doormat. There’s a carbon fibre panel for it coming later this week so I’ll sand/prime/paint this white one before then.

 

[EVskiy]

Happy 60th Birthday Paul!

 

[GedJack]

Looking good Paul

 

[Paul Young]

Jobs to do this week…
- Fit spacers between the wheel and discs and remove the ABS ring
- Fabricate some brackets to mount the mudguard. Some Ducati brackets and aluminium flat bar are on the way for this
- Paint the mudguard in readiness for the carbon panel arriving
- Put the required amount of fork oil in the forks
- Connect and bleed the brakes
- Fit the mudguard
- Thoroughly check and tighten everything, then test ride
…Well that’s the plan

Oops, I’d better fit a new rear tyre while I’m at it… MOT is due at end of the month

 

[GedJack]

I look forward to the ride report. You may have started some thing here.

A friend of mine was asking