[camaro97z]

Are these the forks that everyone is raving about? i hear that these are good for replacing the stock forks on a cb350. I have a cb360 that i maybe considering this swap on. Is this a practical idea? this bike will not be my daily driver. I just want something to zip around with on occasion. But i am stripping this thing down and powder coating the frame and polishing the engine and detailing most everything in between this winter. I found a vtr 250 based forum and i think there are some forks on there for sale. Any suggestions?

 

[robertob]

They are commonly used by vintage racers because they're 35mm and a good length, but I had trouble finding a set when I was deciding on forks. In the end I went with 1979-80 DOHC CB750f forks. They're 30.75" long, though, so they'll raise the front a bit for the CB450 and probably CB350 too. The VFR forks are nothing special - standard damping rod forks with only one brake hanger. The CB750 forks have longer legs (stiffer) and two brake hangers. CB650 forks are very similar but one brake hanger.

An interesting fork that I considered but is hard to find is Yamaha SRX600. I was told that they're 35mm. They have cartridge dampers and they're a good length (less than 30") for vintage racers. 15mm axles, too.

I couldn't find a set to measure and verify but they should be good in theory.

 

[camaro97z]

well is it easy to change them out? is any fabrication involved? i am considering doing this, but only if it isnt way too time consuming. i am stripping this bike down to the frame and when i put it back together i want to do it right the first time.

 

[robertob]

See my other post, but in a nutshell you have to swap steering stems to use the matching triple. It requires grinding, pressing and welding the new stem in. You will have the same problem with VTR forks.

OR you could use a CB550 stem/triple clamps with either forks.

Not a big job but do your homework unlike me.

 

[joe c]

actually, if you thnk about it, you dont need to reweld the stem. theres really no way for it to come out. but im not a honda engineer, so if they did it, id do it. if the stem is too long, which is usually the problem, you can shim the bottom bearing with a washer. the problem is, you dont know til you fit it up. then the bearings on and its a pain in the as to get off. i s'pose you could try with the ball bearings, but that seems like a pain in the ass.

jc

 

[KrooklynCB]

why not just get a set of cb500t forks and triple tree/stem? seems much easier..plus it's got hangers on both sides if you decide to do a dual disc set-up. plus you won't have to deal with stem length and axle spacers. just my two cents.

 

[Eric750]

is the cb360 a 33mm ? if so could they betaken out to 35mm by honning it out 2mm ?



eric

 

[robertob]

Krooklyn - I don't know about the OP, but I skipped right over the early CB stuff because the brake calipers suck. It's a Mickey Mouse setup and the brackets are not easy to adapt things to. The CB500t and late CB450 triples would bolt right on but they use a rubber-mounted handlebar clamp which I'm not into. Not planning to do any touring...

Re the stem, on my CB450 it wasn't welded from the factory, so I think it should be fine. I don't intend to weld mine when I put it back together but I wouldn't give that advice to someone else just in case. On mine, the lower bearing area on the stem was too short to use a spacer under the bearing. And you're absolutely right about the bearing - I broke a new one test fitting it.