vtr 250 forks

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.

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.

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.