MODIFICATION: FORK SWAP STEP 5: STEERING STOPS

The part of the fork swap that is the least "plug & play" is making it so that the triple tree bolts do not piece the gas tank in the event of a "tank slapper." Usedtobefast solved this problem in a pretty sleek way by tapping to the original triple tree stops and installing bolts that would contact a welded on tab to the ATK frame before the triples contacted the tank.

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I bought some bolts and went to my local art welder with pics of usedtobefast's swap hoping to recreate the same thing. After looking at the stock 490 frame steering stop steel bar welded under the downtube, we mocked up a couple of stainless ball bearings, thereby extending the stock stops ~1 cm.

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Since they were round, they wouldn't ding the cast aluminum triple tress either. You can see there is plenty of room left between the triples and the tank. Left side:

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Right side:

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COST: $25 to the welder for at least 1.5 hours of his time

MODIFICATION: FORK SWAP: STEP 3: ASSEMBLY

This went fairly smoothly, except that I wish I had 3 hands or a shop monkey to hold things in place while I grabbed a wrench or a hammer.

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The headtube and triples are ALMOST a perfect fit. Per the instructions of usedtobefast and zaz696 I put 1/8" worth of 1-1/8x1-3/4x14 gauge galvanized machine bushings between the compression nut and bearing retainer (not pictured).

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Each of the bushings is 1/16" and after trying 1, 2, then 3 of them, I settled on 2 (total of 1/8" and everything mated up well and the compression nut settled down nicely and the bottom bearing of the triple snugged up nicely to the headtube.

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Couldn't get the plastics back on quick enough to see the big reveal:

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I decided to use the CRF bar clamps as they had slightly more rise to them than the stock ATK bar clamps. This provides plenty of room to drop the forks in the triple trees without the Cycra Pro Bend mounts hitting the top of the fork tubes.

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Mind you, this is not a functioning street legal motorcycle at this point. I still have to figure out the brakes, speedometer, and a few other things I'm sure that need to get sorted out before it is road-worthy.

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PART # H882802 at ACE Hardware

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COST: $1.50 (2 Machine Bushings @ 75 cents)

MODIFICATION: FORK SWAP: STEP 2: DISASSEMBLY

The paradox that one must face when doing this is taking a PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL motorcycle, and deciding to rip it apart only to attempt to make it functional once again. I put this project off for a couple of weekends after getting the new front end just to get a few more rides in "just in case."

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With the "last rites" out of the way, disassembly could begin:

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There is no "quick guide" to taking a dual sport bike apart. I just started with the plastics.

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As I got deeper, I made sue to document wire and guide positions with pictures so that when it came time for reassembly I did not rely on my memory a few days later. I used a roof rack strap to lift the intact bars / controls / electrics slightly above to old forks so I wouldn't have to rewire the whole bike. Also, important to note at this point was that I was careful to strap the back end of the bike to the MX stand and put some blocks under the rear wheel to keep everything from falling off the stand when I took the weight o the front end off of the frame.

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GONE!

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COST: $0

MODIFICATION: FORK SWAP: STEP 1: FINDING FORKS

The stock Paoli forks are really nice. I have nothing against them, but when searching for replacement parts, seals, guards, hubs, or anyone locally willing to do any service on them, I came up pretty short. I had read several entries by usedtobefast and zaz696 on the ATK RIDERS FORUM andSOUTH BAY RIDERS about swapping the Paoli or WP for CRF forks.

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There have also been people like BONES and Desert Racer who have retrofit the Cannondale Ohlins forks to the single sided 605 as well.

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I was pretty content to ride the Paolis until they fell apart, but then I ran across a local guy parting out a complete CRF 250f on Craigslist and after waiting to see if he could sell the complete bike for a couple of weeks, he gave up and let me know that the front end (Wheel, Caliper, Fork Legs, Triples, Bars, Master) was mine for 300 bucks.

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They were re-sprung by Pro-Circuit, which I saw as a plus.

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After a sketchy meeting at dusk in a Sear's parking lot, they were crammed in the back seat of the Honda and made the trip back to the shed.

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COST: $300