As part of an ongoing effort to donate the majority of my income to EBay, I've launched a new project to swap a 2004 GSXR 600/750 front end onto my 2001 SV650S. If you recall I just rebuilt my stock front end. I was quite happy with it on the street, but then it developed a leak. It also turned out to be too soft for the track, and lacked easy adjustability, so I decided to take the plunge. The GSXR front end is a modern inverted design with cartridge based damping, and the whizzy "radial" braking system. Honestly, it's overkill, but it's one of those bits of unobtanium that I've always lusted after. Some people like single sided swingarms, I dig the inverted forks look, and the radial brakes are the icing. Oh, and of course it's fully adjustable for compression, rebound, and preload.
So, I'm in the "hunting for parts" stage right now, and I must admit there is a kind of perverse fun to it. It's like a scavenger hunt, except obviously you have to pay for everything you find. So far I have the forks, triple clamp, brakes, rotors, front wheel, and fender. When I say I "have" these things, I mean to say that I've sent money to some random person in the United States, that will eventually send me the item in question. I've had great luck with the process in the past, but it can be a bit nerve wracking. I still need the handlebars, and a brake lever, but those should be easy.
Oh, by the way, I need to get all the parts installed and tested before 9/6 (Labor Day) for my next track day at Thunderhill. Wheee!
I suppose there's a certain relief in not being the obsessed one for once. But really, though, it can be a bit nerve wracking even from the sidelines. I'm beginning to wonder why no one has thought to make EBAY: The video game (TM). It certainly is the only thing on the computer (with the exception of a rat walking across the keyboard) that can make Tony curse as much as, say, Doom III.
Posted by: Stephanie | August 12, 2004 at 09:02 AM