Bandit 400 - GSXR 750 Fork swap - Build thread - COMPLETED

[Volumetrik]

Hey, my name is Max. I'm 22 and just got my motorcycle license in September.

So I bought a 1991 GSF 400 just after I got my license and I've been enjoying it a lot.



I have put around 800km on it already !



Since I can't let anything I own stay stock, I decided to do a fork swap.

I found a full 1995 GSXR 750 front end with brakes, wheel, clip ons, yokes, etc for 240 canadian pesos.



Brought it home, pressure washed it and replaced the fork oil, fork seal and dust seal on the forks.







I then decided to use the 750 switch housings because the plastic was in much better condition.



The connectors were not the same unfortunately, so I had to cut the pigtail and re-solder and shrink-wrap.









The front master cylinder was pretty worn out paint-wise so I sand blasted it and off to paint.





I had to drill out the old ignition cylinder retaining bolts because the PO stripped them with a power drill trying to remove them...



Next order of things is to start removing the front end.







Gauge cluster and handlebars removed.



Stripped naked





Completely removed, this was surprisingly stable and I was able to work on the bike with no fear of tipping.



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Box of pieces



Wasting no time, I put on the new fork, which I already prepared in advance, cleaned and packed the bearings with new grease.





So here it is. The indefinite proof, 100% confirmed that a 1995 GSXR 750 non-srad fork swaps STRAIGHT IN a 1991 GSF 400 Bandit.





Put on the gauge cluster and clip-ons. I will probably drill the top triple to use my renthal bars in the future.



As you can see the gauge cluster is not a direct bolt in, you need to remove the metal sleeves (that sit into the rubber bushing of the gauge bracket) that the screw to the left (in the picture) goes into. This will give it more space. The 750 triple has larger bolt perches than the stock B4 one, so removing the sleeves will help gain the extra width. It's still not ideal, but for now it'll do.



Mocked up with the B4 wheel just to see a all-black look.



I will definitely paint the white gsxr wheel black. You can see it in the background.



And so it brings us here for this week at least. I won't be able to work on this for the next two weeks because of finals, but I am super excited to get the wheel sandblasted and painted.



Finally I need to get the gsxr fender paint matched. It will be mint I'm sure.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I read and learned so much from these forums that it's time I give back somehow.

I wish I had taken more pictures, but when your hands are all greasy, you don't want to touch your phone 

[Squishy]

Nice work. And plenty of pictures ;). I always start not wanting to touch my phone, but I do anyway (use it as flashlight/pictures). Then it's dirty anyway so I give up and it gets covered in oil/grease 

Anyway good to see it's a 1:1 swap. Wonder how easy it is to properly fit the gauge and headlights.
I've thought about buying a gixxer front-end but never did because I think the front end of the b400 (even with stock springs) actually handles really great. Also with only 1 disc it's quite a bit lighter. I thought it would do away with the quick steering.
Though if you do it right it does look cool.

[Volumetrik]

Thanks for the reply Squishy !

I'm curious now of the weight of both front ends.

When I get everything back from the paint shop and mounted, I will weigh both front ends to see the difference !

You can't use any of the previous brackets for the light. Diameter of the forks are way to large and they are further apart.

I will have to make  a custom bracket attached at the bottom of the light to the bottom triple clamp.

Cheers

[TJS]

Nice work! Your 6 pot calibers and that they are clear anodized, make me believe they are from a '95 gsxr 750. '94 were blue. '92 inner slide tube were smaller than the 94/95 and used 4 pot Nissan calibers.....at leat as compared to what was shipped and titled in the USA.
Squishy, If you want the standard look, but want adjustability and increase performance; '89 GSXR 750 is a straight swap.

[Volumetrik]

Good observation TJS ! 

I will edit my post. The guy I bought them from told me they were from a '93.

Upon further investigation and looking at the parts diagram from partsoutlaw, it seems I have the forks from a GSXR 750 WS model.

It seems that the only difference between the R and S mode for the brakes is the pads.

The compound on mine is split in two, compared to the R model which is split in 4.

Cheers

[TJS]

Sorry, wasn't trying to be a "know it all" jerk. Just, I learned the hard way when I ordered new seals from K&L Supply and All Ballz racing.
The guys there were nice enough to do an exchange and now list separate part numbers for the 94/95 fork seals and brake calibers. I had to take my forks to the local Suzuki shop for confirmation and so they could act as a moderator.

[ventYl]

I've already seen several B4s with USD front fork and it always seemed to me that the front end looks way too bulky. But here it looks just right. 

[Volumetrik]

Don't worry TJS, you didin't sound ''know it all'', just informative !

Thanks ventYl, my goal is a OEM+ look.

[Volumetrik]

Round 2 ITS LIT

The day started with rebuilding the front master cylinder with new OEM parts.



I also installed tygon tubing for the reservoir. It's very resistant and durable.



Next I bent back the headlight brackets to fit in between the two forks.







And cut the adjustment bracket off. I wish I could keep it, but it prevents the light from fully seating back.



Head light with both brackets bent.





Next up I marked the bottom triple to drill and tap with 6mm bolts.





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I also cut two steel 9.5 inch by 2 inch rectangle brackets. Each end will be bent 90 degrees at the 1 inch mark. These will go vertically in-between the top and bottom triple. I installed the bent brackets and marked where the headlight holes would go. I then drilled and taped them.





All cut and installed. It's a tight fit and I will need to trim the brackets, but it fits !





Tight on the ignition barrel ! It goes without saying that I will be using aftermarket 2.5 inch gauges because the stockers are way too big.



Trimming the brackets.







Installed. They look sweet as hell. I'm very happy with the result.









Overall look with the headlight installed.







That's it for this weekend ! Next up will be making brackets for the turn signals and installing the grips, both switch housings.

I will have to work out the extra length of the clutch, throttle and choke since the handlebars are lower than stock.

The front fender is at the painters and I will be painting the front wheel flat black very soon. I'm hyped, the bike looks so badass with the dual front disks.

[bdouvill]

I like the way you designed your plates to hold the headlight.

[Volumetrik]

Thanks bdouvill !

They are not as solid as I want, so I will probably add a cross brace soon that will double as a headlight adjuster.

[Volumetrik]

Round 3 let's GOO

Sorry for the long time, some of these pics are from february and march, but everything is on track.

Got the fender back from paint and it looks mint, pics further down.

Started by masking the headlight, sandblasting and painting.








Decided to make a dedicated turn signal bracket. In the end, I did not end up using it.








Little welding station besides the ST.




Went and installed the clip-ons from the 750 but quickly discovered that the clutch cable was WAY too long. I could not bend it to fit, unfortunately. You can see it stick out like a sore thumb.






So I went with the next logical thing.










Handlebar conversion !

Needed to do some clearancing before bolting everything back together.






Then did some paper assisted design.












Ended up with a bracket for the speedometer. Right now I am planning to run only a speedo and no rpm. I may change ideas, but I can't find a gauge that has 14k rpm and electrically operated that looks half decent.




Now that everything is re-enforced and solid, I did a test fit to see how everything lined up.






The height difference is quite staggering. The riding position is also much more comfortable. All the cables are happy too. Nothing is bent awkwardly and everything is snug. It looks quite good too, very street fighter-ish. Also positioned the speedo in place. Clearance is very tight with the current brackets. I have since redone these and the fit is much better.








That is the clearance I was talking about.




Painted the wheel flat black with Rustoleum Professional. This stuff is great.




This is how the bike sits as of now.











Here is a sneak peek of round 4 




That's it for now. I did also a couple of things off camera, like changing the throttle cable, ordering custom length brake lines from HEL and re-doing brackets over and over again 

But everything is good. I took the bike for a quick ride and  my god the double caliper brakes are monstrous. I can probably flip the bike if I wanted too 

[Volumetrik]

Round 4 here we go. I can't seem to post a longer reply so I am breaking the update up into multiple posts.

We pick up where we left off last time, with the instrument cluster from a 93-95 GSXR 750.



Spliced the wiring. I had both service manuals from the GSF400 and the GSXR750 open.



I then started working on the back panel right after. Standard 3mm steel plate.



Drilled for the odometer gear.





Drilled the cable hole.









Sandblaster and tacked in place.





Marked the plate for trimming.





And added a small rubber hose with a cut slit.



Installed and mocked up before making the brackets needed.







Took a break from the brackets to modify the coolant temperature sensor/switch. In the new instrument cluster, there is a temp gauge compared to the old instrument which is simply a light that lights up when the coolant is too hot. It's a thermo-switch with either ON or OFF.



I bought a

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FAE Engine Coolant Temperature Switch 802 37010 615 Temperature Misc Sensor with a

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V68 M16x1.5MM to 1/8 NPT GM LS Engine BLACK Oil Port Gauge Oil Supply Access all from eBay.



I removed the switch sensor and cut into the harness to install the baby loom for the sensor.







And with everything installed.

[Volumetrik]

Round 5  More stuff done and more to go

Started making brackets for the headlights. I think I'm at the third of fourth iteration at the moment.

The two brackets together before bending.



Bending around an aluminium bar stock to prevent marking from the vise teeth.



I cut little locating grooves within the bracket to locate them correctly while I was placing the headlight. I then used the markings to drill holes and secure the right side. Did the same on the left.







Two sides fixed.



Clear view of the inside of the instrument cluster bracket.



View of the light and its position.











To be quite frank, I was pretty gutted when I finished these. They were very well made and identical on both sides but they were too low. As you can see, there is a very big gap between the top of the light and the bottom of the instrument cluster. The steel sheet I used was also to thin to my liking. It didn't have that OEM quality I was after.

I moved on to the speedometer gearing to clear my head. I had to rotate inwards the gearbox because the stock position is way to outwards and is super ugly. I opened a hole the size of the gearbox and had it rotated towards the inside. The only thing now is that there is no way to attach it to the cluster.





So I welded tabs on the back of the bracket to secure the gearbox in place.







I then added bondo to smooth out the whole exposed portion.



Sanded and painted.



Installed in place. You can see that I added extra welding to help with retaining the bondo.



I went back to the brackets to finish the whole. Even if I don't like these, I am finishing them to at least see a finished product.

I marked up the regions where the cables were rubbing with a sharpie. I also welded the brackets in place + sandblasted them.





Added a reinforcement to the left bracket because I cut quite a lot of metal out of it.



As you can see, I also added the tabs for the turn signals.



Bit of paint. Tried to get an aluminium finish but not quite there.



Also added a braided cable protector to the wiring of the cluster.



Sandblasted and painted the tail tidy bracket I made last fall.



Here it is installed with the LED turn signals. I will probably switch these for some brighter ones for next season.



Thanks for reading ! There will be big changes to the headlight brackets (again)  but this time it will be final 

[Volumetrik]

Round SIX   Lets GOOOOO

Painted and installed the brackets I don't like to get a final view of everything.







Closeup of the gap I was talking about. I also don't like the color. I've been through two different silvers...





Quite big if you ask me.



Clear view of the back of the instrument bracket. I am quite proud of this turned out.



Cockpit view.



And so it begins. Bought a 3/8 thick aluminium plate to do the brackets. These will be either the fourth of the fifth and FINAL iteration of the headlight brackets.

















At this point, I was looking for a method of either coating or finishing the brackets in some kind of way so they looked OEM. I ended up with a brushed finish.



I tapped a square piece of sandpaper to the table and place a straight wooden block on top of it. I used it as a guide and slid the bracket back and fourth pressing on the paper and using the wood piece to ensure I was making straight passes. It was very effective. Took me about 20 minutes to do both.

This is the height I want the bucket to be.



I started to drill the bracket and upping the position bit by bit.



Still not enough.



Gap closed and OEM like. Happy about this height. It's tight but nothing is rubbing and there is space for everything.



To hold the higher bolt for the bracket I had to weld an extension onto the top of the existing bracket and trim all the unneeded fat.



Painted up and installed.





Installed with some Belmetric hardware. I highly recommend them for SS metric hardware. They ship super quick and each bolt types were in a seperate sealed bag with identification. I have never seen anything like that before.



Overall look with the light installed.





And we are done guys. It took me about twice as long as I thought, much more headlight brackets that I wanted and a bunch of swearing. I personally think this is the best looking USD fork swap on any bandit that I've seen. I really tried to get that OEM look and feel.

Here are some beauty shots all cleaned up.









And some action shots in rural Vermont !



With my friends Bandit 1200 



I hope you guys liked this thread, I am very proud of the work and upgrades I have done to this bike. I also hope the pictures and descriptions were helpful !

I have of course new plans for the bandit but I will make new threads for those when the time comes !

GSXR 750 rear shock completely rebuilt and re-valved from Racetech coming soon, GSXR1100 swing-arm swap with 750 rear wheel in the works too. If you guys have any questions, feel free to contact me or post here.



Maxime