Stearing stem rake on zx front end conversion???

Ok I have been doing way too much reading this weekend and not enought polishing but anyway

when converting a zx front end you need to use the old stearing stem and make a bushing for the ZX tree if I have done my homework correctly

My question is

when making the bushing for the stem is it possible to angle the bushing center to acheive any measurable rake?

I applogize in advance if this isnt possible or for my lack of hands on theory

Ramtough, Just some mental gymnastics to play with....I seem to recall Ducati used triple clamps on some of their race bikes which had the upper (and perhaps lower)stem posts mounted thru excentic bushings, which allowed changing rake while "in sittu". But.... how to do this without changing the angles of fork clamps??? And then, ( I'm assuming you'd like to increase rake, as theres little clearance between wheel & exhaust already) by extending forks, you lose front end height, (already an issue, as USD forks are generally shorter than conventional...and sometimes addressed by "gull wing" clamps. Such mods are beyond my scope (or desire), but always intrested in new approches,,luck g

FWIW

I put ZX7 suspension on my 79 LTD. Swing Arm, Forks & wheels. It steered just fine. Went down the road good & straight and never felt twitchy at all.

A buddy of mine has a Buel and we traded bikes one day for a while on a nice curvy road. When I asked him what he thought, he said " It goes down the road better than my bike" :woohoo:

Having just rode his, my impression was both bikes felt great to ride. We weren't pushing it real hard. Just a nice clip down a road we both know well.

raked trees are readily available for harleys.
they are a compromise at best and a safety hazzard at worst.

raking triples that were not built raked would be more difficult and sketchy than just machining new triples with your desired rake.

my advice is if you want your front end raked,cut the neck off and set it back wherever you want it.

For severely raked bikes, raked trees can add turning back into the mix. But using raked trees for raked style is dangerous. Raking the frame adds high speed stability. Raked trees ads turning and diminishes high speed stability.


leon

it will ride fine with the new forks . the rake dosent change,just the trail. unless u change the front or back ride hieght

Leon and Mark are dead on! I wouldn't worry about raking the frame with the ZX forks.
Les

thanks guys appreciate the input.

As far as ride height goes. ZX7 forks came in different versions. The 96 and another year had ride height adjusters. Other years did not. Fortunately I had 96 forks. Cranking down the ride height adjusters made a big, big difference in ground clearance on my bike.



You might want to investigate the particular forks you have to determine if they have that feature or not. Here's a lot of info on the 7's ZX7 Info

nice to know. I haven't bought them yet waiting on a steal. Collecting the parts presently.

Super nice ride What sprocket combo are you running and tire height 50 or 55?
ordering me a sprocket tomorrow kind of curious what everyone else is running

ramtough_63 wrote: nice to know. I haven't bought them yet waiting on a steal. Collecting the parts presently.

Super nice ride What sprocket combo are you running and tire height 50 or 55?
ordering me a sprocket tomorrow kind of curious what everyone else is running

55 for the tires. 530 chain and sprockets 18/44 1/2"offset. When I first built it, I naturally changed for oil and seals & used stock OEM manual suspension settings for the 96 ZX7. I had ground clearance issues. Cranking those ride height adjusters to the next to last mark & dialing up the compression adjusters made it all come together. Same with the rear shock. Cranked the spring rate up a bunch. Felt like a ninja...stable, very neutral handling.

You could changed lines in a corner...apply brakes and it wouldn't stand up or lay down. Just an amazing difference over the old spindly suspension. That plus all that rubber on the road. You'll like the difference it will make

Here's more on that build 79 LTD Streetfighter

Be careful just cranking the pre-load adjusters all the way down to try and get some extra height out of the front. Doing that can make for a stiff ride and limit the spring compression, the spring rate doesn't change, just the amount it can compress does. Too stiff (too little spring compression) and when you hit a bump it will be too stiff and/or bottom out and the tire can break contact with the road, now imagine that happening mid-corner leaned over. ZX forks typically have stiff compression and slow rebound, so the front end will get bounced up and wont rebound quick enough to keep traction.. that's the pogo effect you get on freeways..

wow thats a clean build beautiful!

My plan is to get the mono shock done the frame painted and engine freshened up before
may. As long as work holds out I can collect the front end parts as I go.

In theory I will collect all the parts needed for the swap and have it all togesther so I can take a weekend to knock out the fork changeover. If the money holds out lol

I promised my gorl we would ride the KZ to the Blessing this year instead of the Goldwing