bandit front end ???

[RS Thornton]

Has anyone tried fitting a bandit 1200 front end on an XS11? I crosschecked the steering head bearings and appears they are the same. Was thinking about picking up a triple tree to see if it fits. Seems like it would be no tougher than some of the other swaps that have been done. Front end of my current project is pretty ratty so might be worth a shot. Brakes and suspension would be about 20 years newer.
thoughts from the xs gurus are welcome

[bikerphil]

I would try it, just be aware that the forks from the bandit are probably shorter than the XS so you may have a problem with ground clearance. I had that issue with my FJ fork mod, but using good performance springs made it doable with minimizing the braking dive. Looking forward to seeing your mod if you decide to go thru with it. GL

[Bonz]

+1 on that, keep us posted!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey RS,

Another thing to allow the swap would be to get a set that has rusted upper/lower/inner tubes......THEN you could order some OVER LENGTH tubes from ForksbyFrank to replace them...then you can get LONGER forks to help maintain ground clearance...hopefully be able to just use spacers inside to take up the slack so you could still use the stock springs!? JAT!

T.C.

[crazy steve]

The main issue (but not the only one) with fork swaps onto the XS seems to be the steering head/fork stem length. The XS stem is rather short compared to more modern bikes and not many of the newer forks lend themselves to shortening the stem easily. If you have fab/machining skills it will help a lot. You might want to go through this thread....
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ighlight=forks

[RS Thornton]

I had read that post, plus a few others on projects involving creative modifications. That had me going down the path of what other bikes use the same steering head bearing set. S0....

I have a 1997 1200 bandit set of forks and think it is going to work. My plan is to cut down the spindle by 34 mm and essentially slide the lower brace up the forks. The forks are a little shorter to frame will not be sitting quite true and I am considering putting the smaller wheel on the back which should put it pretty close to true again. Going to turn down the bandit axle to match OD of XS axle and then sleeve the bandit lower fork housing to match XS ID where the axle goes through. The only bit I have not fully figured out is front rotors. I think I will need to wait until I have the forks and wheel mounted to figure out how to get a rotor that mounts to XS wheel but matches the bandit calipers. I know there are places that will turn out custom rotors but thinking cost may be too eye popping for me.