I'm swapping an '03 636 fork onto my 650, and I figured there might be some people on here that hadn't seen that done or might want to know how to do it themselves. I'm going to be doing most of this tomorrow, more pictures will be coming. The '03-'04 636 triples are supposed to be a direct fit, you can use the tubes and brakes from any ZX6R from 03-08. The 650 and the '05-'08 ZX6R use a 300mm petal style rotor, while the '03-04 use a 280mm rotor. I am planning on using the 300mm rotors by using 10mm spacers to space the calipers out to clear. I am planning on keeping the 650 wheel. The 650 and '05-'06 have an idententical wheel, besides the bearing sizes. The 650 uses a 42mm od, 20mm id bearing and the 636 uses a 47mm od, 25mm id bearing. The 636 uses a 25mm axle. To use the 650 wheel on the 636 front end I am going to use a 42mm od, 25mm id bearing. Both stock bearings are 12mm wide, while all the available 42/25 bearings are only 9mm wide, due to the fact that they use a smaller ball. To compensate for this I made some 3mm spacers out of 1" schedule 40 aluminum pipe. It has an id close to 25mm and the spacers should hold the bearings tight in the wheel along with the stock 636 collars.
The 636 bearing is on the left, the 42/25 is on the right:
Here is the spacer I made, along with the stock bearing and the new bearing with the spacer:
Here is how the stock 636 axle and hardware fit together:
Here is how it fits together with the smaller bearings and the spacers:
I should have more pictures and info tomorrow, hopefully everything goes together as planned!
Looks awesome, speaking of retrofitting types of things, on the ninja650.com forums, someplace in Germany installs Z1000/636 tails on 650s that looks awesome. Any plans to maybe try this with instructions on how to do this? 636 beaten up tails aren't hard to find. It might have been the Z750 tail, but think its the same as the Z1000 and well 750 parts are impossible to find.
My biggest issue is that I have no steering stops and my fork tubes hit the frame. I'll need to figure out what to do about that.
I have seen the Z1000 tail on a 650, it does look very nice, but spare Z1K parts are hard to come by. I am thinking about putting a Catalyst tail on my bike. I know its modeled after the 03-04 636, so maybe you could get one of those to fit as well, I don't know.
Once I got the suspension dialed in and set the sag it was a world of difference. It turns in better, overall a big improvement. The brakes are also a world of difference. The 650 has the same brakes as your Versys, they are ok, but not great. These radial mount calipers bite hard! I tore my bike apart this week and welded some steering stops to the lower triple to solve my issue:
I would definitely say it was worth it. There is more info on this swap here:
As an update, I have gone to using an 05-06 ZX6R wheel, my smaller bearings weren't holding up and I don't feel that was all that safe. Budget for a wheel if you plan to do the swap.
Yes it will. You need a set of triples from an 03-04, and any set of forks, wheel, axle, and brakes from 03-08. The only part that's not a bolt on are the steering stops, which I welded on.
here is my question, will doing this swap give you a better suspension than lets say getting the race tech cartridge emulator and springs?
I know that by doing the swap you get "better" brakes also but i am not interested on those the brakes of the 650 suit me fine as they are, so i just need a suspension comparison.
here is my question, will doing this swap give you a better suspension than lets say getting the race tech cartridge emulator and springs?
I know that by doing the swap you get "better" brakes also but i am not interested on those the brakes of the 650 suit me fine as they are, so i just need a suspension comparison.
Yes, way better. The cartridge emulators are trying to emulate the style of suspension that the OEM ZX6R forks have already. You also gain a huge amount of adjustability over the non-adjustable 650 forks.
Some, yes. The USD forks have less unsprung weight than the big aluminum lowers on the stock RSU forks. The tubular 636 axle is also lighter than the solid 650 axle.
In addition the lower triple on the 650 is a big brick of cast steel, and the alloy lower triple from the 636 is much lighter.
here is my question, will doing this swap give you a better suspension than lets say getting the race tech cartridge emulator and springs?
I know that by doing the swap you get "better" brakes also but i am not interested on those the brakes of the 650 suit me fine as they are, so i just need a suspension comparison.
nice question coz i have the same mods when it comes to the forks...
race tech springs and emmulators... but i guess jason's fork replacement is the best way to do it..
but for us, at least we have improved our fork suspension over stock... way better...
as for brakes just replace the OEM brake pads with better ones and you're all set
Hey folks. I bought a 650 abs and nothing I do will allow the seat to secure under the tank at the front.
It locks in under the rear pillion, but I can lift the front right off the bike.
I'm sure there's a bracket of some kind missing, but I'm hoping anyone with a 12-16 can helpe out. Thanks.
Hello! I’m a fairly new rider and it’s time for the first oil change on my 2019 650. Anyone know the oil filter I need? Any suggestions on brands for filters and oil? (Aside from OEM of course). Sorry for the newbie question....I come from the land of Subaru’s and am excited to learn More about...
i just bought a 2019 ninja 650. it has about 70 miles on it so far. i am new to this so please bear w me. i want a loud exhaust (i know it wont be too loud because its not a 4 cyl). what do you guys recommend, and will i need a tune for it? i would rather not tune it right now. thank you
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