Question about FJ 1200 to XS conversion

[mcmotohistory]

Has anyone tried to put an FJ1100/1200 front end with wheel and brakes and the shaft and rear wheel on an XS11? Is this doable? Could the shaft be adapted. Would be great to have the brakes and wheel sizes from the FJ.


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[jetmechmarty]

McMoto,

Your bike is awesome! I love it!

Yes it can be done, but at what expense? Just because we can do it, does that mean we should? FJ's have nothing in common with the XS. BikerPhil put FJ forks on the XS1100. He is your first source.

That being said, how about a nice FJ1200 to compliment your XS1100?

[FJ111200]

I've put a 1200 3CV front end on an XS in the past. I've now got an XJR1200 front end on my Midnight Special.
The 1100 and early 1200 FJ's use a 16" front wheel and 2 piston opposed front brake calipers, which work ok, but the later 3CV and 3XW FJ's use a 17"x 3" front wheel with 4 piston calipers, which work a lot better.
I had a spacer made up for the top yoke because the FJ yoke spindle is longer than the one on the XS.
The XJR1200 set up I've got now used 43mm forks and a 17" x 3.5" wheel, whereas the FJ uses 41mm forks, though the brake calipers are the same, but the yoke spindle is shorter than an FJ but only a bit longer than an XS but I needed to get the shoulder on the spindle turned down so that the bearings were seated properly.
I've wondered whether the FJ rear wheel could be adapted to fit the XS but that's as far as I've got. It might be too wide for a tyre to fit between the XS swingarm, but i'll have a look this winter as i'm going to give my bike a good going over.
WP_20170920_17_22_41_Pro_LI by Billy Bananahead, on Flickr

[bikerphil]

My 79 Standard has the 85 FJ11 forks and triple trees, but I retained the XS front wheel and calipers. The wheelbase is slightly shorter than with the factory setup, so the rake/trail is changed slightly giving the steering faster response. It is stable and handles very well at all speeds.

[Mathh]

You do not need FJ parts specifically. XJR, XJ, FZR and others will do nicely as well. Here is the Special I built for my girl friend with parts from FZR750R, XJR1300, FZR1000, YZF750, R1, RD350, SR500 and XJ900 Diversion. The XJ900 rear wheel was a challenge







Handles like a dream ...

[gene]

That's a great job! Your bike looks incredible.

[mcmotohistory]

Really love that XS Special, I always hated that stock leading link fork on the special. Very nicely done. And I was thinking about the latter FJ1200 with the 17 in whl. if I were to go for it.

[Mathh]

Originally Posted by mcmotohistory

Really love that XS Special, I always hated that stock leading link fork on the special. Very nicely done. And I was thinking about the latter FJ1200 with the 17 in whl. if I were to go for it.

The biggest problem will be the rear wheel as yours is shaft and the others are chaindrive.. I think the FJ rear wheel does not fit because there is not enough room for it physically.