[hubert]

Hey Brett, here's a review/post that I posted on another forum back in Feb when I replaced the non-adj forks on my 900sport with 998 forks

First, I'm sorry that I don't have any pics of the completed swap - I'll do my best to get a few posted up.

Onto the meat of the matter...

This weekend I swapped 2002 998 Showas onto my 2002 900 sport. Forks courtesy of Jason and Section8SBK.com.

Parts (and debt) needed:
Along with the forks, I also go the SBK clip-ons and mounts and a Cycle Cat DTC-1 top triple clamp which comes with the appropriate shims for the stock SS lower triple - more on that later.

Installing the pieces:

Everything went pretty well, but there were a few things. The steering head bolt needed an additional shim because it didn't exactly fit flush with the new triple. Also, the SBK clipons need to be bolted on below the triple because the SBK forks are shorter than the SS forks. If you mounted the clipons above the triple on an SS you'd risk of running the bike with far too little ride heigh, screwing up the geometry and making it unsafe at high speed.

That said, this clip-on configuration makes for a more aggressive riding position that can be accounted for by using the Cycle Cat clipons (read: $$$$$) or FBF adapters (read:$$). I decided to just run them as they were, for the time being, and if it was just too agreessive, I'd switch to something else.

As for the shims mentioned earlier, here's the skinny: SBK forks are wider through the top triple (53mm v. 50mm) but skinnier at the lower triple, this means that you need to either bore out the top triple and find a way to massage the lower, or you can do what I did, and buy the CycleCat setup and have it furnished with you.

Riding Impressions:

I haven't yet set the sag and preload but the damping adjustment alone has made the bike feel more responsive, lighter and more controlled under braking (there's a lot less dive thanks to added compression adjustment).

Also, the more aggressive riding position (due to the clipons being mounted SBK style, below the triple) makes the bike and riding position fell much more intimate and natural; you fell like you're sitting inside the bike, not mearly on it.

More over, your forearms gently rest at the sides of the tank, allowing you to naturally fall into a leaned position. I really like the more agrresive riding position!

Once I get everything sorted out (setup wise) I plan on tracking the bike and cutting off the wallet.

Overall, however, I'm reasonably impressed with the change and will probably enjoy the dividends once I really start using the adjustability on track - also the TiNitride fork tubes are a nice contrast against the flat black paint work.

Regards.