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Busa front end on a bandit 1200

3K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  Casper  
#1 ·
Hello ladies and gents. So 2 nights ago I sold my prized daytona 675 so I could do the adult thing and have some more money for a house. Since I can not go without a motorcycle though, I picked up a dirt cheap 2000 bandit 1200. It already has a 2000 busa front end on it and rides great.

My problems start with how at full lock the bars are hitting the tank. Obviously this can be fixed with some risers and new bars but I figured id ask everyone here if they have any recommendations on companies that sell a riser that will work along with the bars and extended hoses.

My second problem is a weird click in the front end. Its a very sporatic noise and I cant recreate it but it usually happens after doing a real slow roll and hitting the brake. So im not sure if its a brake thing or maybe a bearing thing? The (busa) wheel has new bearings and the front end swap is relatively new so those bearings should be okay too. Its throwing me for a loop though and I cant find the noise to resolve it.


Thanks for any help everyone! Hopefully theres a few people on here with the swap I have. I’ll try and upload some pictures of this ugly duckling when the rain here stops.

I’ll also be sure to post progress pictures in another thread as I change things and clean it up!
 
#4 ·
Is it running the OEM Busa upper triple? Kind of looks like it but the pic is pretty grainey and at a shitty angle.
 
#6 ·
So, the OEM upper Busa trips are shit. They have a second plate that bolts down to the actual triple clamp and the bars insert into pockets on that plate, and the bolt holes on the triple that the plate bolts to are at a stupid spacing and angle that make it difficult to put risers on (in other words, you'll have to make your own or drill more holes in the triple).

Your options are to...

-Make your own risers.
-Make your own triple that will take normal risers.
-Drill holes for normal risers in the OEM triple (wouldn't recommend, strength becomes an issue).
Put spacers between the triple and the plate (looks like shit).
-Get offset bars like these(expensive and might not work).
-Get handlebar conversions like these or these (more expensive but will probably work).
-Buy other, aftermarket triples (I have a Hays upper I'd probably sell you).
-Buy B-King triples (not cheap, but better looking than Busa and will solve your problem).
-Clearance the tank.
 
#8 ·
So this is me just spit balling here but what if I bought a pair of risers that are just one bolt like the picture I’ll attach to this? Couldnt I bolt that into the farthest forward holes on my triple in place of the bolt that is there? Then id just have to find some extended lines. Id try to find better quality ones just used this picture as an example
 
#9 ·
IIRC the bolt holes are at an angle, they point slightly outwards. It's been a minute since I went through all this so maybe I'm wrong and it's doable, but I know there was a reason I didn't do that.

I'll get you pics when I get home later but it's one of these...
http://www.haysmachineworks.com/shopping/?page_id=755

Powdercoated black. It's actually sitting on my Bandit with Busa front end right now lol, but it's just a placeholder til I get around to making my upper so I don't need it. Let me double check what condition its in and get back to you on the price... pretty sure its in good shape though.

It brings up a other option though, you could run clipons.
 
#10 ·
Get the front of the bike off the ground so you can grab the forks with both hands and push/pull front to back to check for play in the steering bearings. They are likely too loose and will either need adjustment or replacement.

I can make a custom upper triple or full set if you're interested.
 
#13 ·
^^^ And those would be the spacers I mentioned that look absolutely fucking retarded.

Image



If you do go this route, the search term you need is "lowering kit." They're marketed as an item not to raise the bars but rather to lower the front end... the holes in the top plate are too small to allow the forks to raise up more than a few mm so these are meant to give you more room to push the trips down.
 
#14 ·
Looking at mine I think I already have a spacer like that on it. But when I get home from work today I’ll take pictures of the bars lock to lock so I can show you guys. Im definitely not opposed to running clipons but wouldnt that just make my bars lower and still hit the tank?

Also what kind of bars are you running with that hays setup?
 
#16 ·
As Seb has said your clicking sound will be most likely your headbearings, the load adjuster under the top yoke will probably needs a turnof so clockwise to stop it.
Put the front end up the air and rock the steering from lock to lock, keep tighting the bearings until it holts the front end in a 30 degree direction then back off the load adjuster about 1/2 a turn until the bars move smoothly to the closest steering lock.
 
#19 ·
The front stands that lift from the stem have different inserts to fit different bikes.

They also lift from the stem. So, not so great for checking stem bearings.
 
#20 ·
So the more and more im looking up upper triple kits, I found the abm streetfighter kit. Replaces the whole upper triple, comes with brake lines/clutch line and everything to basicaly make it a bolt on kit. Goes for like $350 so I don’t think thats too bad. Looks like a pretty solid kit.
 

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