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2002 with '04 Radial Forks and Brembo M4's

4K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  quinocampa 
#1 ·
Hello Guys,
First, I've been a registered user for years, but my post up number is very low. Google has brought me here many times through the years though.

I'll try to be succinct.
2002 model, with OEM radial forks from a private seller.
I bought Brembo M4's to mount to it.
I have my OEM 320mm rotors, still straight, still within spec, so I want to keep using them.
Brembo does not state compatibility with the '04+ ZX12R's. Dunno why not. 108mm bolt pitch works.
It must be in the rotor diameter.
'04+ has 300mm, I have 320mm.
One Facebook guy says he heard 10mm spacers for 320mm rotors, but he was using 7mm.
If 10mm spacers were recommended, then the 300mm should've worked and Brembo would've listed them compatible.

Does anyone have the Brembos and/or can confirm spacer or rotor diameter requirement?

Forks are still with Traxxion Dynamics, so I can't dry fit yet.

Thanks!
 
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#4 ·
Redwon, this seemed sensible to me too, but Brembo would've said it was a direct fit with no spacers needed.
They have all sorts of spacer kits for different bikes, but afaik sportbikes only have 300, 310, or 320mm rotors...right?
So perhaps it's more like cmg is saying, they'll fit up, but there'll be an arc wear issue.

cmg, the "other person's rotor" was a 320mm. I agree, I'm just going to have to take a look.
The unfortunate thing is that I wanted to have the spacers on hand when my forks get back, but I might not be able to do that.
 
#8 ·
I had the same problem when I got a set of R1 calipers I had to either had a spacer or change the rotors themselves to 300.
I put nissin on from a zzr14 or a zx10r they bolted straight on :)

like CMG said bolt them on and look to see the right size spacer you need and length of bolt too
also think about the brake lines themselves as they will be bolted on in a different place which may make them too short ?
 
#9 ·
I have already purchased 70mm bolts, and I think 60mm are standard? This has been bugging me for a month.
@Factory, I will be sure to post up when I have an answer. What bothers me the most is that I have to buy something
from the UK, with the delays, and they're spendy. I work at a company with a large machine shop, and we even have
adequate spacers in inventory for a different application, but they're meant for assemblies and are not sold alone.
I don't have any maintained relationships with the machinists any longer, or I would ask for something on the side.
The spacers we have cost only $0.75! Can't swipe them either -- cameras.

I intend to mount them up, then measure the gap with calipers, then order spacers and wait another 2 weeks.
You know how it is, waiting for the mail...and it's the start of riding season...and it's a functional part...
 
#11 ·
Here is my complaint of the day, or month.

The used radial forks I bought were sent to Traxxion Dynamics, a race-spec shop who overhauls forks with upgraded springs and cartridges.
After having spent the money on the OEM forks, TD tells me they have over 0.030" runout and have damaged tubes. They called them
"trash" and will not repair or upgrade. Incidentally, they had them for over a month before giving me this news, and giving me delaying
messages on status 3 times. Not their fault they're damaged, and I understand the enhancements wouldn't be functional with non-straight tubes.

My seller is considering repayment to me at this time, no clear decision yet. TD says that kind of runout could only come from a crash,
but seller said he bought a parts bike that included them.

At this time, the only option I have is to buy new forks from Kawasaki, in order to get radial mounts for my on-hand Brembo M4's.
Cost to me from Partzilla is $1783.30. Yeah. And, AND!...no upgrades, just straight OEM forks. TD's upgrades -- cartridges and springs --
would be $995 plus labor.

I've already sunk more into the bike than what I paid for it in 2003, for this rehab project. We all know how rare used '04-'05 forks in
good condition are. There are 2 pair on ebay atm, one has been painted black and is badly peeled, the other is in a full triple tree assembly
and looks either very dirty or otherwise compromised. You can't tell. Once bitten twice shy though.

My upgrade project is grinding to a halt without a decision on the Partzilla price.
 
#14 ·
@MetalMagician
@SteveW

I considered buying either uppers or lowers, but Traxxion Dynamics told me both were damaged and they would do with either.
So I went ahead and bought the OEM forks from Partzilla.
@MetalMagician, if you look at the link you sent, you can see that the fork set number, 44075-0017, has no price. Kawasaki has discontinued that part number.
Partzilla discovered this during a phone call I had with them. There are now new part numbers for the left and right, you have to buy each, instead of a set.
And, as I said, the total price went up.

I will try to make up the difference in my cost by selling my old 2002 blue plastics. I bought a kit in a new color from Auctmarts. At the moment, I am pretty
happy with it, with a couple minor exceptions. I might do a full review of them when my bike is complete.

I appreciate your moral support, truly!!!
 
#15 ·
Are you getting the AK-20 kit from Traxxion? Thats what I have in my forks and I'm very happy with it. Money well spent along with my rear Ohlins shock.
 
#16 ·
@SteveW

The AK-20 kit is precisely what I wanted, when I thought the bent forks I bought were good. I was very much looking forward to them.
I have no experience with anything other than OEM forks, and I was daydreaming about what the new experience would be like.
I was flattened when they said they couldn't work with the forks I sent. This was just this week. Just the AK-20 is priced at $995,
but I'd have to add labor to the cost of the new OEM forks coming. Already, I'm in for almost $1800. I would love to say sure, why not
shell out another grand?! I already bought an Arata full titanium exhaust, and Marchesini wheels. But at some point you have to say,
whoa there...time to stop spending. You know that we cannot get more than $4-6K from selling our bikes whole, no matter what
they have internally or externally. So they're passion projects and money pits. I hope to enjoy mine another 10 years at least, following
all the upgrades I'm making this spring.

The two that have fallen flat are the AK-20 kit and some unusable or unobtainable carbon fiber bits. Already, that hurts. But I'll still
be happy overall, when I'm rolling again in a month.

This weekend, I'll be doing my valve clearance service and getting all that put back together.
 
#17 ·
I wanted to take a moment to update this thread, for any future readers. I am using terms that should be accurate for any future searches.


While I investigated several options, here is a summary of what I eventually ended up with.
All work on forks was completed by Traxxion Dynamics, in Woodstock, GA (USA).
* I had bought a set of '04 or '05 forks from a private seller, for the gold tubes and radial caliper mounts. Traxxion deemed the inner and outer tubes to be bent, so they were unusable.
* My OEM 2002 silver forks were sent to Traxxion and disassembled to recover the silver outer tubes, which were straight.
* The 04-05 gold forks were disassembled to recover the axle clamps with radial caliper mounts.
* New chrome inner tubes were purchased from distributor Brook Suspension, in the UK. They are Tarozzi brand, from Italy.
* Silver outer tubes were sent for anodizing to gold color. Traxxion was not satisfied with first attempt, so a 2nd attempt was done. 2nd attempt did not match OEM gold ('04-'06), but I didn't press for more attempts. Not sure if the anodizer used a different color, or the original silver had any impact. By comparison, the OEM color is more translucent, shinier, and a bit more orange. See my photo.
* This mix of inner tubes, outer tubes and axle clamps were rebuilt with new seals and Traxxion's AK-20 springs and cartridges set. The AK-20 should be one of the best fork upgrades available.

I have successfully mounted the forks on my bike. However, when attempting to mount the right caliper, a Brembo M4 monoblock, there was some kind of interference between the hole and bolt which resulted in the upper / outer half of the threads being stripped. I have decided to use a Helicoil kit to repair the M10x1.25 threads. The total depth of the hole is about 28mm, so I am going to insert a 20mm long Helicoil. I will have to use a series of clearance drills and try my best to keep the drills and tap concentric with the original hole.

I am using my OEM 320mm diameter rotors. The original question was, which offset spacers would I need. I found one other reference that 10mm spacers were required, which is standard for the Nissins also, but the owner chose 7 or 8mm spacers. I bought 8 and 10mm spacers to try both. It turns out that both 8mm and 10mm would work, with each biased to the inner and outer range of the service faces. I chose the 10mm, which gives 2mm more of a torque arm for slightly stronger braking.

I plan to repair the hole tonight, mount the caliper, and bleed the fronts.

My final set up will be:
2002 ZX12R
Custom forks with '04-'05 axle clamps with radial caliper mounts
Traxxion Dynamics AK-20 springs and cartridges
Brembo M4 108mm monoblock calipers and pads
Brembo 19RCS master cylinder with lever and reservoir, which has the 18mm or 20mm lever pivot distance
320mm OEM rotors left over from my 2002, with remaining service thickness
10mm spacers

I prefer new rotors, but the pads seem to be placed properly in the existing worn rotor faces, and I wasn't ready to spend even more money.

Finally, I wanted to say that all my communication with Traxxion Dynamics was with Dan Anderson, who was superbly engaged at all times, with interday replies. He provided me with great clarity on their processes, prices, and helped me work through my strategies after they determined the original '04-'05 set I sent them was bent. I had previously considered using Race Tech, but I did not find them to be as helpful or as clear. I had originally found Traxxion because of the set up videos their owner, Max McAllister, presents on YouTube.

I have high expectations once I hit the road, hopefully by the end of the month. I will post pics of my fully renovated bike once I receive my Marchesini wheels, which is another drama told elsewhere. Ordered in February, may not arrive until the end of July or later...?

Thanks
 

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