Okay so I've searched back through some of the forums and have learnt a bit about the conversion, but not enough, I thought maybe started a thread here and having people add tips, info and guides to it and maybe it'd help me + anyone else wanting to convert their bike.

Sorry to sound a bit dumb, but I'm a useless mechanic and really need to know the full details and information to actually do things myself...

Okay, so I don't want to spend loads, first things first, mounting the bars.

From what I've read I've seen about 75% of people say its FINE to drill the standard top yoke and fit riser clamps and the rest seem to think/say it breaks easily etc etc.. a lot more people are saying drilling is fine compared to not drilling, so I think this might be the route for me, as I can't really afford a new top yoke...

Secondly, I've read around on this forum that for most mx bars on the F4i the throttle cables DO NOT need to be replaced, is this true?? I'm looking at fitting TAG standard sized MX bars... do I need to replace them or not? I'm guessing I will need to replace the clutch cable and the front brake line too?

When I do this mod I will more than likely fit a Fullthrottleinc hand brake and shorty clutch lever at same time, will this all fit on the bars with the standard switch gear ? I presume so.. and also will the switch gear fit on the bar fine or are the cables too short?

Lastly, speedo and headlight.. Once I remove all the standard headlight and bracket etc, what do I need to do? is there much in way of cabling to tidy up or anything? I want to be able to go back to fully faired in the future so don't want to wreck anything.. I guess I'm just going to have to run it with no speedo? will the indicators (er side lights whatever you call them in america) still work fine ?

Oh and one other thing whilst I'm asking, easy pull clutch mods.. theres a cable one thats quite cheap, if you know what im on about can you tell me if its worth it or any good please?

Hope someone takes the time out to help me out with this.. I think I got some bars already, just gotta order up some grips, clamps and whatever cabling I need to extend.. thanks.

 

I just did th DB bars on my F4I.The only thing of concern about the cables was the front brake lines.I have a 929 front end and stainless 929 lines and they just make it.(but they do make it)All contolls, switches,handbrake,grips will go back on with no sweat.
I definetly wouldnt drill though.I drilled holes and welded big aluminum bungs in to gain strength.works perfect.

 

i just did mx bars on my f4i last week and all your control should work fine might just have to re-rout some of them...my throttle is the most 'on the nuts just barley' cable and i'm running protaper CR high bars with huge risers to clear the forks and theres no way yours will be as tall as mine.

as for headlight i'm just running a acerbis DHH headlight from haibikeshop.com (they got plenty of styles) and i just wired it up to the wires for the stock headlight harness with no problems. i unhooked my front blinkers and havent put them back on (if i must ill use hand signals to let people across from me to know which way im turning)

...now as for drilling the top triple. it IS pretty thin/soft metal when i looked at it soi had a buddy that was actully able to pulse weld a peice of alum. plate under each side where i drilled. just made sure u line the holes up straight! while im not really worried about it breaking while riding its when they smash the ground i would think a stock one might break. if it breaks u can always buy a fullthrottle upper triple (way nice) and thats what i will do if mine ever breaks.


o and fVck a speedo lol i just go with traffic (i still have it on my bike tucked behind the headlight/front plate tho so i pull it out every so often to check my gas situation lol)

 

you can drill your top triple without reinforcing it and it will work fine until you have a really hard crash..........mine did fine for a long time(took a HARD crash to take it out. I do second the motion for drilling straight though.....since mine I did drunk, so it was crooked!

Headlights.....check dirtbike magazines and in the enduro sections...tada...Acerbis makes some good ones that should work fine.

I don't run guages at all, but pretty sure everything will work fine without them.....you just won't get those spiffy lights that say your blinker is on! Here's the way I've found is best for not getting busted without a speedo......DON'T pace the slowest old lady on the road, you look like you are trying too hard to cover somin up......and DON'T pace the Porsche thats trying to qualify for a race either.........pick the car that blends in the most and pace behind them about 2-3 car lengths behind.

all of your "switches", clutch cable, and throttle cables will mount just fine, although they may need to be rerouted in order to make sure they have plenty of slack.

As for the wiring behing your stock headlights.....be creative and hide it somewhere......so have used their airboxes....i hid mine under the gas tank....maybe wrk it out where you can run it all to the subframe

I would replace your front brakelines if I were you.......some places will make you hydraulic lines whatever length you need and put whatever ends on it you want.....I found 2 X 32" long stainless steel lines with standard banjo ends....one end at 45 degrees and one at 180 degrees(straight) bends from Bonaco (cough cough 1-909-985-3429 cough cough) worked really well for me! You'll need to get a double banjo bolt for your master though....pretty sure it's a 12mm with 1.25 thread pitch.

Easy Pull clutches............one good choice Moose Ultimate Clutch system perch and lever....easy pull set-up is built right into the clutch lever! About the same price as the cable peice too! <---I have the perch and lever on my bike, and the cable system in my car.....they work well that way!

As for fitting everything(handbrake and clutch) with your switch pod.....I would just move your switch pod and zip-tie it to the fron of your triple clamp.......you won't be using it that often anyways! If you really want it on the left side, you might think about trying to wire something smaller up there because I don't think the switch pod, handbrake, and clutch and gonna fit and work well together!

 

wow, lots of advice, many thanks!!

Glad to hear that all the cabling will reach except for the brake lines, I wanted to go braided lines anyway so i'll get some made up to length. (I'll get 2 x 32" as eaze reccomends) the left side switch gear isn't the end of the world then if it won't fit on nicely with the hand brake.. I'll just zip tie it further down the bars or something, you're right I probably won't use it /that/ much.. don't plan on street riding for much longer.

Also glad to hear wiring is easy, just unplug everything and it's sorted.. I might leave the speedo all connected up and working and just zip tie it behind the headlight as mentally has done, at least then I can tell Mr Copper that I "do have a speedo!"

Looks a lot easier than I first thought... I will drill the tripple for now (using a pillar drill to keep it straight) if it does snap (which will probably be on landing a wheely anyway so prob won't be too dangerous) then I will buy one of those flashy top yokes...

With the headlights, I was planning on going for an Acerbis one, did you have to splice it into the loom side of the loom (if that makes sense!) or is there a way to make it plug into the existing headlight plug after the headlights have been taken off? hope that makes sense anyway.. had electric problems on bikes before so I don't really like cutting into the loom if I can help it..

I'll also check out the moose clutch although if its a full lever I might not as I want a shorty lever, hmmm ..

thanks for the help

just one more thing actually :D

How do people find the change from clip ons to DB bars? personally I much prefer fully faired in terms of looks and so on, but I've smashed 2 upper fairings so far (and I havent even had a bad crash, never flipped a wheely yet!!!) and since my biking history was with supermotos, I do prefer the wider more upright position.. I think my riding will be a lot more confident with DB bars hence why I'm changing for a bit, although I intend to go back to fully faired when I get good...

 

if you like full fairings with DB bars do it (see my avatar....full fairing with DB bars)......just expect to catch alot of crap from people for it(although flipped, and twisted is pretty much the same thing!)

youre triple won't break from setting a wheelie down.....its only gonna give out if you crash..HARD

as for wiring your headlights....sure you could get an electrical connector that would fir tightly into you headligh connector, but I found it easier to just splice outside the "loom" and wire that way!

 

I've bought some renthal bar clamps and going to pick up some renthal braced bars + grips next week... was looking at the bike today and was wondering if I need to drop the forks through the triples a bit? as I don't think the bars will clear the forks as it is??

I bought the cable type of easy clutch too as someone was seling a new one for cheap, will see what it's like when fitted up

 

i drilled both vortex upper triple and the stock one and the vortex one broke with a hard crash so now i have a stock one back on that i rode with forever and it worked fine without rewelding anything. so just drill it

 

I was hoping you'd reply suicidl as it's you who made me want to go MX bars... love the style of your bike.. are they standard style renthal bars? There are so many types on ebay and on websites, different bends styles and so on.. got fed up of looking so just gonna go to the MX shop next week and pick up whatever set they've got

You got any other pics of your bike other than the two you posted in the "show us your f4i pics" thread?

cheers.

 

these are what i am running now with tag risers
http://www.haibikeshop.com/store/ind...products_id=61

i was running renthal cr250 bars

 

I could spend soooo much money on that HAI website!! wonder if they ship to UK

The "scary gary" bars look good, do you prefer them to the CR250 bars? if they are better then do you know the renthal part number or type so I can buy some at my local MX shop.

I think I might order some stuff from HAI soon. like a fullthrottle handbrake set up, asv shortie lever, stuntshine state dvd and more, soo much nice stuff on that site.

 

they will ship to UK and if you call up there they can give you the part number. and dont get the asv get the moose easy pull lever you will thank me later

 

I bought a moose easy pull system thing that goes on by the clutch itself, are these just as good or not? I got it cheap, brand new but haven't fitted yet... or is the moose easy pull clutch lever really much better?

cheers suicidl, think i'll be buying my HB and stuff from HAI in a few weeks when I got some spare money.

 

its this one but it does not have the hot start on it

http://www.haibikeshop.com/store/ind...products_id=64

 

ok if its much better then i will sell the moose system pull i got and get the clutch lever instead, might pick up the scary gary style bars too as i think i can work out the part number from the dimensions on the site..
thanks.

 

I've found the scary gary renthal bars. 758-01-SI - 725mm wide. un-braced.

Bought along with renthal clamps... just gotta order some renthal grips and when it all turns up I can fit it up and see if the front brake lines need extending or not.

 

Hi, just started stripping the front fairing off etc... er.. what do I do with those air intakes that run from the front fairing into the sides of the tank, do I just unscrew them and leave em off? Will the bike still run fine?

Have stopped workin on the bike until I know I just take em off and don't have to do anything to it after

 

took mine off of my 600RR.....and seen them off on most every SF'ed F4i too......you're good to go, rip em off!

 

nice one, thanks, will just take em off later... gonna take a week or so before its up and running as I still waiting for my bars, gotta find and buy a headlight and some brake lines yet too...

thanks for the help, I'll post pics once I finished.

 

Hi, started on it all tonight, got the upper fairing off, started having big regrets as it looked stupid but I carried on, got the speedo and the bracket off, tidied half the wiring up and now it's starting to take shape I'm getting a bit more happier with it... still not quite happy yet tho!

Pic attatched of what I done so far..

What the **** do I do with the rest of the wiring?? the headlight section of the loom with the relays and headlight plugs etc on... ? one of the headlight plugs will be cut off when I fit the headlight but I gotta leave the other one on... can I just bunch it up and cable tie it to the left fork leg? I alraedy put the other wiring on the right fork leg (**** knows how I'm gonna get the headlight on.. big cable ties I guess

Also, for those who have kept their side fairings on, what did you do with the V-piece bit?