how hard could this be???

[wvurubberducky600]

I was looking through the pic and flick section, and i happened to wonder upon Nighthawk's pre 98 ( it's int eh pre-98 post) and he has an 04-05 model fairing set on his pre-98, the headlight and upper being off a 600 and tail off a 750. anyways i pm'd him some ?'s but i havent heard back. Anyways i'm wondering if you guys might have a cle in how hard it would be to switch all this out and what i would need to do? i'm like to keep my gauge cluster and just re-do the fairings and headlight. It doesnt direct fit as you can se the air box and other components but look at his pic also. I would like to keep the rear pegs for 2 up as his are gone and would the subframe be safe still? any new wiring or major mods you guys think i would have to do? Please let me know what you think about this and opinions.

[BlackKatnWV]

subframe has to be from the gsxr or make a custom one.

As for the fairings he said he it wasnt to bad to do just alot of minor adjust to get it all to flow right.

Just buy the fairings and go for it.

I cant decide what i want yet, i was going for cbr 1000 fairings but I have a chance to get a complete 05-06 gsxr 1k set for $250 local...

[wvurubberducky600]

parts....

So i have to switch out subframes? is there any bolt on problems or has to be welded or modded?

I looked around on ebay and came up with the following for this project..

subframe-$275

Upper fairing $100-150

tail fairing is around $100-150

seat-$50

headlight- $75-100

tail light-$50

flushmounts, mirrors, hugger, etc


I think i should look for a fairing set and go that route? does this seem correct about what i will need? I still havent decided on this mod but i would like to try it.

[BlackKatnWV]

You can use just the upper and bolt/screw it to the stock kat body work after you trim the stock upper off. You would have to ask about how to mount all of it as I havent done it but Im sure I could find out and let you know.

As for the subframe it has to be welded, it isnt a bolt on job.

[wvurubberducky600]

welding and cutting.....

well i could get acess to a welder so i think i could manage the subframe easily and add a couple pieces of pipe tubing for better support also, as for the upper fairing i guess bolt-on or fiber-glass would fix this but i want it to be strong and not crack so the best possible way to do this would be???
I expect to have to repaint the upper nose piece of my bike, so fiberglassing, bolting would not be a problem that ic an fore see, welding the rear subframe and supports should be ok, lots of customization i guess, i just wanna know about how to mount the headlight, like will it be sturdy and all?

[brooder]

Do a search for "plastic welding" to find out how to join fairing sections with a strong bond. There has been a topic recently that went over all of it.

[wvurubberducky600]

yes, i've read about it but learning can be difficult....and i want it to look smooth as possible.

[Black_peter]

Since Nighthawk hasn't replied I'll pass on some information. His conversion is as simple as it is good looking. Here is how he did it:

He cut back the existing front fairing just enough to bolt the GSXR to it. so under the GSXR stuff is the stock Kat stuff. Clever! Now for the rear he welded up some new rails. I would follow Waltari and BlackKat lead as well as
: who was it that added rearsets and did a bunch of welding?? shoot.. The type of tubing to reweld the subframe is cheap. The most inportant thing is where you weld it to.

[wvurubberducky600]

so to bolt on the front fairings i will need to cut something around my headlight or such?need a headlight/nose clip stay off the gixxer to weld onto it? I think welding on rear sets wouldn't be to hard, just get the placement right.

[Nighthawk]

I think I've gotten to all my PMs but if I haven't then I apologize. Things have been kinda crazy lately...I recently moved and a bunch of other stuff is goin on, blah blah blah.

If you want to keep your stock side faring and go with a different upper, than yeah you're gonna have to cut up the sides until the front fits right. As far as keeping your stock guauges goes, well if you want to use a late-model stock headlight assembly (ie newer gixxer) then don't count on it. The framework that holds the gauges and stock katana headlight has to be cut very extensively to make a new upper fit...you're better off removing it and making one from scratch or adapting a fairing stay for the fairing that you're putting on. I had to completely gut the gixxer headlight to get it to go on that setup and I really wish I hadn't.

There are basically two ways you can do the tail. You can go the cheap bastard route like I did and weld up your own subframe and just weld it right to your existing frame, or you can buy a subframe that fits your new tail section and weld up some tabs to the existing frame that will allow your new subframe to bolt up (aka the Waltari method). Rear sets can be weled up pretty easily...I plan on doing that fairly soon actually, once I find a set that I like.

[wvurubberducky600]

nah, I dont want to use my headlifght or side fairings, i want the gixxer complete set as well as the 04-05 headlight, so i am going to have to take off my gauges (re-mount them somehow) and add the gixxer headlight/upperfairing stay onto my frame, and the weld the the rear subrame and rear sets, along with finding methods of bolting on the side fairings.....this all sound correct and how mych cutting/mod for the front headlight/fairing stay on the upper?

[Nighthawk]

Yup, sounds about right. There are a few different ways you can do the front, so the amount of work would depend on which route you take. I ended up mounting the front and sides as one piece, so I basiaclly had a brace coming out from the tab on the neck to the mounting holes on the underside of the upper fairing to support the headlight/upper. Very little fab work this way...although I do need to add some bracing for the top of the upper fairing near the windshield.

[noodlemice]

kinda seems like putting a ferrari body kit on a dodge neon.

[BlackKatnWV]

kinda seems like putting a ferrari body kit on a dodge neon.

And why is that?

[noodlemice]

i dont know, i doubt id roll up on a Kat trying to pass off as a Gix.