Dave Carter FJ Ace ( Part 2 )

Not content with grafting the Ace swingarm to his FJ, Dave wanted to upgrade the forks. The Thunderace forks are 48mm units and very strong and I have often thought about trying a set myself. Then up pops Dave ................... to my knowledge Dave is the first to fit the Ace forks to the FJ.

This was a bit more daunting as I had to make it up as I went along. I was quite a bit of time comparing the two before I bit the bullet and went ahead. First thing was to get the front out and assess the mods required.

I soon found that the main difference was that the FJ yoke spindle was quite a bit longer than the Thunderace as you can see from the photo. The FJ stem was then pressed out and repressed into the Thunderace yokes and hey presto it fits, (took just over 100 Ibs pressure to do it though and replace the lower ring clip).

Once assembled in the frame, alterations had to be made to the headlight adjuster bracket as it fouled upon turning the yokes. A small bracket had to be made and the adjuster now sits just above the framework near the clocks.

Another mod has to be made to the Top yoke as the ignition unit stems are longer than the FJ’s. So with a bit of careful hacksaw and file work these were shaped to enable the existing ignition switch to fit into the aperture of the Ace’s. Also as the actual fork legs are shorter, handlebar risers were fitted as there’s no room to fit the Thunderace style handlebars (pictures show this much better than words ! )

Finally it was just a case of reassembling the fork legs, wheel, brakes etc and she’s ready. Well almost!

I had a 4 into one fitted, which was donated by Mark and Kerry from Doncaster (great guys’ n gal’s) But as the collector kept splitting, I acquired a Remus Innovation system and fitted that so along with a bit of paint on the belly pan it’s back on the road.

First ride showed a tremendous difference. There is much more feel, it turns in quicker and there is a much smoother ride. I'm trying some Pirelli Dragon GTS tyres at the moment and so far they feel fine, will see what sort of mileage they give though in time but they certainly are grippy.

Still going to play around with the handle bars to see what suits and maybe have a paint job done but needless to say I’m a happy man.

Next it’s the engine, anyone got a spare big bore kit and high lift cams going spare? Only joking this beast has more than enough power for my riding abilities.

But then again a bit more power is always handy !

Now you may say, "why not get another bike ? " But if you do then you’ve probably never owned an FJ. All you who have one will know what I mean !!!

Many thanks have to go to Barry Edwards' excellent web site (not forgetting Frank's write ups) for the inspiration and information to improve the FJ.

Dave I think you have done a brilliant job there. Very many thanks for sending me your write up and sharing it. Apologies for the delay my end in publishing it !

Dave Carter FJ Ace ( Part 1 )

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