Wilbers 04 to 06 swap

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HIGHLANDER

naewittyshitepostedeere
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
1,994
Reaction score
186
Location
Carson City NV
I thought I post up some pics as some guys have been asking questions and for pics, so here's the install.

First of all the remote preload adjuster bracket needs another mounting hole drilled in it as the 06 sub-frame is different from the 06. The aluminum bracket drills easily and the old hole covers up when installed.

wilbers-bracket.jpg


Next is the orientation of the preload hose coming of the shock. The voltage regulator on the 06 is moved to underneath the bracket that the soft / hard lever attaches onto. The fins are pretty sharp and you need to route the hose away from it. The Wilber’s shocks come from the factory usually with the hose in the 11 or 12 o’clock position. I had already moved mine to about 9 o’clock on the 04, but it should really be about 7 o’clock to have enough clearance to easily pass the sharp edges of the fins. If you do move the banjo bolt BARELY crack open the bolt and forcefully twist the banjo by hand. If you loosen it too much you’ll have fluid coming out and your shock will be headed back to Wilbers for a rebuild. Don’t dork this part up !!

WILBERSSHOCK-1.jpg


While the old shock is out you should lube up the bolts and dogbone bearings as they don’t have much, sometimes not any , grease on them. Yamaha is still lax on grease as in years past.

shock-bolts.jpg


Getting the top bolt back in there is a bear so use some patience and a few choice cuss words…..that always works for me ! Not only is the ABS controller in the way , but the linked braking valves are now also in the way. You can see the socket above the brace and the bottom of the linked brake valves too. I also removed the bolts holding the rear brake slave reservoir so I could move the rear brake line for a little more room to work.

top-bolt.jpg


Here’s the hose routing, you can see how close it is when the banjo is at 9 o’clock position. I drilled a hole in the fender and tie strapped it to be sure of no problems. I have since moved the line to the outside of the fender and tie strapped it there instead.

06-line-routing-1.jpg


Line-route-2.jpg


Here’s the adjuster mounted up and you can see the bracket fits and the old unused hole covers up. So far I’ve about 3K on the swap and so far so good.

preload-adjuster.jpg


 
Thanks Highlander for taking the time and effort to post this.

I'll be doing it soon, I just need to decide whether I want to have the shock rebuilt.

It has 17K on it and have not had any problems with it previously,but I'd hate to put it on and have to jerk it back out after 2 or 3K.

 
Highlander

Thanks for the excellent write up...

..and now the dumb question: apart from the cramped new environment :rolleyes: does the old shock fit without a problem?

So an older 640 can be installed on a MY2006-2007...

Stef

 
Highlander
Thanks for the excellent write up...

..and now the dumb question: apart from the cramped new environment :rolleyes: does the old shock fit without a problem?

So an older 640 can be installed on a MY2006-2007...

Stef
Stef,

the 640 will bolt right up without modification. :D

 
Highlander....your the "man".....showing the impossible (never tried?) is possible.....was it cold doing it outside? :lol: ....(in case you've forgotten I seen the projects, toys & tools stuffed in your garage).....

 
How well does that shock handle the extra weight and longer swingarm of the 06?
The difference in weight between a ABS 04 and the new 06 is only 29#'s. That's not much difference the way I see it, you can load that much extra weight up on the bike on a weekend trip , and I 've seen some Cali guys eat lunch !! :D

How much weight can less than 2" of swing arm length be also? I find most of the added weight to be up front on the 06, the 04 was a lot easier to rock back on the centerstand and lift the front tire. You could easily push down on the rack on the 04 and lift the front off the ground, it's not so easy on the 06.

Highlander....your the "man".....showing the impossible (never tried?) is possible.....was it cold doing it outside? :lol: ....(in case you've forgotten I seen the projects, toys & tools stuffed in your garage).....
It got all the way down to 55 degrees ..almost froze... had to put on a long sleeve shirt :lol:

 
I did this conversion today (as detailed by Highlander) on my 08 FJR. But when I rotated the Banjo Bolt/ Line to the 7 O'clock position and installed the shock, it was pointing too low, I removed the shock and rotated the Banjo bolt/ line back to about 8:30 position, now Perfect... Other than that, instructions worked great on a 2008 model too.

So, using a Wilbers 640 shock off a 2004 and installing it on a 2008 FJR is also doable.

 
Top