gixxer front end works - but takes some work...
i have an 07 gixxer 750 front end on my 06 s1k. i love it and would definitely recommend it but it ain't quite so simple as it sounds...
here's the good:
- great, supple, completely adjustable forks
- great brakes (progressive, excellent feel, big stoppies with two fingers)
- cheap, cheap, cheap (i paid $285 for whole front end including triples, fender, forks w/calipers, axle, etc. on ebay)
- always plenty available (squids drop these bikes daily)
- parts and upgrades are plentiful and cheap (the ujm appeal)
the tricky parts:
- you need a gixxer front wheel (i love mine, super light and easy to find on ebay, got a perfect one for $200 including rotors)
- gixxer triple is not the same spacing as the s1k (gixxer has forks wider apart) so you need to fiddle w/spacers to get the calipers/rotors to work right
- gixxer forks are slightly smaller diameter at the bottom so i used some aluminum sheet flashing as a shim to get proper purchase from the s1k lower triple (top fits perfectly)
- i hated the look of the gixxer fender, but you can't mount the s1k fender w/out making a custom bracket. my fix was to carve/sculpt/shape the gixxer fender to a profile that looks like an older ss fender
- the thicker part at the top of the forks that clamps into the top triple is a bit shorter than the s1k forks, so you have a smaller purchase area for the clip-ons. after 4k miles i've not had a problem, but it's not perfect.
all in i think i wound up with a very affordable solution that works extremely well - but then i like to tinker a bit
here's a link to the bike build with some pics.
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=57965
please note that i don't know if there are differences with the gixxer 1000, 750, etc. that would either solve or worsen the issues above - i just got a front end and set about making it work.