81 special sloted rotors

[cowboybob998]

Tried to put 81 special sloted rotors on a 78 standard wheel, wont work they are thiner than the 78 standard, would not line up right with the calipers, has any one done this, can you shim the rotors out with washers ?

[skids]

Tried to put 81 special sloted rotors on a 78 standard wheel, wont work they are thiner than the 78 standard, would not line up right with the calipers, has any one done this, can you shim the rotors out with washers ?

Are you kidding me? Dammit! I have some of the gold painted slotted rotors in storage for my standards if I ever wear out a pair!

[crazy steve]

Are you kidding me? Dammit! I have some of the gold painted slotted rotors in storage for my standards if I ever wear out a pair!

They're not thinner, but may have a different dish. And rather than shim the rotors out, shim the caliper brackets in where they attach to the forks instead...

[cowboybob998]

They are thiner, i took the the dial calipers out and checked them, dont remember the numbers right now but the were thiner, thin enought it offset the rotor in the caliper bracket and was rubing on the bracket.

[cywelchjr]

The part number for the special and the standard is the same except for the midnight because of the color. That said, rotors have been seen with a different dish. In the manual the procedure actually calls for adjusting the forks on the standard by bouncing the front end and then moving the clamped end out or in to center the rotor in the caliper bracket. Mine must be moved just a little or they drag, but when moved to center they do NOT stick at all, so while some say I'm an idiot for following the factory manual procedure, I'll do what the guys who knew what they were doing and what had clearly been working on this bike for over 100,000 miles.

[natemoen]

Agreed, if they are a different thickness then they have been surfaced at some point because as others have said they are all the same thickness (xs650 as well) but every now and then one came from the factory with a slightly different dish.

[cowboybob998]

Then something is weard here then, i measured the inside dish and the rotor surface of the standard and the special, just to make sure and the special is thiner on the dish and the surface, if it was not dark out i would go out and write down the deference in them.

[cywelchjr]

Then something is weard here then, i measured the inside dish and the rotor surface of the standard and the special, just to make sure and the special is thiner on the dish and the surface, if it was not dark out i would go out and write down the deference in them.

Yeah, its real common to swap front wheels from model to model and year to year. Even rears are swapped between years and sometimes even models (it's one of the mods used to lower a standard).

The only XS models that use different size rotors are the 750 and 850, all the others use the same rotors.

And except for the 11 special, they all use the same calipers.

[cowboybob998]

I have got another special front end out in the shead with sloted rotors on it i will go out there tomorow and see if there is any deferences in the two, may be these rotors came off of something elece, ya never know when dealing with what some one elce has done to a bike befor you get it.

[DAVINCI]

They DO fit, put a full set of them on my '79 standard just cause I like the look, had them on there for 6 years now. No problems at all.

[cowboybob998]

sloted/non sloted rotors

I checked two sets of standard rotors and two sets of special rotors today and the standard rotors are thicker than the special rotors that i have, about 2MM thicher, now the the standard rotors are both off of a 78 and i can not tell you for sure that the special rotors are the real special rotors or not but one set was on a 81 special that i have, they look the same exsept for the thickness, any way i had to shim one side to get them to line up, i did check the part number on bike bandit and they are not the same part number witch make sence because one is sloted and one is not, that would make the deferent part number, any way thats all i know, got em working, all i care about right now.

[cowboybob998]

fine looking bike

They DO fit, put a full set of them on my '79 standard just cause I like the look, had them on there for 6 years now. No problems at all.

Divinci that is one fine looking standard you have there.

[motoman]

That it is..........considering its previous life......