Fitting a modern wide rim to a xs11

[evileric]

I am currently building a cross between a cafe racer and a low rider, sort-of-a low cafe. Critical to this is the fitment of a new look 4.5 inch 3 spoke rear wheel. Has anyone out there fitted one to the xs11.

[nashville_bill]

Is there enough room to put a wide wheel/tire back there?

[rover]

You would have to move the right hand side of the swingarm over more than an inch, and run the wheel off-center, cause the drive shaft is in the way

[chevy45412001]

wide tire

This has been brought up before. I'd really like that too,if you figure it out let us know.Without a chain drive it would be way to much cash to get that setup working properly.

[wildbill]

What are you trying to do?Set the bike up so it can use 17 inch sport tires front and rear?I think you had better study and think it over before you start.The disadvanages might out weigh the pluses.

[TopCatGr58]

LIke they said, it's pretty tough to do much with the rear end due to the driveshaft and limited width allowance. Not sure how hard it will be to find parts down there in S.A. but you could find a Special 16" rear rim, that would lower it a bit(will also slightly lower your overall topend speed but give you more starting torque, and you can get a decent 6" wide tire (140/90/16) that will just barely fit to be about the widest to go on there! Good luck!
T.C.

[crawlspace2112]

the driveshaft is not very thick and i believe there's about an inch clearance inside the swingarm so you could probably notch the swingarm out and weld in a new piece to fill the hole. what size are we talking about 180? what about the rim? to fit it you might have to build a spacer so you can fit the final drive hub or you may have to get rid of some material off the left side of the rim, new spacers, rear brake placement and on and on. did yamaha have a bike that used the same final drive but with a spoked wheel? if so you could get a thicker rim and spoke kit and use the original hub to get the fatter tire to fit. you still would have to notch the swingarm. hmmm, sounds like next winter's project for me

[slicky5150]

I believe the driveshaft is very close to the swingarm at the point where the tire would rub. After you cut the swingarm and reinforced it the gain would be very minimal, millimeters. It seems there is just no easy way to get a fat tire back there. Any way you go is going to involve alot of fabrication, at least to keep the tire centered in the frame.

To me the most practical solution is a chain drive with either a rigid rear or different swing arm, either fabricated or fit from another bike. My grandfather is a retired machinest and has a machine shop in his backyard. (Yes, he is my hero.) I have shown the problem to him and he said piece of cake, bring it over. I dont want to get into it this year as I am still finishing projects on the bike and riding season has arrived. I definetly plan to convert to chain drive this winter and will post my results.

The XS is already an outstanding motorcycle, but with a fat tire hanging out the rear, oh man. Makes my mouth water.

Good luck with your project, Chad

[evileric]

Wider rear rim

Hi guys,

Yes this is a major undertaking. It has been done before by a guy in Netherlands (I think). Theoretical I know how to do it but alot of the "nuts-and-bolts" answers I don't have. Unfortunately, only a person that has done this before will give me the answers.

Yes, firstly you have to notch the swingarm housing to gain extra space. Secondly you cannot go very wide on the rim size, only about 4 to 4.5 inch width. The tire width would be a 150 to 160 maximum. Primarily it is more just a optical illusion in so much as the overall tire width will ream pretty much the same it will only sit on a wider rim.

The critical factor is to manufacture a adaptor that will take the original cusioned drive gear and mate it with the hub of the new wheel. Thus the type of wheel (Suzuki GSXR J model or Yamaha FZR 750 / 1000 genesis) is critical. Maybe a smaller model like a GSXR 400 (grey import in South Africa) could work.

Incidently the frame is allready modified and the seat height has been dropped 140mm (5.5 inches). The front forks rake angle have kicked out a bit but by changing the front to a 17 inch rim the steering responsiveness will be regained.

Also about 15 years ago I had a XS1100 Sport (in SA the were called the "Europe"). That was fitted with a chain conversion. However it could only take a 530 chain due to space limitations. The bike made about 130 bhp on the back wheel due to extensive modification thus it wrecked a chain in no-time. That is also not a way I want to go again.

If someone can tell me how to put photo's on the web I will post some of that bike, it was awesome to ride in the mid 80's.

[Redbaron]

Fat Tires

Newbies and fat tires tsk, tsk, tsk, we don't ride hardley's guys nor do we ride custom built to spec choppers like you see on TV, while it is true all the new sport bikes have wider rear tires, there is actually a very good engineering reason for it. These are short stroke high rev (up to 15000 rpm) bikes if they had our tires they would be un-handleable. Now we have long stroke, low rev bikes any thing that red lines below 9000 is considered low rev nowadays. Having said all that I have a friend who like us loved his XS, right up until his 20 years of motorcycle repair experience made him think he too could have an OCC rear tire. I almost cried when I saw the bike in the dumpster, knowing he had spent almost $3000.00 and countless hours with chain conversion tries and rear end mods. All of which made the frame too unstable to even put back to original. I too have aspirations of a wider rear tire but................................ read the threads from those before you who have had this thought. (Just my opinion, but i could be wrong ya know.) PS- Never let a naysayer like myself stop you from trying to do what you want to do. Nothing is impossible, it only takes longer and costs more.

[glenn]

rear tyre

Hi all
Just a mention.
In the photo section there are some pictures of an F model with a 155/90 tyre on back. having seen the bike i can say it has very little room on the LHS when seated. Maybe 1/8th inch-3mm.
The original rim was cut and bolted/welded to a VW rim, the owner thinks.
His biggest problem is obtaining tyres in the profile he needed.
He can get 145/90 in Australia easy. The 155 he has to go to an "antique" tyre supplier
Glenn
Australia

[wildbill]

I thought about running 17s front and rear to take advanage of the top of the line tires that come in a matched set.I even asked a wrench I know about doing this on a bike I used to own.The answer was not worth the effort.There is the major things that people see right off the bat that need changing but its the little things that get you.Making a showbike or what I call a mantlepiece fine but for day in and day out better off leaving it well enough alone.I live and ride where the roads are curvey and if myself I wanted to improve a xs,it would be the handling.That is my opinion.Hope it turns out good whatever you do.

[crawlspace2112]

redbaron sez:Newbies and fat tires tsk, tsk, tsk, we don't ride hardley's guys nor do we ride custom built to spec choppers like you see on TV, while it is true all the new sport bikes have wider rear tires, there is actually a very good engineering reason for it..
ok i've had my SG for three years i've been riding for close to 30 years i don't consider myself a newbie but you have a point about the engineering, true the new superbikes need the bigger tires but xs11's would benefit in the handling department with a wider contact patch also. i've been building custom choppers from cb750's, xs650's and 400's for the past 15 years... bobbers, girders, springers, fat tires skinny tires... you get my point. the idea is to make it an extension of you not just be another Mr. Smith. if a fat tire is what blows your hair back then fine, do it but chose the right bike for you to start with. i like to play, i wouldn't go as far as wrecking my bike for the sake of a fat tire but i would experiment a little. i would also leave it a shafty.

[evileric]

Wider rear rim

Hi guys,

Thank you for all the good responses. I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holidays. Here in South Africa the weather has been simply gloryious.

Let me put some minds at ease. I am not converting an existing bike to a low rider. It is a long story, here is the short version. The bike I have I inherited from my dad who bought it new in '78. The first one in our town back then. In the late 80's on his way to work he crashed the bike badly. I rebuilt the bike in the early 90's but in the process I had to change the frame. The bike is currently undergoing it's second total rebuilt as a standard bike. I will not have it any other way due to the amount of sentimental value this bike has to me. In a different stream on the forum I am actually asking anyone if they know where I can find a "Yamaha" (Vetter) touring fairing for it. To my knowledge there is none in South Africa.

The original (bent) frame was straightened and lowered hence the project to build a low-rider. This bike will be built using wrecker yard parts. The success (and future) of this project is to make the rear wheel to fit. If I can't pull that off the project will be shelved.

As a footnote it so nice to hear all these diverse comments, really nice!. Let it keep on rolling...

[wildbill]

I own a 78E,I have a idea what you are trying to do now.Have you thought about useing a 16 inch back wheel.There is a big time clearence problem for fitting oversized back tires on these bikes.Maybe matchup front and back tires so they will be close to the same size,would help in handling.Worth a look.You will figure it out just takes time.Best of luck.