same size front and rear, 16"?
- Thread starter chris7981
- Start date
Big R
Heaven is so far away.
There are a LOT of reasons why it's not a good idea. First off, tire selection sucks. Second, your front end will handle like a ton of bricks. Third, any 16" front tire that fits and gives you remotely close to the proper steering geometry probably won't actually fit between your forks / fender.
Why not just put an 18" wheel in the back?
Why not just put an 18" wheel in the back?
Bert Jan
Holy Modification Batman
chris7981 said:
No, anything from 17" up in the front is ok when looking at tire selection, rim width and handling. Usually, a 18 will handle a little better then a 17 but it's up to your riding style and bike geometry too. Tire you pick also makes a huge difference.
VonYinzer
Over 10,000 Posts
What style of machine are you after? HD and some other manufacturers make a few bikes that run 16/16, but as stated... Handling isn't what they're built for. If you have the Yamaha "mag" wheels, just find an 18" rear from an XS500. Should pretty much bolt right up. Again, if "mag" wheels are what toure working with, you're pretty much stuck with the 19" front so finding a taller rear for balance then lowering the forks and shorty shocks for stance are your best bet.
Now... If tou have spoked wheels (or arent against switching to spoked wheels) the options are limitless in comparison. Its a matter of finding the proper wheels and relacing them to your hubs. BradJ has a bunch of info on spoke sets and whatnot that work with XShubs.
In the end, you juat need to keep the final "look" you're after in mind and work within the safe parameters of size/compatibility.
Now... If tou have spoked wheels (or arent against switching to spoked wheels) the options are limitless in comparison. Its a matter of finding the proper wheels and relacing them to your hubs. BradJ has a bunch of info on spoke sets and whatnot that work with XShubs.
In the end, you juat need to keep the final "look" you're after in mind and work within the safe parameters of size/compatibility.
VonYinzer
Over 10,000 Posts
Well... I can tell you this...
If you're plan is to build a "cafe racer" styled machine, that 16 will have to go. It'll throw the whole bike out of proportion. If the plan is a brat, bobber or chopper, than the 16 can be made to work just fine with some work to the front forks. Really all just depends on what your end game is and how far down the customization rabbit hole you want to go.
If you're plan is to build a "cafe racer" styled machine, that 16 will have to go. It'll throw the whole bike out of proportion. If the plan is a brat, bobber or chopper, than the 16 can be made to work just fine with some work to the front forks. Really all just depends on what your end game is and how far down the customization rabbit hole you want to go.
mydlyfkryzis
当有疑问时踢你的敌人在生殖器上，你可以道歉后
VonYinzer said:
Is there a list of what exactly is "Cafe" and what is "Brat" ??? A rule book somewhere?
I'd love to have a rule book and poke fun at everyone breaking the "Rules" .... ;D
Honestly, I see very few real "Cafe" racers in the classic sense, "strip the bike of everything unnecessary to go as fast as possible, forget comfort", but rather a style show resembling a cafe racer. How many people do you think build a cafe racer then go out and "cafe race"? I bet 1 out of 1000 is a good guess...
To me, the Cafe Set have become like Dr. Suess' "Sam I Am"..."Do you like my Cafe Racer (Hat)?"
It's O.K. with me, but makes me LOL....So where's the Rule Book on this?
MJPriceisright
Coast to Coast
Big Rich said:
UMMMMMM yup! I have 16" front and rear, and it handles like dog sheeeeeooott.
VonYinzer
Over 10,000 Posts
mydlyfkryzis said:
Not starting shit... But this topic has been beaten to death, resuscitated, dragged trough the mud and beaten to death again on this site (and many many others).
Lets stick to helping the OP find the solution he's after. Feel free to hijack my build thread if you'd like. It'll be full on nonsense by the end anyway.
(Though... For what it's worth, there are a million ways that a "cafe racer" and a "bratstyle" motorcycle are stylistically as well as functionally different. Let's hash that out elsewhere though.
)
mydlyfkryzis
当有疑问时踢你的敌人在生殖器上，你可以道歉后
You are no fun Yinzer...(But you brought up the "rules"...lol)
chris7981
Active Member
I want to go complete money pit with this thing but do as much of it myself as i can. I want to do an engine rephase, 750 conversion, hydraulic clutch, new carbs, some sort of "cafe" seat (don't know what yet), at this point I think I'm keeping the original tank. I wanted to do some blacked out mag rims as well (going with more of a brat type thing maybe) but I might keep the spokes. now, I'm sure you are thinking, why the hell is he worried about the damn tires and rims with all this other crap he has to do? I'm glad you asked, I'll tell you. the bike rides great right now, it's still fun pre-op but I've noticed some dry rot cracking in the side wall of the back tire, not much, but it's there, otherwise the tires are good, plenty of tread etc. so i want to put new tires on it. I might as well go ahead and get the wheels set up the way they will be for going into the project instead of buying tires twice. it's not my daily driver or even my main project bike but I do like to ride it at least once a week and I have some friends that ride it when we go on rides. sorry, that seems like a lot more explanation than needed.
ApriliaBill
Yeah...I'm old school.
o1marc said:
Tell that to anybody who rode a 69 Honda 750 and hit 100 m.p.h..... There were many crashes and it got out quickly that if you lowered the front end an inch in the trees it settled the bike down nicely. Back then a lot of the test riders were the size of jockeys. Put a portly American on the same bike and you had a real Jykell and Hyde situation. Every bike has room for improvement, or they wouldn't have to build new ones.
ApriliaBill
Yeah...I'm old school.
ApriliaBill said:
Jeeeeeesh, I sound like an arrogant ass. Didn't mean to sound that way, was just trying to say, on some of the older bikes, a few adjustments could go in a positive direction, and of course you guys could be 100% correct. But my experience has been positive (lucky?) when dealing with the cruiser type bikes, getting them closer to, I guess for lack of better term "standard" or "café"...
kopcicle
antidisestablishmentarian
This may be slightly subjective .
The Z1-900 up till the KZ1000 wore a 19" front . With the introduction of the C1 C2 C3 Police bikes we saw the first 18" front and rear . With the introduction of the GPZ1100 the front also dropped to 18" after the first year . ( speculative there as manufacture dates , sale dates , model designations get very fuzzy around that time and so do I ) . All of out race efforts after 1981 resorted to 18" front and rear as near all the tire manufactures pushed the 18" front and rear per the MOCO's shipping bikes with 18 and 18 .
The 18" tire across the board was better after a few teething problems . The reduced centrifugal mass made for easier turn in and the reduced diameter allowed for steeper head angles and engine placed further forward . All in all a good thing .
So a single make ? Sure , the one I'm most familiar with Kawasaki . Evolution of the entire market ? Absolutely . Was the 16" a good idea ? Absolutely not . Is 17" a good compromise ? Yes , however modern GP biles wear 17.5 " so 18" wasn't far off the mark .
The question however was
I've said it before . If you hadn't lived it you would not believe the force it took to get the big air coolers into and out of a turn . Bent handle bars were a daily occurrence . Scary understeer front slides were common (though preferable to the infamous 16" "tuck and cartwheel" ) and the 18" tires were a welcome replacement for the 19"
~kop
The Z1-900 up till the KZ1000 wore a 19" front . With the introduction of the C1 C2 C3 Police bikes we saw the first 18" front and rear . With the introduction of the GPZ1100 the front also dropped to 18" after the first year . ( speculative there as manufacture dates , sale dates , model designations get very fuzzy around that time and so do I ) . All of out race efforts after 1981 resorted to 18" front and rear as near all the tire manufactures pushed the 18" front and rear per the MOCO's shipping bikes with 18 and 18 .
The 18" tire across the board was better after a few teething problems . The reduced centrifugal mass made for easier turn in and the reduced diameter allowed for steeper head angles and engine placed further forward . All in all a good thing .
So a single make ? Sure , the one I'm most familiar with Kawasaki . Evolution of the entire market ? Absolutely . Was the 16" a good idea ? Absolutely not . Is 17" a good compromise ? Yes , however modern GP biles wear 17.5 " so 18" wasn't far off the mark .
The question however was
I'd have to say a qualified yes because of the Kawasaki 1000 to the 1100 but not just to lower it but be able to increase head angle , move the engine forward , shorten the overall length and increase front suspension travel .
I've said it before . If you hadn't lived it you would not believe the force it took to get the big air coolers into and out of a turn . Bent handle bars were a daily occurrence . Scary understeer front slides were common (though preferable to the infamous 16" "tuck and cartwheel" ) and the 18" tires were a welcome replacement for the 19"
~kop
