Ducati 906 paso wheels

[Old Rider]

I can buy a crashed ducati 906 paso very cheap and wonder if anyone has fitted the wheels from the 906 on a FJ ? will they fit? the rear wheel has a dunlop 180 60 16

[Country Joe]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm quite sure no has yet installed Ducati Paso wheels on a FJ. Anything  can be made to fit, it just takes planning, time and money. The dimensions that matter are the axle diameters, the overall width of the wheel assemblies at the axle spacers, brake rotor distance from the centerline of the wheels, brake rotor diameter, rear sprocket and rear rotor distance to the rear wheel centerline and the speedo drive assembly compatibility to the FJ. I would start off by putting the Ducati and FJ wheels on the work bench, grab a 12" dial caliper and start measuring all those dimensions and document what you have that will match the FJ wheels and what you have to change. I would weigh the wheels before doing all that, just to see if you are going to improve or harm your unsprung weight situation. If you know a machinist, you might be time ahead to take the wheel assemblies to him and check all the widths and spacing of the rotors, sprocket and overall spacer widths on a surface plate with a height gauge. You're probably going to need a machinist at some point in this project anyway. Good luck with your swap!!

[Country Joe]

Old Rider,
I just noticed that you said it has a 180/60-16 rear tire. I just checked the selection  of tires available in that size. None of them are particularly sticky tires, they are primarily touring motorcycle tires. Just something else to consider.

[Old Rider]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm quite sure no has yet installed Ducati Paso wheels on a FJ. Anything  can be made to fit, it just takes planning, time and money. The dimensions that matter are the axle diameters, the overall width of the wheel assemblies at the axle spacers, brake rotor distance from the centerline of the wheels, brake rotor diameter, rear sprocket and rear rotor distance to the rear wheel centerline and the speedo drive assembly compatibility to the FJ. I would start off by putting the Ducati and FJ wheels on the work bench, grab a 12" dial caliper and start measuring all those dimensions and document what you have that will match the FJ wheels and what you have to change. I would weigh the wheels before doing all that, just to see if you are going to improve or harm your unsprung weight situation. If you know a machinist, you might be time ahead to take the wheel assemblies to him and check all the widths and spacing of the rotors, sprocket and overall spacer widths on a surface plate with a height gauge. You're probably going to need a machinist at some point in this project anyway. Good luck with your swap!!

Hi Contry Joe  and thanks for your expert advice Looks like there are many facktors to think of. Im in the future planning to build a little different looking fj with shortened seat and backframe
i think mayby its possible take the hole swingarm with wheel and fit .have to take some measurements.
I also did not find any tires in 180 60 16 that was  rated faster than H but thats is okay if riding easy.

[Country Joe]

Old Rider,
I've made just about every mistake known to mankind while swapping front wheels, rear wheels, shocks and swingarms on FJ 1200s. I hope others can benefit from my mistakes....

[CutterBill]

With the limited selection of 16-inch tires, I can't imagine why anyone would want to install 16-inch wheels on an FJ. Hell, if you are dead-set on 16-inch, just pick up some 16-inch FJ wheels that the rest of us are throwing away. I've got a couple; want some?
Bill

[Old Rider]

With the limited selection of 16-inch tires, I can't imagine why anyone would want to install 16-inch wheels on an FJ. Hell, if you are dead-set on 16-inch, just pick up some 16-inch FJ wheels that the rest of us are throwing away. I've got a couple; want some?
Bill

Why ? because it might look cooler with a 16 x 5.5 inch paso wheel with 180/60  wheel on the project im planning. Its like putting nice wheels on a car .

[Millietant]

I didn't realise the Paso came with a 5.5" back wheel. My boss had one back in the mid-late 1980's and it had a 160/60x16 rear tyre, not 180/60 (I remember that because I had a 160/80x16 Avon on my 1TX FJ and thought about putting a 160/60 Michelin on it. But I was already running out of cornering clearance and didn't want to lower the bike any more by dropping the outside diameter of the rear wheel & tyre).

Even using the 180/60 will reduce the diameter of the wheel/tyre combination by 1" and make the rear sit lower to the ground by 1/2" (not great if you like carving corners) - and there's also the gearing effect you'll need to correct - otherwise the increased rpms at cruising speeds will make the bike more buzzy and likely less economical on gasoline.

He was also so fed up with the poor tyre choices at that time, that he switched wheels to a set of 17" ones from the 907 ie (not a plug and play conversion, as he'd thought).

I'm not one for saying "don't do it", I'm just saying "think it through before you do" - I like weird !!

[Old Rider]

I could have put a 180 / 65 -16 on the rim that will be same diameter as 150 / 80 -16 anyway now the bike is sold so i dont need to think about that anymore 

[Millietant]

Ah, that's a shame, I quite like the idea of a Yamacati........and always had a soft spot for the 906 and especially the 907.