GSXR rear wheel swap: Sprockets, tires, gearing (sorry)

[Alf]

     .>>>>    and have never found a rear sprocket smaller than 42.  <<<<<

JTR816.38      This is the JT number for the 38 tooth / 530 sprocket that I found for the GSXR wheel.

I haven't ordered it yet.  I'd love some confirmation from the forum that this is a viable option.  ?

A FJ Spanish owner has just to order a 40 one and it is not available. It has to be payed in advance, and made in Britain, so it could delayed 2 weeks. I suppose 38 & 39 have the same problem

[markmartin]

Maybe they think they have it in stock.  ?

http://powersport-superstore-inc.amazonwebstore.com/JT-Sprockets-Rear-Sprocket-Steel-38T/M/B001AVU166.htm

[ian.z9]

I use a Metz z6 for my commuting and its lasted a ridiculous 27,000km so far . No twisties here just greasy gravelly backroads and boring motorway.It a good tyre for in the rain too! I run a 18 front sprocket and 42t rear on my gsxr rear wheel.I'll try a 39t next.

[racerrad8]

I called my supplier and I can get a 39t rear sprocket that will fit that Suzuki wheel.

He said they jump to 41-42-43-45 and continue upward.

I can have it next week if you want me to get it.

Don't forget I have the 18t front sprocket in stock.

Randy - RPM

[markmartin]

I called my supplier and I can get a 39t rear sprocket that will fit that Suzuki wheel.

He said they jump to 41-42-43-45 and continue upward.

I can have it next week if you want me to get it.

Don't forget I have the 18t front sprocket in stock.

Randy - RPM

Man, now I feel like an ass.  I went ahead and ordered a 38 this afternoon to see if in fact they are available, and just saw your post now.  If they don't come through, I'll be emailing you.  I'm sure others will be calling you, the GSXR swap seems to be gaining popularity.

Mark

[TheRadBaron]

Alright.  My internet was working a bit faster today, so after a bunch of searching around and thinking about it, I started ordering parts.
I went with Metzeler Z6 tires.  120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear.  Hopefully the rear fits without any problems.  I also ordered an 18-tooth front sprocket and a 38-tooth rear.  I'm not convinced that I'll be satisfied with that gearing, but I figured that it was worth a shot.  A new EK ZZZ chain is on the way, as well.
I'm pretty excited about the condition that my '84 will emerge from the shop in this spring.  The chassis is bone stock right now, but it's getting 17" front and rear wheels with new tires, later forks with Race Tech emulators and aftermarket springs, blue dot calipers with a radial GSXR600 master cylinder, and a very nice fairing to replace my smashed up one. 

[Arnie]

Boy!  When you make a change, you make LOTS of changes! :-)

It will feel like a completely different bike.  I'm not sure you'll like that 18/38 gearing, but you should get pretty decent milage :-)

Are you also getting (or do you have) SS brake lines?  That will make as much difference as the new calipers and master.

Cheers,
Arnie

[TheRadBaron]

I already have stainless lines.  I put them on last winter when I was initially fixing up the bike.  I agree that the 18/38 gearing might be a bit extreme and I might not like it.  A number of other members on here seem to like the combo, though.  Plus, 90% of my riding is in a straight line at 80mph and I don't do much stop-and-go city riding, so it might be nice to drop the revs down. 
I am a pathological modifier of motorcycles.  Every bike I own is modified at least somewhat.  Unless the bike is a really boring and common model I always keep all the original parts that were taken off in case I want to change it back some day.
I was hesitant to change all this stuff on my FJ.  I really like the early '80s sportbike era and ditching the anti-dive forks and 16" wheels will take a lot of the character away from the bike.  I will mourn the loss, but since the FJ is my main bike and I'm not in the market for a new bike, I think the mods will make me happy enough to offset the loss.  Plus, I won't be selling a bit of the takeoff parts.  That way when I do get a new bike someday to replace the FJ for daily duties I can swap all the original parts back on and have all the '80s quirkiness.

[Mark Olson]

I already have stainless lines.  I put them on last winter when I was initially fixing up the bike.  I agree that the 18/38 gearing might be a bit extreme and I might not like it.  A number of other members on here seem to like the combo, though.  Plus, 90% of my riding is in a straight line at 80mph and I don't do much stop-and-go city riding, so it might be nice to drop the revs down. 
I am a pathological modifier of motorcycles.  Every bike I own is modified at least somewhat.  Unless the bike is a really boring and common model I always keep all the original parts that were taken off in case I want to change it back some day.
I was hesitant to change all this stuff on my FJ.  I really like the early '80s sportbike era and ditching the anti-dive forks and 16" wheels will take a lot of the character away from the bike.  I will mourn the loss, but since the FJ is my main bike and I'm not in the market for a new bike, I think the mods will make me happy enough to offset the loss.  Plus, I won't be selling a bit of the takeoff parts.  That way when I do get a new bike someday to replace the FJ for daily duties I can swap all the original parts back on and have all the '80s quirkiness.

Yeah , save all the parts in a box and store them for a couple years before you realize you will never put them on again because your fj handles sooo much better and you're never going back.

[TheRadBaron]

Yeah, I'm sure that it will handle better with the updates.  But I also know that someday I'll want to put it back to original.  I'm an avid rider of motorcycles, but I'm kind of a collector, too.  The FJ is the newest street bike that I own and everything else I have is mostly early '70s and earlier, back to a '47 Harley flathead that my dad restored when I was young and gave me a few years ago (Disclaimer:  I am not and never will be a "Harley guy".  I don't own a single Harley t-shirt or sticker, and I'm reluctant to even tell anyone that I own a Harley because I don't want to talk about chrome accessories and badass attitudes.  The "lifestyle" and everything it represents disgusts me).  That being said, I really enjoy period bikes for what they are.  I love riding the Harley because it's the quintessential antique motorcycle experience.  Big, 74 inch flathead motor with something like 20 horsepower, rigid frame with sprung, single saddle, springer forks, hand-shift/foot-clutch, manual advance/retard igntion, extremely archaic and ritualistic kickstarting procedure.  Plus, it's just a good looking machine with great lines.
I love late 60's/early '70s Japanese bikes for their period design, too.  I love the big, DLS front drum brakes, flexy tube frames, quirky 2-stroke engines in every imaginable configuration (though I love the 4-strokes, too), spindly forks and twin rear shocks with no dampening.  And again, I love the styling.  No plastic, exposed everything.  Very mechanical and pure, I think.  I know that it sounds like I'm knocking them, but that era is my absolute favorite period in motorcycling.  Nothing can come close to the charm for me that those bikes have.  Things starter to get lousy in the mid-late '70s though.  I abhor those stupid factory "custom" Jap bikes that seemed to outsell standards 10 to 1.  Ugh.
Up until recently, my enthusiasm for streetbikes stopped at the mid '70s (dirt bikes stayed cool for a while longer).  Last year I started to see the charm in the early '80s sport bikes, though.  I think that it was Honda's red, white, and blue paint schemes that first caught my eye.  Pretty soon I really started to get interested in owning one.  I found the '84 FJ and bought it up.  Obviously, the performance is a real step up from the '70s twins that I'm used to.  It's been enough to make me get interested in modern bikes.  I'm not prepared to buy a newer, big sport-tourer at this point, but I'd like even more performance and practicality out of the FJ.  Hence the mods.
Some day I will get a newer bike, though, and I'll want to return the FJ to stock so that I can ride it around and experience all the characteristics that were cutting-edge in its era.  I know that it will be a "downgrade" in terms of pure performance, but I'll have the newer bike for all that.  The new bike won't be able to provide the '80s experience that the original-again FJ will.

[Mark Olson]

well that sounds like you are on your way to your own museum of motorcycles .   That is awesome .

[TheRadBaron]

Thanks.  It really doesn't make any sense how much happiness these old bikes give me.  Sometimes I try to explain it but I just end up sounding uber-cliche and beyond cheesy.  I get all misty-eyed just thinking about it.  Sniff...

[Alf]

Yeah , save all the parts in a box and store them for a couple years before you realize you will never put them on again because your fj handles sooo much better and you're never going back.

Yes, I had the same idea to back to the OE specs too... and the OE parts live for ever inside a big box in the most dark corner of my storage room

[SlowOldGuy]

The handling transformation will be amazing with the new wheels (especially the front one).  I too kept all my original equipment when I swapped the wheels.  It's been in a box in the attic ever since and that's where it will stay.

The good thing about your set of mods (from a period collector standpoint) is they don't detract from the original look of the bike.  Most people don't even notice my mods. 

I'm not a fan of the heavily modded FJs, but if you keep the stock bodywork, a front and rear swap (wheels, forks, and swingarm) can retain the essential FJ look.

Once you experience the ride, you'll forget all about 16 inch wheels and anti-dive.

DavidR.

[craigo]

Once you experience the ride, you'll forget all about 16 inch wheels and anti-dive.

DavidR.

Ehhh, what anti-dive??? As Rocky the Squirrel said "that trick never works"

CraigO