Hypothetical Wheel Question

[Urban_Legend]

Hi All

I know all of the virtues of doing the GSXR and FZR 17" wheel swap and it is on my bucket list, but I want to know has anyone in FJ land put custom wheels on the bike. Either billet jobbies like they put on the Harleys or spoke wheels like old school Suzuki Katanas (early 80's GSX)or Honda CB's? And if so what companies are there (preferably here In OZ, but anywhere really)the can do it?
I was thinking some spoke custom anodized (not chrome) wheels might look good on the old girl. I know it would be expensive, that is why it is hypothetical at the moment.

Mark

[red]

Hi All
I was thinking some spoke custom anodized (not chrome) wheels might look good on the old girl. I know it would be expensive, that is why it is hypothetical at the moment.
Mark

Mark,

I have a non-hypothetical response, just my take: No way would I put a spoke wheel on the back of mine, with that much engine available.  From a cost and maintenance standpoint also, same response.  I guess billet wheels would be the hot way to go, but I'd be just as happy with 17" wheels from any good source, and the cheaper, the better.  You could buy a lot of bike for the cost of two billet wheels.

Cheers,
Red

[Arnie]

Jon Jarosz (Jonny Cannon) built "Black Sunshine" an FJ with supercharger, nitros, and a few other bits including some Performance Machine wheels.  He was a member on thls (or the Yahoo list that preceeded this list) for a long time.  Search those terms and you might get a hit.

"Black Sunshine" started out as a FJ drag bike, but became a show bike after a while.

I have a vid or two of "Black Sunshine" which I'll send to you if you provide your email addy.

[hein]

Hi Mark.

  If the choice was billet versus spoke wheels I'd opt for the spoke wheels with anodized rims. From a strenght perspective I would not worry. KTM 1190 & 1290 adventure, Triumph 1200 Explorer, Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere and BMW 1200 GS all run spokes without issues and all make similar or considerably more torque and horsepower than the FJ.

  The biggest challenge will be to find donor hubs that will work with the spindly axles that are on the FJ forks and swingarm. I've built a few "mongrel" wheel combos over the years using donor hubs and custom stainless spokes from Buchanans in CA.

Hein.

[Pat Conlon]

Wire spoked rims on a FJ?

Why? When there are so many lighter weight, stronger options available. Yes, they are expensive.

To start off, you will lose your speedo drive so you should consider a GPS speedometer.

1) Measure the distance (width) between the left/right rotor mounting surfaces on your front rim.
2) Measure the distance between the sprocket surface and the rotor surface on your back wheel
3) Measure the outside diameter (OD) of the bearing race in both front and rear rims.

4) With these measurements, start making some phone calls. Expect to pay $800 to $3,000+ per rim.

[Urban_Legend]

Wire spoked rims on a FJ?

Why? When there are so many lighter weight, stronger options available. Yes, they are expensive.

You will lose your speedo drive so you should consider a GPS speedometer.

Hi Pat. Thanks, that is why the question was hypothetical. I didn't know if the strength would be there or not with spokes. Just wanted to know if it had been done more than anything, and thought something different might be in order for the old girl. Not really a price question. I had a look on Dr Google last night and say that custom spoke rims would be around the $2k mark for a set. GPS speedo is on the cards anyway as my current one is far from reliable (speed reads fine but trip meter is way out)

Edit: Also thought it might save me the issues of swapping out the front suspension (but that is another topic)

[fj1289]

I'm happy with my set of old school Performance Machine Chicane rims.   They are fairly "universal" since the bearing hubs unbolt from the rim center.   I had a machine shop machine the front hubs to fit a bearing sized for the larger R1 front axle.   Every now and then a set comes up on eBay - usually for GSXRs.  If the price is right I'd get them and then figure out the details like wheel bearing swaps and rotor/brake caliper spacing.   

PM also makes new rims that could be fitted up too - but a fair amount of $$'s. 

Also as I understand the Chicanes were set up to accept stock brake rotors and calipers or the PM oversized floating rotors and billet calipers (using a bracket and spacers)

Kind of hard to see the rims behind the rotors:

[Pat Conlon]

You've heard it before Chris, but I've got to say it again....that bike looks bad ass....

[FJ_Hooligan]

Do the PM wheels have a cush drive setup for the sprocket or does the sprocket bolt directly to the wheel hub?

[Pat Conlon]

Yes, the PM sport bike rims have a Cush drive....

http://www.performancemachine.com/motorcycle-sportbike-and-metric-accessories.aspx