Wheel conversions: What front/rear wheels still readily available?

[Motofun]

Just my 2 cents....
Stick with steel sprockets and 530 o-ring chain unless you actually intend to race your FJ.  The performance gains for Aluminum and 520 chain are minimal and there is the whole cost issue to consider.  I run Aluminum on my 750 track bike and get about 3000 miles of track-only only service out of a chain and go through 2 rear sprockets in that time.  Seems hardly worth it to put up with this cost for a street machine.

PS, I'm sticking with steel and a 530 chain on my new liter track bike.   

[ZOA NOM]

The '87-88 FZR front wheels are getting much harder to find these days, and the newer ones have the larger 17mm axle. On my previous bike, I accidentally bought one of the '89 wheels, and simply had the forks drilled out to accommodate the larger axle. You need the axle, spacer, bearings and speedo drive from the donor wheel, but it's a very simple upgrade to the wider wheel, and the forks have plenty of meat for the additional 1mm hole. It also retains the factory speedo.

[Millietant]

An Aluminium sprocket

I highly advise against an aluminum or a super light alloy type sprocket. The FJ will destroy the sprocket in a short time period.

For the weight concerns, the hollow, cast 90's era GSXR wheels are lighter than the early FJ 16" machined wheels. The FJ is not a light weight sprint bike. A Kg difference between wheels should not be a concern. The 180/55/17 has been a proven size tire for sport touring bikes for well over a decade. Go with the 5.5" wheel. The main objective for a 17" front and rear wheel change is tire choice.

Fred

LOL - yes Fred, I wouldn't put an Aluminium sprocket on my FJ either -  I was making the point that there's little that you can practically do without spending a lot of money to get an effective weight loss at the wheels. Tinkering with sprockets and brake discs is small beer and really not worth it for weight losses - as you said, the FJ ain't no light-weight and it wasn't designed to be. Even further than that, I'm just not a good enough rider and I don't push hard enough on the road to need to lose every possible ounce of unsprung weight.

[Pat Conlon]

8 years ago, I measured a 5 lb difference in weight between the 1992 oem 3 spoke 16" FJ rear wheel/tire assembly and my 1997 YZF1000 17" wheel/tire assembly.
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=1885.msg14921#msg14921

Remember, the 3 spoke Yamaha rims were lighter than the early design FJ rims so the 5 lb difference would be even greater comparing my T-ace wheel/tire assembly to a early FJ 16" wheel/tire assembly.

I'll bet a jelly donut that if you compared a early FJ 16" front wheel/tire assembly (w/oem rotors) with a 17" FZR wheel/tire assembly (w/Ashai rotors) you will also save ~5 lbs in weight.

Is 5 lbs of weight savings really such a big deal?
It is when you are at kookaloo speed: 16oz x 5 = 80oz x 25 = 2,000 lbs spinning around @100 mph.
http://www.hardracing.com/Rims/WheelWeightInfo.htm

[Tuned forks]

Not to mention that reducing unsprung weight reaps benefits in suspension control.  I just bought two FZR wheels today.  I'll have to weigh them when the tires are stripped.

Joe

[FJmonkey]

Weigh the tires as well so you can see the difference between bias ply tires and radials.

[Tuned forks]

I get what you're getting at Mark, but it wouldnt be apples to apples since the tire will upsize from 150 to 180.  When I carried the FZR wheel with the old 180 tire, the heaviness was surprising.

Joe

[FJmonkey]

I get what you're getting at Mark, but it wouldnt be apples to apples since the tire will upsize from 150 to 180.  When I carried the FZR wheel with the old 180 tire, the heaviness was surprising.

Joe

Not apples to apples but if there is a weight gain/loss then you will know. I remember when I was at Cap'n Ron's place holding an unmounted Metzler Marathon that he uses for long hauls. I though it was lead lined.

[Millietant]

So, this is how bored I am on a freezing cold Sunday morning.

All of this talk about wheel/tyre and weight differences got me thinking (as you do) - presumably as Pat indicated, it's the rotation of the wheel at speed that makes the weight difference have such a big impact. Soooo, I thought that if the rim section (presumably heavier than the spokes) is moved half an inch further away from the centre of rotation, then that will have an adverse effect on the handling (i.e., increased rotational momentum and wheel inertia meaning a greater resistance to directional change, adversely affecting handling. So, I thought that this would also be true of the tyre, which sits 1/2" further away from the centre of rotation (also bad for steering/lean angle changes).

But then, I remembered that the outside diameter of my 17" wheel and 170/60 tyre combo is slightly less than the O/D of my original 16" wheel and 150/80 tyre.......which by the same logic means more of the weight is located closer to the centre of rotation, which means less momentum/inertia and therefore quicker/easier directional changes.

This is going to take a bit more time and effort to investigate, to get to the true facts (does anyone know if the hub section is heavier/wider on the 16" or 17").............at which point, despite it being only 10am, I need to get out the Jack Daniels before I take this any further  

The two big advantages to the 17" wheel for me, are 1) it looks way cooler and 2) it makes cleaning the back wheel a little bit easier.

A couple of less important advantages are the better choice of tyre sizes and the improved "rubber" compounds.

Now though, with the USD front and 17" rear, as Pat will confirm, the FJ is a total chick magnet - and I'm having to fight them off - all that bloody cheeping and the egg-shell pieces in my bodywork are really getting to me  

[Tuned forks]

Ah Dean, what a card you are.

I like your engineering reasoning. Reminds me of physics classes when I was attending university.

One of the reasons I chose the FZR wheels is that they look the same as FJ wheels and they were designed by the same company. So, the hub might weigh similarly. Not the same though as apparently the hub/cush drive is wider than FJ wheels.  I too am making the swap purely for the 180 tire. Greater contact patch and better tire selection.

Joe

[Millietant]

I think it's my training (40 years ago) as a civil and structural engineer coming back to me Joe - I try t let it all go, but it keeps coming back to haunt me and I have to "think" about things.

What I like to do is take older bikes and (in general) use more modern parts from the same manufacturer to bring the bikes a little more up to date - it gives me an insight into what the bikes "could" have been, if the manufacturers hadn't completely dropped the designs. With the FJ, I think it shows that the basic bike was more than capable of being relevant (Eu noise regs excepted) even today, with the right development.

The "value" gained from spending a little each year in moving it forward, is what I believe we all love in our FJ's.

Oh, by the way, I gave the JD a miss this morning and stopped thinking about the wheel debate. But, now that I'm relaxing and on the "Castillo Del Diablo", I'm beginning to think about it again 

[Tuned forks]

Gee, I thought you might be more Jameson. 

Joe

[PaulG]

...continuing the hi-jack... (accidental pun).

... despite it being only 10am, I need to get out the Jack Daniels before I take this any further  

Gee, I thought you might be more Jameson. 

Joe

You live only a couple of hours from where the best whiskey in the world is made... and you drink Jack?!          

[Millietant]

...continuing the hi-jack... (accidental pun).

... despite it being only 10am, I need to get out the Jack Daniels before I take this any further  

Gee, I thought you might be more Jameson. 

Joe

You live only a couple of hours from where the best whiskey in the world is made... and you drink Jack?!          

Where's the best whisky in the world made ? (I know I'm only 7hrs drive from Edinburgh, probably the gateway to what you're indicating).

I was staying in Bushmills recently and didn't drink any of that either.

To be honest, I don't really like Whisky/Whiskey (maybe that's why I can drink JD). I like cider and a few wines mainly - not a beer drinker either, other than a few Belgian brews that I favour. 

[PaulG]

I know I'm only 7hrs drive from Edinburgh, probably the gateway to what you're indicating.

7hrs to Edinborough from the middle of the UK?  You must take the scenic route.