As requested...17" GS500 wheels...

[makenzie71]

Artsy fartsy...



And for the sake of actually seeing the wheels...



Still need paint to make it look decent. Right now the rear wheel is offset the front by about 10mm...my spacers don't really line up right now so I'll have to cut new ones. I had to make a new bearing brace tube for the rear wheel because the GS500 uses one that's about .200" longer than the GS750, but I got her sorted. It was fun.

Don't mind the "ick". She developed a massive oil leak from the clutch cover just before being torn down...fixed now, but not clean.

[mriddle]

I like the artsy fartsy pic

[makenzie71]

yeah the second only points out all the ghettoness of my bike...but you can't really see the rear wheel in first. I like the first better myself

[jed.only]

what year is the donor, and are you running bias or radial?

[makenzie71]

Mix and match at the moment (front is radial, rear is bias). I used the same combo on my GS500 years back to find a good match, but I'm kinda having to start over on the GS750...little heavier, and a little more power...plus a little different geometry.

Wheels are easy to source. If you want white...pre-'94 GS500's are you match. If you want grey, post '94. All are the same from 1989 to the present. GS400 wheels also. GSF400 (Bandit 400) also has a similar front wheel but it's not drilled and tapped on both sides for dual rotors.

Hopefully, in the future sometime, I'll be able to snag me an F2 Enkei rear wheel and an F3 Enkie front wheel. The 6-spokies look sick.

[jed.only]

all the same width?

[makenzie71]

GS500 wheels the same from 1989 til now...only varying in color.

GS400 wheels are the same through the run, as well...I don't think they got a color change, though.

GSF400 front wheels are the same as GS500 front wheels, but GSF400 REAR wheels are 4.5". GS500 and GS400 are 3.5" or 4" wheels, I can't remember off the top of my head. About the widest you can go with a GS500 wheel is a 150.

[makenzie71]

If you're considering doing it to your 1000, I'd suggest the 4.5 GSF wheel, or a Katana 600 wheel in the rear.

[brveagle]

That front end is just screaming for some gsxr forks. It doesn't look right with that tiny wheel.

[makenzie71]

I'd like to do an early GSXR front end...or a Kat front end...something...because these old showas suck. But it will look better after the front has been dropped to suit the new stance.

[jed.only]

If you're considering doing it to your 1000, I'd suggest the 4.5 GSF wheel, or a Katana 600 wheel in the rear.

what is the difference between the two? forgive my ignorance.

[makenzie71]

The Kat wheel and GSF wheel have some slight differences...I don't know the extent of. I think the 94-era Kat wheel would be a bolt-on thing for the GS1000 (except for the brake rotor and caliper hanger).

The GSF400 wheel is a bolt on for the GS500, which means it would require the same thing as I had to do with my GS500 wheel...that's cut a new bearing spacer and replace the bearings to match your axle).

The big thing is that the the B400 runs a 4" wheel and the Kats have 4.5" iirc. Considering how much more power your 1000 makes, I figure you might want to be able to mount up something bigger than a 140mm tire. I wouldn't be afraid to run a 140 on the 1000 but some people like the wider tires.

[jed.only]

im fine with tires that arent 160mm. i just want a set of wheels i can run radials on. im assuming the sprocket bolt pattern is different. are there any katana or GSF fronts that accept dual rotors?

[makenzie71]

Well if you look at my pics...that's a GS500E front wheel (they're drilled and tapped for rotors on both sides). It's same wheel as the '94 era Katana 600 front wheel. This is really the best option because all you have to do is slide the GS1000 axle through the wheel and a couple shims and there you go. You'll have to cut some hangers to get the calipers on the rotors, but it's not hard work...mine are just two pieces of 1/4" aluminum diamond plate. I made them so that later I can bolt on 6-piston calipers.

Sprocket bolt pattern IS different, but it's hard to get a GS500 wheel without a sprocket carrier, at least, and GS500, SV650, Katana 600, and a dozen other models all share the same bolt pattern. Tricky part is getting gearing right...sprocket specialists doesn't have the 1000 on their site or I'd do the math for you. The '81 GS750 came with a 15/42 combination. 16/42 or 15/39 both would have put the bike pretty close to stock gearing. I do a lot of straight highway running though so I'm going to be running 16/39.

Things to keep in mind...you need to have plenty of shims to stack on top of the front sprocket in order to tighten it down properly. You'll also need plenty to align the rear wheel properly...you'll need a grinder and a good scale, as well, or a lathe, to cut down the sprocket side spacer. The caliper hanger I haven't sorted out yet...

[makenzie71]

^that last bit is mostly for people who do it like I do...take a handful of random parts and make them work together. A sprocket with the proper offset can actually be bought.

Anyway...about 70 miles on the setup now. Compared to my CX500, the GS was a sloth. Turning was slow and I had to fight her. Now...nope. She just falls into turns. I did a u-turn earlier and it almost felt like she was turning on the back wheel.

My total investment in this:

$15 for the front wheel and tire
$22 for the rear wheel, tire, rotor, cush, carrier, spacers, etc.
$10 for another front rotor (I had one already...you need a Bandit 400 rotor and a GS500 rotor if you want them to match)
$10 for 4-piston Tokicos ($25 for the 6-pots going on later)
$10 for the 2-piston Tokico going on the rear (SV1000 front caliper)
$10 for the aluminum diamond plate used to make hangers for the calipers
-$5 because I charged someone to "dispose" of their old sprockets and chain (SV650) but don't use these sprocket, too short.

The expensive bit was the spacer in the rear wheel...it was free for me, but those without connections or lathe skilz will be out about $50 for the part.

Basically, you can pretty much have 17" wheels front and back for less than $150. If you can do some digging, like I have done, you can get it all for next to nothing...my real world investment in this swap is just the shipping expenses for the wheels (which came with new tires). Calipers were from my old TLS (which I upgrade with 6-pots). I really do charge my customers with a disposal fee (part of my last hour's wages) to take care of parts left behind and that covered my sprockets and chain.

I guess there's something to be said for keep everything...