GS1000G and spoke wheels

[Anonymous]

I've heard that spoke wheels have different handling than aluminium wheels. Is it possible to get spoke hubs that look like they were made for the bike? Will this be an improvement on road handling and is it worth it?

[earlfor]

Re: GS1000G and spoke wheels

Ive ridden on bikes with spokes and with mags. My 750 came with spoked wheels and after putting quite a few miles on it, I changed the wheels to mags. I can tell no difference at all in handling because of the type of rim. When I first changed from spoked to mag style wheels, I was using the same set of tires on both types of rims and handling was the same. Tire design can/will make a big difference in handling, but type of rim doesnt make a noticable difference to me.

Earl

I've heard that spoke wheels have different handling than aluminium wheels. Is it possible to get spoke hubs that look like they were made for the bike? Will this be an improvement on road handling and is it worth it?

[saaz]

Spoked wheels may be lighter if they are light alloy rims. The racing specials (eg 6 hour race in Australia) came out with spoked wheels, but I think this was more to get the 18" tyres rather than the standard 17". On the raod I don't think there is much in it.

[Anonymous]

But...

Thanks for replies folks, how hard do you ride your bike earlfor? I've now owned and used my bike for four years and after lot's of careful driving I've now come to scraping footpegs (once yet, corner came in too fast but damn it was fun!)

I used to ride mountain bikes and racing bikes (bicycles) years ago and concidered but rejected it although cast wheels are stiffer and you use less energy from pedal to ground. I was just too heavy for them. Spoke wheels flex and twist a bit and are softer to ride on. My thought was if this improves roadgrip a little.

Spoke wheels look mighty good.

Your's, me.

[earlfor]

Re: But...

I dont think I ride the bike hard at all. I've only bumped a footpeg hard enough to fold it up a couple times. Maybe about 5 ot 10 percent of the time I ride it hard if the conditions are right. Most of the time, I try to be sane and normal. :-) :-)

Earl


[quote="Orkanen"]Thanks for replies folks, how hard do you ride your bike earlfor? I've now owned and used my bike for four years and after lot's of careful driving I've now come to scraping footpegs (once yet, corner came in too fast but damn it was fun!)

[Don Lobacz]

If you have a GS1000G then you have a shaft-drive, correct? There is no shaft-drive spoke rear wheel that I know of (GS, although the Intruder had one).

[Anonymous]

Spoked rear hub to fit GS shaftie

Yes, the G is a shaftie. I know there should be something out there to fit, it's a matter of finding what does. I'll check out the Intruder. Rims shouldn't be too hard to find once I find a hub. Is the front hub for GS1000 different from the mags on GS1000G? I'm thinking about using the original -G brake disks if possible.

Your's, me.

[massakins]

Orkanen, the front wheel swap from mag to spoke should be no problem, but the rear is another story. I seem to remember Kosman Racing in the San Francisco area machining a V-Max wheel to convert it to a spoke hub with a chain drive, but it was expensive. Years ago a company called Rokon introduced a motocross bike with 340cc, mag wheels, disc brakes and a torque convertor drive. After the first year the wheels were changed to spokes because they provided a degree of suspension and shock absorbing through their flex. Myself, I prefer the maintenance free nature of the mag wheel. Have fun.

[Anonymous]

It will be interesting if you can find a rear hub that will accept spokes. Please let us all know if you find one.

I also have a GS1000 and in hard cornering it is a real bad idea to back off the throttle until you are used to the bike. The shaft drive has a tendency to right the bike and you have to oush it back down to compensate. I think it want to gyro a bit. Let us know if spokes help.

[Anonymous]

I will let you know when I get there. It's still a while until summer gets here so there may be a problem getting driving experience until then. There's a couple of feet of snow here and I won't expect any adequate driving conditions until april or even beginning of may. I'll be surprised if this hasn't been tried before.

Your's, me.

[saaz]

I think some suspension work would do more to moderate any shaft drive reaction. I find as a genaral rule that power on, chain or shaft, is far better to control bike attitude during cornering (cars as well for that matter!)

[Anonymous]

What are the best or recommended rear shocks for my bike at present? I don't remember what I have and I'm too lazy to go down to the basement and check at present but I know they aren't made anymore. They are not the original shocks. They are set on stiffest suspension but then again I weigh 85kg and quite often carry extra luggage. I'm hoping to get to take a longer trip on oncoming summer.

Your's, me.

[Anonymous]

I overheard someone talking about progressive front springs, this is something I know far too little about, any hints on that?

Your's, me.

[jay]

GS1000G and spoke wheels

If you find a rear spoked wheel that will fit your 1000G hang onto it. That would be quite a find as one was never made for your bike.

[Diamondj]

Orkanen - don't forget you'll need inner tubes for your tires to run spoked wheels versus the tubeless aluminum mags. As far as progressive springs for the forks - are you talking about the manufacturer Progressive Suspension or progressing rate springs? As far as I know the fork springs Progressive sells are progressing rate springs. There's a set on Ebay now that's only at $29 US that ends in two days (item #2401314824). Your best option might be to check the bushings in the swing arm assembly to make sure they are not too worn, put on some good rear shocks, check the steering head bearings, and then play around with the fork springs and oil to improve handling before you start swapping wheels. BMW has used spoked rear wheels on their shaft driven machines for years and if you wanted to get really high tech (and if you have some money to burn) you could always add on a R1100GS single sided Paralever rear suspension with the spoked wheel.....