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Katana 600 rear wheel swap onto my 85 550EF

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    Katana 600 rear wheel swap onto my 85 550EF

    well gentlemen, I took it all apart today and have it all figured out!

    PICTURES TO COME SOON.....first the write-up!

    First thing I did was make sure I have the proper sprockets and chain setup.

    You can utilize your 550E front sprocket and chain(520) and just purchase a 520 rear sprocket to fit your 88-96 Katana 600 wheel (3.5 inch wheel with a 140/70-17 tire) OR.....you purchase a new 530 front sprocket, rear sprocket, and O-ring chain!

    I opted to upgrade to the 530 O-ring chain(112 links) and sprockets 13t on the front and 48t on the rear.

    While mocking up the wheel the first thing you'll notice is that there isn't much room for spacers! But this is the critical stage to get the wheel properly spaced, centered, and sprockets in alignment! I have come up with needing a 10mm spacer on the sprocket side.....this spacer ended up being 17x30x10 steel and I purchased it at the local bearing shop here in town for $2.50.

    Next I needed the proper Oil Seal for the sprocket side of the hub......this ended up being a 30x62x8 and was purchased for $5.91 at the bearing shop. New 17x42x14 sealed wheel bearings were installed into this wheel also for $45.

    I utilized the original spacer between the brake caliper bracket and the wheel on the brake side, but had to grind off about 1/4 inch off the outside of the bracket to fit in between the spacer and the swingarm. I ground a little at a time until it fit. This keeps the caliper mounted in the exact spot it needs to be in on the rotor. I utilized the stock Rotor that came off the Katana 600, and the stock caliper bracket for the GS550E.

    Tomorrow I will be making the custom brake caliper arm that goes to the swingarm and I will post pictures at that time!!

    Parts I used:

    88-96 Katana 600 Rear wheel/drive hub COMPLETE OEM minus the oil seal
    Custom sprocket side spacer 17x30x10
    Custom sprocket side oil seal 30x62x8
    GS550E Axle
    GS550E swingarm
    GS550E Caliper
    GS550E wheel spacer on the brake side
    GS550E Caliper bracket, ground down to fit
    530 13t front sprocket
    530 48t rear sprocket
    530 112link O-ring chain


    I'll post pictures tomorrow.....

    After searching around OVER and OVER on how to do this I decided to show a list of the EXACT parts needed. I did the hard part with finding the correct sized spacers/parts.....all you need to do is follow these directions. This is a conversion to use the 3.5 inch rear wheel off a Katana 600 in order to put a 140 rear tire on your 83-86 GS550E utilizing mostly OEM parts.....

    I have about $150 in chain and sprockets, $180 in my rear wheel and tire, and $55 in the rear wheel bearings/spacer/oil seal. Putting it right at about $385 in this rear conversion!

    You can save $50 if you can get a rear wheel WITH the bearings already installed.

    You can probably save a little on the tire too, but I decided to go with a 140/70-17 Dunlop D208 Sportmax Radial to match the Qualifier 110/70-17 I'm installing on the front.

    I'll keep you posted.

    Paul
    Last edited by Guest; 05-08-2009, 12:16 AM.

    #2
    Digital camera broke.........trying to get pictures done up.

    I used the original brake caliper bracket.....I just bolted it to the side of the caliper and to the side of the bracket on the swingarm.

    Rear wheel is complete....standby for pics.

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      #3
      update for brake caliper holder......

      I figured out that the proper width of the caliper holder/spacer is .5 inch. I ground the swingarm side down until I got to a total of .5 inches of thickness......

      Pictures still coming within the hour.

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        #4
        Pictures!!!




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          #5
          now its time to clean it up and get ready for paint!!!

          at least the rear half of the bike

          My GSXR750 front end is being mailed as we speak

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            #6
            Well, first thing in the morning. I'll take a picture of it for you.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Billy Ricks View Post
              Well, first thing in the morning. I'll take a picture of it for you.

              You're the man Billy!!!

              this little bike is flying and I have all the body parts now too!

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                #8
                Looks nice. Not really much room, like you say.

                Looks like you moved the torque bar for the rear caliper over, and have it connected by one ear of the bar on both ends to accomodate the wider tire. Hmm....

                Longer bolts/spacer might help in the strength in this connection.

                Shoot, never measured/calculated the force associated in this area, but it would be some concern on the rear brake being able to deal with the force.

                Or, have you come up with a stronger method of attachment?

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                  #9
                  I'm actually building a solid piece that will have a strategic bend 2/3s of the distance from the brake caliper, closer to the front of the swingarm bolt attachment....this will get me by until I get it welded up and powdercoated.

                  I'm using box tubing cut out to fit onto the caliper and the swing arm with solid round steel between......

                  It might be another week or two until its done and powdercoated....

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                    #10

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                      #11
                      I can't wait to install this perty little thing with my cafe bars

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Colorado85gs550 View Post
                        You're the man Billy!!!

                        this little bike is flying and I have all the body parts now too!

                        That is going to be slick when you get it painted. Have you decided on a scheme?

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                          #13
                          I'm thinking either Pearl Orange or Candy Apple Red on all fairings/tanks/frame covers/and tail.....

                          Hammered from here on GS Resources is putting together some custom "Suzuki" and "GSXR550ES" decals and some Tribal Flames or Tribal Designs to flow from front to rear.......

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                            #14
                            There was a tangerine used on Suzuki two-strokes back in the late '60s that looked good. Might be a nice tribute if it could be duplicated.

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                              #15
                              Tangerine sounds GOOD!!

                              I'll have to research that....

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