GSXR Rear Wheel on GS1150

[Agemax]

What we don't have measuring equipment in the UK now?

I could have sworn there were a few rulers, tapes & the likes around when I left

You really aren't widening it very much. 1/4" at the wheel end is not very much at all. I suspect the tolerance on the swingarm in the first place allows for a couple of mm of displacement at that end if not more.... I had an idea you worked in manufacturing but maybe I was wrong? Real world manufacturing tolerances on this stuff are rarely "spot on" & that was even more true 30 years ago.

Personally I wouldn't want a plastic panel on a side cover that holds oil in the engine... but each to their own eh

Billy & Dee have a lot of miles on this particular mod so I suspect it is one of the better tested mods that people have done to their bikes on this forum...

my point was, widening it by an inch! yes, a few mm wont hurt but surely machining new spacers to make it fit snuggly would be a better plan.
as for the clutch cover, there is a stainless steel plate holding it together, and it isnt "plastic"

[kingofvenus]

What about a Bandit swinger?

On some bikes you will then have clearance problems with stock footpeg mounts and exhaust.

[kingofvenus]

This is how mine used to look, it's now in the middle of a swap to an arm from a '92 gsxr 1100 with a shock from a hayabusa. Had to remove the footpeg mounts, i'm installing the pegs and mounts from a '90 cbr600 honda with no passenger pegs.

[salty_monk]

my point was, widening it by an inch! yes, a few mm wont hurt but surely machining new spacers to make it fit snuggly would be a better plan.
as for the clutch cover, there is a stainless steel plate holding it together, and it isnt "plastic"

Mine had nothing to do with the spacers, they were all custom sizes anyway. it was done to generate a little extra tyre clearance...

[Billy Ricks]

The reason for spreading it more than necessary is the arm is going to relax and try to return to it's original dimension. If you just spread it 1/4" when the jack comes out it will probably go right back to the original width. You have to go further than desired to get the extra clearance. I did it because I was having to pry the arm apart any time I pulled the wheel. Now it slips right in. I was careful when I did mine and watched the welds and the dimples in the swingarm near the gusseting. If anything would have gone awry I'd have installed my GSX-R swingarm I had planned on using. My bike has only been run like this for about 15 years and thousands of miles.

[Cyclepath834]

Ok so I still thinking about this....the 3.5 in wheel has 6-7/8 of width from the face of the carrier race to the face of the bearing race on the caliper side. The 4.5 inch wheel has 7 3/4. So there is a little less than an inch of hub width to squeeze in.

On the carrier (left) side, there is a minimum spacer (1/2") that sits against the bearing. Not much you can do with that. On the other side, there is a headed spacer that sets the caliper arm in alignment with the disk, then the caliper arm, and another spacer.

The only option is to knock some width off the last spacer, which would pick up maybe 3/8"? That would leave 1/2 inch of additional width to spread the swingarm and fit the assembly, and I assume half of that would be required to bump out the drive sprocket on the motor.

Sounds doable to me

The only other option would be to machine down the outside of the caliper bracket, which is about 3/4 on an inch, or to replace/ rebuild the swingarm.

[KC1908]

Hey Ken, I hope your well. I was wondering if I could see how you accomplished the 4.5 rear wheel changes to the gs swingarm?
Kevin

Kevin,

My apologies for not getting back to you. I will take some photos today and email them this evening to you. One will be a 5.5 in a stock arm and the other a 4.5 in an extended arm with the same as stock spacing. I didn't have to spread the arms as I made the caliper hangers.

Ken

[KC1908]

Kevin,

I have sent you two emails with pics of two EFE's with GSXR wheels in them. Feel free to post them here if you wish or share them with anyone interested.

Ken

[Billy Ricks]

You can take a little off of the outside edge of the caliper hanger if you need to. The right side spacer is going to be dictated by keeping the caliper centered on the rotor. Most of what you can gain has to come from outside the hanger. A custom hanger would gain the most. The spacer could be narrower then. The main thing is keeping the wheel centered and in line with the front.

[salty_monk]

YOu could also get some material turned off the face of the sprocket drive if necessary, that was going to be my fall back option to get good chain line.
Have to be careful because you need chain to tyre clearance. I think I had decided that there was about 5mm available to be cut if necessary based on the info from a member here "tone"

Also some of the sprocket drives are narrower than others, you can pick up room on the sprocket side by using the narrower one....

If yours is a 5 cush rubbers type I think the 1990 something GS500 has the narrowest sprocket drive, if it's a 6 then I think our GS sprocket carrier is the narrowest. I believe yours is the same as all the other GS's.

[Cyclepath834]

The swingarm spread is 9" stock. The setup for the new wheel stock requires 10".

Since the drive side of the wheel spacing is fixed then you must add the full inch on the caliper side.

Otherwise, the wheel isn't centered.

As I see it now, there are 3 options:
1-Spread the swingarm the full inch and setup the wheel stock (to keep centered)
2-Find a sprocket carrier that is less than the stock 1.5 inch wide then reduce spacing on the right to match (via thinner spacer and caliper bracket.
3-Fine a new swingarm that fits the chassis with min 10" width.

Anyone know what the options might be for 2 and 3? Cant find much on fitment of swingarms for the 1150 in the forum. Spent the morning yesterday at the junkyard looking for same with no luck.....

[Cyclepath834]

Okay, im circling back on this....just want to get it right! Hoping for some more feedback on caliper and hangar compatibility. Got some great photos from Ken (thanks Ken)on his setup, but ultimately, I want the gixxer caliper on the gixxer rear wheel. Honestly, its a vanity thing. I cant stand the huge old setup on top of the arm, obscuring the wheel!!

Im going to spread the swingarm the 1 inch, and setup the gsxr 4.5 in wheel with the stock setup. As billy says, Ill do the 2 inches and see if it springs back to 1". Ill use a scissor jack so I maintain even pressure on both arms.

Last question:
What other years for the gsxr rear caliper are compatible with the 89? I have a rotor that came with the wheel, and a caliper and hangar (not sure what year) but the axle size is 17mm not the 20mm i need, i could punch it out to 20, but the radius of the setup doesnt match the rotor (just a little big only 2/3 of the pad make contact) Ive been searching ebay, and cant find what I need in 89. Im confident the caliper ad rotor are correct, just need the right hanger. I could make one, but id rather just get a suzuki part. Theyre fairly cheap (10-20 bucks)

Sorry for the long post....Hoping to lock this up once and for all and get to the rest of the restoration on the chassis. Cant wait to ride this thing with the news suspension and upright riding position

[KC1908]

Kevin,

I don't think I mentioned it in my emails and not sure if anyone has here but you also replace the seal and bearing in the sprocket carrier with a sealed bearing and machine the lip off the carrier the seal normally sits in. That gives you a few more mm to move the wheel to the left.

Ken

[Billy Ricks]

I'd be very careful about trying to spread the arm two inches. Go about 1 1/2" first and watch the welds around the gusseting and the dimpling that is at the front of the arm on the sides where the bends already are. Spreading mine an inch to end up with 1/4" scared me so make sure everything is good after you're done.

[salty_monk]

Have you looked at a GS500 sprocket drive? It's a five hub cushion type & I believe it fits your wheel & is narrower... That would give you more clearance without spreading.

Also have you thought about the chainline? With what you are looking at doing you might end up with inside frame/chain contact...