GS1150 16 inch front wheel on GS1100?

[Guest]

Should I use a 16 inch front wheel from a GS1150 on my GS1100? I've got the entire front end of a GS1150 that I plan on swapping into my GS1100, but I've heard some negative things about the 16 inch wheel. How will it affect the handling of the GS1100?

[John Kat]

I don't believe 16 inch wheels per se are a bad thing.
My CBR 900 RR has a 16 inch wheel and it doesn't bother me.
The real issue is that the geometry of the bike could be modified
Basically for every inch you lower the front end you loose 1° of rake.
You need to determine by how much your front end would be lower with the combination of the 16" wheel and the new fork.

[dagreatgatsby]

My CBR 900 RR has a 16 inch wheel and it doesn't bother me.

Did your CBR900RR have a 16 inch rear wheel also? If I put the 16 inch front on my bike, the 17 inch rear wheel may upset the balance in an already front heavy bike.

I'm leaning towards keeping the 19 inch front wheel. Does anybody know if I have to use the spacers from the 16 inch wheel to get this to work?

[John Kat]

No the CBR 900 RR comes with a 17 inch rear wheel as standard.

[Nessism]

The steering geometry of the CRB900 and GS1150 are designed around the front wheel. I wouldn't just go throw one on an existing bike unless you study the front end geometry first so see what impact it may have.

[rapidray]

I have put 1150 front ends on 4 other GS1100s & 2 Katana 1100s. I am getting ready to change the front end on my blue 83 E soon also. I rode every one of the bikes I changed & found no ill handling issues with any of them. It is a good way to get better brakes. Ray.

[tatu]

Yes, better brakes and the handling was fine the front used to tip in the bends just nice and I prefered the 16" wheel. The fork tubes were lengthened to compensate for the change in height/rake, and dropped an inch on the rear wheel too.
Works very well.
But just to add, mine's a GS1000s

[dagreatgatsby]

Yeah, wanting better brakes is how this whole front end project came about. I've decided not to use 16 inch wheels. I really like posplayer's setup; 1988 GSXR1100 18 inch wheels. Will that setup work with the 1150 front end and 1100 swingarm, Jim?

[posplayr]

I really like posplayer's setup; 1988 GSXR1100 18 inch wheels. Will that setup work with the 1150 front end and 1100 swingarm, Jim?

I believe I have seen 17x3.5" wheels mounted to a 1150 set of forks so your best option is probably to go 17" as the 18" setup is much more rare and harder to get rotors wheels. The 17" are not nearly as much. I even have a selection of very nice wheels.

17x3.5" 120/70-17 front
17x4.5" 160/60-17 rear would do more for handling that anything else you would do.

I run 18x4.5" 170/60-18 and 18x2.75 110/80-18 without issues on my ED


The 17x5.5 180/55-17 would fit the rear also it is just much tighter fit on the chain. It is dooable just more headache.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=144889&highlight=GSXR+wheels

[posplayr]

font is 80-81 GS1100 with GSXR front 3.5x17"
rear is 82 GS1100 with 1150 forks and GSXR front 3.5x17"

both seem to have 4.5x17" rear wheels although they could be 17x5.5"

[dagreatgatsby]

Alright, so after some more research and thinking, I've decided to go with the 17" wheels from a second gen gsxr. I really wanted to keep the bike looking as stock as possible, but the weight saving benefits of a smaller and aluminum wheel outweigh the my wish to keep the bike retro-looking. Plus, it'll probably help me to put both of my feet down at the redlights. I'm going to send you a pm about the wheels, Jim.

[jwhelan65]

The 1150 front end is very short and will greatly impact your clearance especially if you have a header.

[jwhelan65]

The easiest way to do what you first suggested is to use the 1150 Triples and axle with your 1100 forks. This will give you the proper spacing for the wider 1150 front wheel and keep the geometry the same.

[John Kat]

If you want to keep the retro look, nothing beats the 1st gen GSXR as the wheel pattern is the same.
The fork is also longer and the wheels are an inch larger.
Here's my GS 1000 S with both configurations:


Allthough the exhaust is also different you can see the difference in ground clearance

[tatu]

John, What size are those wheels?
I found that mixing the wheel size also came with front fender fit issues that were not that straight forward to fix to keep the look and curve correct.