Rim size recommendations

[storm 64]

I am in the process of building a set of spoked wheels for my 1979 GS 1000e. I have the hubs from a early GS750. I am looking for rim size recommendations and words of wisdom. The front wheel, will stay a 19 inch diameter with a width of 2.15 the same width as my 82 850. However my rear wheel currently has a 17 inch diameter X2.5 The 750 hub had a 18inch diameter rim. I'm thinking going to the 18 inch diameter rim and increasing the width to maybe 3.5 Now, I don't want any clearance problems. Is 3.5 to wide? Do my wheel dimensions sound okay? What size wheels and tires do you have on your GS1000? Thanks for any advice you can give me.��

[Nessism]

3.5 is not too wide. 2.15 on the front is too narrow. I'd go to 2.5

[sharpy]

2.5 X 18 front and 4.25 X 18 rear. Using a GSX550 ESD front guard. You should go 18 front if you can afford it. Common swap is using the rear OEM alloy rim on the front and getting a wider rear rim.

[Nessism]

Why 18" on the front?

I like the 4.25 on the rear.

[storm 64]

That sure is a sweet set up Sharpy. And thanks Ed for your input. I think I'll definitely stay with the 19" dia. and go with the 2.5 front. The rear wheel 18"X 3.5 or 4.00 I'd gess that I would use a 130/80X18 rear tire? I spent most of the day at work cleaning wheel hubs. This is going to be nice.👍

[sharpy]

Why 18" on the front?

I like the 4.25 on the rear.

Easy fit if you already have a set of allot rims due to that rear to front swap. Quicker steering, more tyre choices when it was done originally (82/3 weeks old) and later found out its added bonus of more air flow to the oil cooler which wouldnt fit if still running 19 rim and front guard.

[GSXR7ED]

Spoke wheels are so Vintage!


Ed

[thebrandonbeezy]

I like the 18/18 combo on my tc185.. but thats a totally different bike lol

[TeamDar]

Like Sharpy said. You find a set of alloy spoke wheels off of a GS1000. Throw away the front rim. Lace the rear 18" rim to the front hub. Lace up whatever you want for the rear. For the street or road racing, the common choice was a WM6 rim which was 3.5". I have a 1980 GS1100 track bike that has that set up in my collection. Looks good and works well. Dar

[sharpy]

Sit down when you price a new Rear rim. A good quality one is very expensive. getting a set of alloy rims the way dar suggested would be ideal. We built the bike below with rim sizes i quoted in my 1st post and handled like a dream. In the old days when ST's first come out the biggest rear rim was 3in. Glad we get more choice these days. PS. dont throw away that 19in front rim if you use 18in. It come on handy one day for a quick sale

[storm 64]

Yeah, I've been pricing rims and spoke sets... It would be nice to keep this project under a grand. I have to buy tires, chain and sprockets anyways so you can't count that... right?

[storm 64]

I did make some headway on cleaning up the hubs. The front hub is done, the rear hub still needs some rubbing...

[sharpy]

All due respect. who butchered ure hubs?

[Chuck78]

Stormin' Norm!!!!! Hey buddy you will need the wider widths and appropriate tires when you come down to Appalachian Eastern/Southeast Ohio to ride with me!

I have 3 sets of GS wheels with aftermarket rims. Two are old D.I.D. Daido 3.50x18 rears and 2.50x18 fronts.
One is Sun Rims (Buchanan's makes Sun motorcycle rims) 3.50x18 rear and 2.75x18 front.
DEFINITELY ditch the slow steering 19", running a wider front on a 19" will slow down the steering response even more by adding a lot more trail. These sizes I list are perfect for our bikes.

2.15 front will fit a 100/80 or 100/90 perfectly. If you want a 110/80, it will fit but the tire manufacturers recommend a 2.50 or 2.75 rim as best fit there.

A 110/80-18 or 100/80-18 or 100/90-18 fits a 2.50 perfectly according to the tire manufacturers' spec sheets.

The 3.50x18 rear fits a 130/80-18, 140/70-18 & 140/80-18, & 150/70-18 very well, with the 140 being the best fit.
a 150/70-18 is recommended most on a 4.00x18 rim, most rim models come in a 3.50 and a 4.25.
I often run a 150/70-18 rear, and it looks AWESOME size wise on our bikes, really fills out the rear end nicely and looks very appropriate.
*However...if you run and o-ring chain (wider than a non-o-ring chain), you will have very minimal tire to chain clearance on a 150/70. Although I have what looks like just enough clearance there, the chicken strip edge of my rear tire tread says that the chain has been polishing the edge off the tread on my tire on right turns and engine braking deceleration!
You may slso need to heat up your brake stay torque arm and "clearance" it slightly with arm hammer or in arm vice with blocks of wood clamping it. It's tight. Even with a 140.

[Chuck78]

Your best bets on rims are Sun Rims (USA/Buchanan's) or Excel Takasago (the other best rims these days, Japanese). 2.50 or 2.75 front and 3.50 rear. The 4.25 will limit you to only 150/70 rear tires but fits those best. You can get some good 160/60 rears though at least in the Avon race tires. The Excel come in dimpled, which I like.
3rd best choice is the classic retro reproduction Italian Borrani Record H-profile type flanged/shouldered valenced rims with the tall sidewalls. Morad (Spain) reproduces these and Akront TC rims. Another company made up of former Borrani employees bought all the original Borrani tooling and reproduces them as well.
The big drawback here is that the largest width in the H-profile is 3.00", & Buchanan's doesn't have these sizes. You really need to buy them from a wheel shop that can drill the proper spoke angle into the rim based on the hub flange diameter.
You can get these H-profile tall sidewall rims pretty cheap from Italy or Spain off ebay, & have them shipped direct to Woody's Wheel Works or Buchanan's where they can check the spoke hole angle and re-drill them for your hubs if needed. Woody's has Buchanan's make all of their spokes but Woody's is generally cheaper on the Excel rims if you go that route, & they may have a direct source for the H-profile Italian/Spanish rims.
You may be able to get the Akront TC style rims in 3.50 but I'm not certain.
With a 3.00 rim your best tire choices would be limited to a 130/80-18 in the Battlax BT45V or Avon AM26 Road Rider.

****Check the stock GS1000 rear OEM tire size diameter vs a Pirelli, BT45V, & Avon AM26 size that I proposed. I bet a 140/70-18 would be similar or slightly taller than the original OEM spec tire diameter. Going a bit taller with an 18 rear and dropping down to an 18" front will both help your steering sportiness substsntially, & this upgrade will give you a lot better traction with wider tires.


Did you chuck those hubs into a lathe & shave the ribs off? Looks cool, but I'd clean them A LOT and clear anodize them as you will never be able to re-polish them as good as this once the spokes are in the way!!! Or get some SprayMax 2k clear coat (oil and gas resistant 2 part rattle can paint, best stuff in existence for amateur painters!)