83 GS550e Wheel Swap (gs500 wheels?)

[1stGS550e]

Hello All!
I've finally got my 550 going great again. After tackeling stripped wheel studs, burnt stator & RR I finally got some riding done! Now I've noticed I have a slightly bent rear wheel. I'm not happy with the tires that are on there anyway and there seems to be a very small selection. I've seen on the forum that people have used gs500 wheels on a gs750. Would these wheels work on the 550e? If not, are there any other recommendations? My friend is the mechanic at the local cycle salvage so I can get parts and work done cheap.

Thanks!

 

[salty_monk]

You could likely make them work but it wouldn't be a straight swap..... You may need to think about bearing swaps to fit the stock axle, rotor placement, chain line to rear sprocket etc.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Here's a good thread for you.
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=142757

 

[1stGS550e]

Thanks Billy_Ricks, thats one of the threads that got me interested in the swap. I looked through it and it's mostly about putting a rear wheel from a Katana 600 on the 550. Is the Katana wheel the same as the 500? I saw that the user Colorado85gs550 has a 500 wheel on his 550 then upgraded to the 600 wheel. I sent him a PM tonight and hopefully he has some insight. I would just hate to have to replace it with another stock rim... I always like to upgrade rather then replace. =D It's an addiction!



By the way, I just thought it might be a good idea to note that I work at a machine shop and can do a bit of fabricating. Sometimes work has its benefits!

 

[Billy Ricks]

He's running my old set of forks up front. '88 GSXR750. They look to be plenty long and being 43mm they are stout. They have adjustment for everything; compression and rebound damping and preload. Even though they were a bit short they handled like a dream when I had them on my bike.

I'm not sure what width the 500 wheel is, I know the rear he ended up with is a 3.5". I think he may have used a 3" wheel up front. At one time I ran a 3.5" wheel in that fork with a 120 radial mounted. On the rear I had the Kat wheel Paul is using now, 3.5" with a 140 radial mounted. It handled great like that.

Being a machinist will be a big help. There are a couple of parts that would help people doing these swaps if someone could produce them. Caliper hangers and bearing supports are a couple that come to mind.

 

[don]

Not sure what bennifit you are looking for, but on my 83-550E the rear tire is only about 1/16" from the caliper stabilizer and maybe 3/8" to 1/2" from each side of the swing arm. Just guessing you're looking to upgrade from the pizza cutter tire that came on these things.