spoked GS 1000 Wheels on a '79 GS 550

[k.graham]

Hey everyone

I just happened upon a (1979?) GS 1000 parts bike (no motor) with the spoked wheels on it. It was cheap, so I bought it on the off chance that some of the parts could be transferrable to my '79 GS550. I've read elsewhere that these wheels are desirable and apparently difficult to come by. Not sure if that's accurate or not but I like the look of the wheels, and was thinking if it is possible i'd swap them over to my 550 which currently has the typical "star" pattern wheels.

My guess is that there are a couple of ways I could do this. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

1. pull the wheels off and swap out the necessary bearings/bushings/washers etc. to make it fit with my forks/brakes/axles/sprocket

2. pull the entire front end off the parts bike and change out the stem bearings to make it work, and change necessary bearings/parts to make rear wheel work

the forks from the 1000 looked to be in pretty good shape, although I haven't had a chance to really dig in to things... I'm pretty sure the brakes from the 1000 looked quite questionable

Would using the front end from a 1000 have any adverse affects? obviously they would be designed for a heavier bike, so is that dodgy territory to be messing around in, or not such a big deal? I haven't taken any measurements yet to see if the fork lengths are vastly different, but if the front ends vary too significantly that would obviously be cause for concern.

anyone have any preliminary advice for me right off the hop here. I haven't torn anything apart yet, or taken any measurements, so I really have no clue what will fit and what will not as of yet. Just figured someone here may have already done this and could save me some head scratching.

Thanks!

 

[tkent02]

Just swap wheel bearings for the larger axles and be done with it. Have you got the rear disc brake already? If not the swing arm and other parts from a 550L will work.

 

[uk gs nut]

Yes they fit, I put a set of GS750 spoked wheels on a 78 GS550 just change the bearings in the rear and your good to go. 1000 wheels are the same fittings.

 

[tkent02]

Did the 550s in England come with a disc brake on the rear?

 

[k.graham]

Thanks everyone for your input!

Rear discs on both the parts parts bike, and my 550, so it should all work out just right. I'll be swapping out the bearings as suggested as soon as I get a bit of time to get working on it.

 

[hampshirehog]

Did the 550s in England come with a disc brake on the rear?

The first ones were drum rear but the later ones had discs.