scozzie
04-07-2005, 10:26 AM
Found this on Thumpertalk. Thought it might be usefull for someone.
Scoz
Let me start off by saying the fitment of these wheels to my YZ450F was no walk in the park and proved to be quite time consuming. I used a Suzuki GS500E wheel for the rear and a Kawasaki ZX-7 wheel & rotor for the front. They’re both a three-spoke design so they look good together. My goal was to gain a street legal motocross bike that could easily be converted from street to dirt (and vice versa) while keeping cost to a minimum. With all said and done, I have about $375 in my complete wheel setup (tires included). I looked into and would have preferred to just purchase the components to lace up my own supermoto wheels but as I prepare to transfer to the University of Michigan this fall, it just doesn't make sense financially. To most, I would recommend just purchasing a set of laced wheels if money is not the most significant issue from keeping their bikes away from the street.
Rear Wheel
------------------------------------------
The rear was the most work to fit. I used the GS500E at the rear because it’s narrow at 3.5 inches and the cush-drive was already fit with a 520 sprocket. Most sport bike applications involve a 530 or greater chain/sprocket configuration that would necessitate 520 conversion kits. The narrow width of the wheel allows you to maintain the stock cush-drive with only minimal modifications. I have read about others using wider wheels but these people generally become involved with cutting new cush-drives from billet that hold a narrower profile. I chose not to spend the extra money for a wider wheel. My intentions were not for a race setup anyways.
The first step was the get the bearing/axle configuration correct. In order to use the stock axle, a 47mm inner/22mm inner diameter bearing would have been required. This is not a standard size bearing so I had to look towards a different axle. I pulled an axle from my Dad’s ’95 CR500R and determined that it would work. Any CR500R/CR250R axle from that era would work because it’s diameter is 20mm and its length is sufficient. I located a CR250R axle on Ebay for $10 with axle spacers. You need the axle spacers. Having this, I could now use a standard 47mm/20mm ball bearing.
The new axle (much larger than the GS500) required a new inner spacer that the axle would pass through. I attempted to just bore out the stock inner spacer from the GS wheel to fit the new larger 20mm axle but it was hardened steel and proved to be too difficult of a task with my equipment. I ended up turning out an inner spacer from some aluminum round on a lathe.
The spacer that sits between the cush-drive and wheel bearing had to be recreated as well. I used this spacer to help resolve another issue I will ran into…the cush-drive would require a 62mm/20mm bearing to use with my new axle but these are not a standard size. I decided to utilize what was already there (a 62mm/25mm bearing) and just incorporate a “sleeve” into both spacers: the spacer between the cush-drive/wheel AND the spacer for the drive-side outer wheel to fill the 5mm gap between the 20mm axle and 25mm bearing. Together, these spacers form a “sleeve” through the bearing. I designed approximately 6mm of the cush/drive spacer to slide inside the cush-drive bearing from one side and approximately 6mm of the outer wheel spacer (sits between swingarm & wheel) to slide into the cush-drive bearing from the other side.
The rear rotor was much too large for the rear caliper setup to accept so I had to throw it on the lathe and turn the diameter down to YZ450F specs. To get to this diameter meant turning the rotor down into the predrilled holes of the rotor. This created some rough edges on the rotor that could have been dangerous, so some filing was necessary to smooth them out.
I then had to modify the cush-drive. For this I simply took a measurement of the spacing between the rear rotor and the rear sprocket on my stock YZ450F wheels (approx. 6 inches) and the GS500 wheel assembly. I took the difference and removed that much material from the outside of the drive hub on the lathe. (Approximately half an inch.)
With all of this done, I was able to mount the rear wheel where I found I would need to countersink some tapered allen bolts into the rotor to allow clearance for the caliper. This involved tapering the existing rotor mount holes with a drill. Also, more clearance was necessary on the sprocket side so I scrapped out the standard hardware and simply replaced them with some grade 8 bolts.
Again, I mounted the rear wheel where I determined the correct spacing, took measurements and turned down my spacers. Sprocket side, the spacing between the cush-drive hub and the swingarm is approximately 3mm. The rotor side spacer is approximately 20mm.
Next, I had to modify the axle blocks. Since I was using a 20mm axle instead of the stock YZ450F 22mm diameter axle, I could not use the stock YZ450 axle blocks. Instead I milled the CR250R axle blocks to fit within the swingarm. This took care of any “slop” that would be attributed to using the smaller diameter axle. I also had to mill the blocks so that they would hold a narrower profile to provide sufficient thread for the axle nut.
Sand, prime, paint, Continental 150/60-17 tire.
Front Wheel
-----------------------------------------------------
The front wheel was quite easy to fit. The rotor must be flipped around to move it closer to the center of the wheel. The front axle is 20mm so no mismatching was necessary…I just purchased two standard sealed 20mm/47mm ball bearings for the wheel. Starting out, I could see the wheel was just a bit too wide to slip between the forks. There was a lip of material outside the bearing surface of the wheel that could be removed to offer a bit more room. I removed the material so that it was flush with the bearing surface.
On the 450F there are a few “nubs” towards the bottom of the fork legs that serve no function I’m aware of. I had to grind those down with a Dremel for additional clearance. Of course, no rotor goes on the exhaust side of the bike and it worked out so that no wheel spacer was required on that side of the wheel either. The axle itself has a “ledge” that perfectly spaces the wheel when in position. Next came making a spacer for the rotor side of the wheel…this was a simple measurement and turn on the lathe.
The most difficult part was creating a caliper spacer bracket. I suppose some of the aftermarket caliper spacers may work but I’m not sure where they might place the caliper side-to-side, so I milled my own from three-quarter-inch plate. This was a little tricky getting the fit just right but I got it.
Sand, prime, paint, Continental 120/70-17 tire.
--------------------------------------------------------
This is about as good as I can explain verbally. I didn’t keep many of my measurements so that will be something left up to anyone willing enough to tackle this project. The wheels are not offset from the center of the bike at all, they're perfect. With all said and done, I’m very happy with the final product. I have a set of street wheels for about a third the cost of a new set of supermoto wheels & tires. I get plenty of “WTF? That’s cool” kind of looks around town. The coolest thing is that I can be cruising the streets one minute and 45 minutes later, I can be loading up to head to the track.
Good Luck,
Nick
__________________
2004 Yamaha YZ450F
Scoz
Let me start off by saying the fitment of these wheels to my YZ450F was no walk in the park and proved to be quite time consuming. I used a Suzuki GS500E wheel for the rear and a Kawasaki ZX-7 wheel & rotor for the front. They’re both a three-spoke design so they look good together. My goal was to gain a street legal motocross bike that could easily be converted from street to dirt (and vice versa) while keeping cost to a minimum. With all said and done, I have about $375 in my complete wheel setup (tires included). I looked into and would have preferred to just purchase the components to lace up my own supermoto wheels but as I prepare to transfer to the University of Michigan this fall, it just doesn't make sense financially. To most, I would recommend just purchasing a set of laced wheels if money is not the most significant issue from keeping their bikes away from the street.
Rear Wheel
------------------------------------------
The rear was the most work to fit. I used the GS500E at the rear because it’s narrow at 3.5 inches and the cush-drive was already fit with a 520 sprocket. Most sport bike applications involve a 530 or greater chain/sprocket configuration that would necessitate 520 conversion kits. The narrow width of the wheel allows you to maintain the stock cush-drive with only minimal modifications. I have read about others using wider wheels but these people generally become involved with cutting new cush-drives from billet that hold a narrower profile. I chose not to spend the extra money for a wider wheel. My intentions were not for a race setup anyways.
The first step was the get the bearing/axle configuration correct. In order to use the stock axle, a 47mm inner/22mm inner diameter bearing would have been required. This is not a standard size bearing so I had to look towards a different axle. I pulled an axle from my Dad’s ’95 CR500R and determined that it would work. Any CR500R/CR250R axle from that era would work because it’s diameter is 20mm and its length is sufficient. I located a CR250R axle on Ebay for $10 with axle spacers. You need the axle spacers. Having this, I could now use a standard 47mm/20mm ball bearing.
The new axle (much larger than the GS500) required a new inner spacer that the axle would pass through. I attempted to just bore out the stock inner spacer from the GS wheel to fit the new larger 20mm axle but it was hardened steel and proved to be too difficult of a task with my equipment. I ended up turning out an inner spacer from some aluminum round on a lathe.
The spacer that sits between the cush-drive and wheel bearing had to be recreated as well. I used this spacer to help resolve another issue I will ran into…the cush-drive would require a 62mm/20mm bearing to use with my new axle but these are not a standard size. I decided to utilize what was already there (a 62mm/25mm bearing) and just incorporate a “sleeve” into both spacers: the spacer between the cush-drive/wheel AND the spacer for the drive-side outer wheel to fill the 5mm gap between the 20mm axle and 25mm bearing. Together, these spacers form a “sleeve” through the bearing. I designed approximately 6mm of the cush/drive spacer to slide inside the cush-drive bearing from one side and approximately 6mm of the outer wheel spacer (sits between swingarm & wheel) to slide into the cush-drive bearing from the other side.
The rear rotor was much too large for the rear caliper setup to accept so I had to throw it on the lathe and turn the diameter down to YZ450F specs. To get to this diameter meant turning the rotor down into the predrilled holes of the rotor. This created some rough edges on the rotor that could have been dangerous, so some filing was necessary to smooth them out.
I then had to modify the cush-drive. For this I simply took a measurement of the spacing between the rear rotor and the rear sprocket on my stock YZ450F wheels (approx. 6 inches) and the GS500 wheel assembly. I took the difference and removed that much material from the outside of the drive hub on the lathe. (Approximately half an inch.)
With all of this done, I was able to mount the rear wheel where I found I would need to countersink some tapered allen bolts into the rotor to allow clearance for the caliper. This involved tapering the existing rotor mount holes with a drill. Also, more clearance was necessary on the sprocket side so I scrapped out the standard hardware and simply replaced them with some grade 8 bolts.
Again, I mounted the rear wheel where I determined the correct spacing, took measurements and turned down my spacers. Sprocket side, the spacing between the cush-drive hub and the swingarm is approximately 3mm. The rotor side spacer is approximately 20mm.
Next, I had to modify the axle blocks. Since I was using a 20mm axle instead of the stock YZ450F 22mm diameter axle, I could not use the stock YZ450 axle blocks. Instead I milled the CR250R axle blocks to fit within the swingarm. This took care of any “slop” that would be attributed to using the smaller diameter axle. I also had to mill the blocks so that they would hold a narrower profile to provide sufficient thread for the axle nut.
Sand, prime, paint, Continental 150/60-17 tire.
Front Wheel
-----------------------------------------------------
The front wheel was quite easy to fit. The rotor must be flipped around to move it closer to the center of the wheel. The front axle is 20mm so no mismatching was necessary…I just purchased two standard sealed 20mm/47mm ball bearings for the wheel. Starting out, I could see the wheel was just a bit too wide to slip between the forks. There was a lip of material outside the bearing surface of the wheel that could be removed to offer a bit more room. I removed the material so that it was flush with the bearing surface.
On the 450F there are a few “nubs” towards the bottom of the fork legs that serve no function I’m aware of. I had to grind those down with a Dremel for additional clearance. Of course, no rotor goes on the exhaust side of the bike and it worked out so that no wheel spacer was required on that side of the wheel either. The axle itself has a “ledge” that perfectly spaces the wheel when in position. Next came making a spacer for the rotor side of the wheel…this was a simple measurement and turn on the lathe.
The most difficult part was creating a caliper spacer bracket. I suppose some of the aftermarket caliper spacers may work but I’m not sure where they might place the caliper side-to-side, so I milled my own from three-quarter-inch plate. This was a little tricky getting the fit just right but I got it.
Sand, prime, paint, Continental 120/70-17 tire.
--------------------------------------------------------
This is about as good as I can explain verbally. I didn’t keep many of my measurements so that will be something left up to anyone willing enough to tackle this project. The wheels are not offset from the center of the bike at all, they're perfect. With all said and done, I’m very happy with the final product. I have a set of street wheels for about a third the cost of a new set of supermoto wheels & tires. I get plenty of “WTF? That’s cool” kind of looks around town. The coolest thing is that I can be cruising the streets one minute and 45 minutes later, I can be loading up to head to the track.
Good Luck,
Nick
__________________
2004 Yamaha YZ450F