Can I mount the front wheel the other way around?

[fred]

I just picked up the bike from this post:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=45982.0

The front wheel has 2 broken rotor bolts and three that have stripped heads. One of the broken bolts also has an extractor broken off in it. I was looking at the wheel and remembered that it is the same wheel that the Katana takes, so it is drilled and tapped to accept another rotor on the other side. That got me thinking, can I just grind off the old rotor and mount the new one on the other side? I know I'd have to remount the tire to make it spin in the right direction, but the real question is could I mount the speedometer drive to the other side of the wheel? I looked at my Clymer manual and it wasn't clear about needing to mount the wheel in a specific direction. I also took a look at the wheel, and even though it has writing on only one side, none of the writing seems to say anything about mounting in a specific direction... Does this seem like a good plan? I work with a bunch of machinists, so I can make an attempt to extract the bolts myself with expert help, but sidestepping the whole process by using the other side of the wheel is a really attractive sounding option...

[The Buddha]

Speedo drive has to fit on the left, I guess you could just make the same size spacer or somehting and flip the wheel. But yea you wont have a working speedo if you did that.
BTW even a katana cant reverse wheel direction just like that. Axle has to run the same way it does now ... R to L sitting on the bike.
Cool.
Buddha.

[makenzie71]

Technically, you could, but, like ^ said, you'll lose your speedo unless you get crafty.  You can run the speedo on the other side, but it does require a bit of ingenuity.

But then the bike would look funky with mixed wheels.  You could just ask for a wheel from someone here...a lot of very genorous people here.  You could also just drill out the bolt holes and tap the next size up.

[fred]

I was worried about that. Thanks Buddha and Makenzie. I'll go the bolt extraction route and if that doesn't look possible, I'll see if the local motorcycle salvage yard has a wheel for me...

[makenzie71]

If you get in a bind you can ship me the wheel and I'll fix you up for shipping.

[The Buddha]

Local bike shops would want like 300 bucks for a wheel, dont even matter what wheel it is ... or the fact that even GS riders wont buy GS parts. Have you seen one of those Idiots try to sell a GS rear shock for 100 bucks or more ... claiming that MSRP on it is 400 bucks and hence 100 is a bargain. Yea .. they are that stupid.
Cool.
Buddha.

[sledge]

Local bike shops would want like 300 bucks

Geez....they are about £20-25 ($30-40) here without a tyre and brake-disc........ If I send one over to you will you give me $295? I will even throw in a couple of new bearings too

[fred]

Local bike shops would want like 300 bucks for a wheel, dont even matter what wheel it is ... or the fact that even GS riders wont buy GS parts. Have you seen one of those Idiots try to sell a GS rear shock for 100 bucks or more ... claiming that MSRP on it is 400 bucks and hence 100 is a bargain. Yea .. they are that stupid.
Cool.
Buddha.

There is a motorcycle junkyard in North Hollywood called Johnson and Wood that I usually go to first when I need parts. They have very reasonable prices and have a good selection of stuff. When I stripped the banjo bolt threading on my front caliper they sold me a very nice used one for $40 that was in better shape than the caliper I destroyed... If they had a GS 500 front wheel, I'm pretty sure they'd sell it to me for a reasonable price. My current plan is to fix the existing wheel though. I talked to a machinist at work today and he said he'd help me drill out the stuck bolts and put in helicoils, which sounds like a good solution to me...

[makenzie71]

I wouldn't put in helicoils.  I'd drill the hole out to the next size.  Cheaper, quicker, and safer.

[sledge]

I wouldn't put in helicoils.  I'd drill the hole out to the next size.  Cheaper, quicker, and safer.

Nah....if installed properly Helicoils can be up to 5 times stronger than the original thread.

[fred]

I wouldn't put in helicoils.  I'd drill the hole out to the next size.  Cheaper, quicker, and safer.

Nah....if installed properly Helicoils can be up to 5 times stronger than the original thread.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Also, if I drill up to the next bigger size, I have to then drill every single rotor I put on that wheel to match or the bigger bolts won't go through. That sounds like a total nightmare.

[sledge]

Drilling steel discs is not a good idea, if they are hardened around the fixing holes you will break through the layer and weaken it.

[fred]

Drilling steel discs is not a good idea, if they are hardened around the fixing holes you will break through the layer and weaken it.

Very good point. Going to bigger bolts for the rotor sounds like a world of hurt. Helicoils seem to be the way to go... I'll share my experiences when I get time to mess with it... Probably not until later in the week...

[makenzie71]

Oh yeah lets never mind that the the rotors are drilled bigger to suit staggered bolts, meaning you don't have to touch it...we'll run with the more expensive option

Also, full floating rotors don't have hardened carriers.  I can't remember what the number was exactly, but on the Rockwell hardness scale the GS500 carriers measure softer than 440 stainless.

[sledge]

Oh yeah lets never mind that the the rotors are drilled bigger to suit staggered bolts, meaning you don't have to touch it...we'll run with the more expensive option

Also, full floating rotors don't have hardened carriers.  I can't remember what the number was exactly, but on the Rockwell hardness scale the GS500 carriers measure softer than 440 stainless.

You have to remember that not everyone is like you Mak........ie. we dont all dive in with the welder, cutter, grinder, drill etc....without weighing up the consequences first