Looking to swap front wheel to Katana to match rear wheel

[joshr08]

yes the rear sprocket needs to be shimmed out 3/32's to an 1/8th to get the chain to clear the tire.  The rear tire must also be aligned perfectly.  That being said I put between 8 and 10k miles on my 160 rear with the sprocket shimmed with no signs or wear on the rear or front sprockets from the shimming.  Just make sure when you shim the sprocket your shims are all exactly the same size so your sprocket doesn't wobble.

[mustangGT90210]

GsJack,
Sorry I missed your message ... so I checked my tire and it is a "DUNLOP D251F 150/80-17" FRONT tire -    .I guess for the price I paid for it was not bad $20 mounted, and balanced. I'm just    about it! But on the bright side I ordered my new set of tires this past weekend should be in 1 week from Cali.

Josh,
Thanks for the details. I checked out the Shinko Raven's and like the look with the price tag too! I glanced at the 011 Verge's and even better. While I was searching for Shinko's online I came across a new combo set of Metzeler M3 Sportec Tire Combo 120/60-17 and 160/60-17 for $250 including shipping. I thought it wasn't a bad deal since I could get them shipped in within a week compared to the Shinko's ranging just over $200 including shipping but would take 2 full weeks for the set to arrive. I'm kind of in a hurry to get my GS back on the road so didn't mind paying the extra.

BTW, I've read a few threads about shimming the sprocket. Do you remember what size shims you used?

Thanks!

I can speak pretty well of the Shinko Raven. Have one on my gsxr750 right now. Bought it back in April, put 5k on it so far, and it needed replacing when I bought the bike. Wears like iron, and good grip too, I've only broken the back end loose once in the rain under power. Id run one again

[nicoyastyln]

-Joshr08 - Thanks, I'm in search for washers now but should be able to find it even at my local ACE Hardware store.

[joshr08]

you can get them anywhere just use a set of calipers to measure them to make sure they are all the same

[nicoyastyln]

Alright, today was the day .... I swapped the 150 w/ my new set of Sportec M3's. All went smooth except for my local mechanic having an issue with popping the front tire into place once mounted on the wheel. It took about 20 minutes but he got it after pressurizing the tire at full throttle.

Step #1 - took both tires off the GS. Unfortunately I have not bought myself a motorcycle jack/lift yet so I used my car jack. Do not try this at home. lol. I had the GS balanced on the jack & stand until I could return with the new set of tires mounted on the wheels.



Step #2 - returned from mounting on new set of tires on wheels. Mounted, and re-installed front tire.


Step #3 - Before mounting the rear tire I made sure the rear sprocket was shimmed. I purchased 10 washers from Ace Hardware store. I know most posts state to add 1 washer per bolt but I added 2 washers per bolt. This gave the rear tire enough clearance from the chain. What made this easier was that I was already clear on the break caliper rod side. As I stated in my other posts I purchased a rear caliper rod off of a Bandit 600, instead of bending the OEM GS rod, and installed it when I previously installed my 150 tire. As you can see the rod gives enough clearance for the tire. I also had already trimmed the chain guard on my 150 tire install so this was all set & done.






Step #4 - Sit back, adjust, and enjoy the view before test drive. BTW, if anyone noticed my exhaust pipe has an old D&D installed until I get a brand new D&D exhaust & pipe purchased & installed. That is my next project before new years!




This was all a learning process for me but I hope this helps others just like GSTWINS has helped me along all of my mod's. Any questions, or suggestions just let me know. Thanks!

[gsJack]

I put a rear tire on once late in the fall and ran it a bit out of line over the winter.  By the time I got around to checking it in late spring I found the sprocket had become quite wobbly on the spline, it was one of the narrower hub less ones though.  Fortunately the sprocket bore took the wear , it was not an oem one and the shaft spline was OK.

I do wish Suzuki had retained the rigid front sprocket mount they had on previous GS400-450 twins like shown in recent picture by peteGS.  Sprockets are so much easier to replace than tranny shafts.  Best to keep a check on it for a while, it's so quick and easy to do.

[gsJack]

Although the 110/70 and 130/70 oem size tires on the GS meet the performance needs of the bike for most users I've grown to like the look of the larger ones like the several 150/70 tires I've used on mine on stock wheels.  That's a real rear tire that you and a few others here are using with the 160/wheel size mod:

[nicoyastyln]

Thanks for the heads up GSJACK ... I will keep a close eye on the sprockets.

As for the larger rear tire, I like the idea since I read Turd's initial thread when I first found GSTWINS just took me a while to actually get around to do it. The 130 tire isn't a bad look but the larger sportier look is what I was going for.

Thanks for all the advise, and help!