Wire Rims

minus45

minus45

Hi Guys,

while down at a wreckers today i stumbled across a wire spoke rim labelled Suzuki 19 x 1.85 and it had what looked like katana front rotors bolted to it, could this be a genuine Suzuki Katana as i thought they where all 17 or 18 inch wires ???

got to get a price yet but if its genuine then i maybe interested as it is complete but with a couple broken spokes..

Cheers

Stuart
 
couldn't see any markings on it, was in a dark shed, im going back wednesday, so a 19 x 1.85 is correct for the front of my 1100 ??
 
Front ones wound up on all sorts of shit - might be GT750, might be gn250... reality is that a front by itself is worth stuff all - if it came with a disc braked rear, then you'd be into something interesting - GS750/GS1000 or GSX...
 
minus45 said:
Hi Guys,

while down at a wreckers today i stumbled across a wire spoke rim labelled Suzuki 19 x 1.85 and it had what looked like katana front rotors bolted to it, could this be a genuine Suzuki Katana as i thought they where all 17 or 18 inch wires ???

got to get a price yet but if its genuine then i maybe interested as it is complete but with a couple broken spokes..





Hi Minus, O.E.M. Kat W.W. are alloy and were made by Takasago (and stamped like Dave's photo), the front is 19 x 1.85. (rear 18 x 2.50) If it is an alloy Takasago and the right size and it's under $100 bucks grab it while you can. You'll have half a set and ya never know one day you might find that rear?

Cheers.

Cheers
Click to expand...
 
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Sounds like a great find, double check its the right one and buy it, you will find the rear. Put out the word to the eyes of the many. We will help find a rear.

Pauly
 
He was talking 250 to 300 for the rim as it has both front rotors on it but it needs work as a couple spokes are broken. what do you think a fair price is?
 
minus45 said:
He was talking 250 to 300 for the rim as it has both front rotors on it but it needs work as a couple spokes are broken. what do you think a fair price is?
Click to expand...

If the rotors have plenty of life (4.80mm or more) left and are not badly scored $200 for the whole thing would be about tops considering the cost of a new set of spokes. After removing the old spokes a buffer, mops, compound, time and plenty of black aluminium dust covering everything you'll soon have them looking good to go with the new stainless spokes that have emptied your wallet.
 
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Gammaboy said:
Front ones wound up on all sorts of shit - might be GT750, might be gn250... reality is that a front by itself is worth stuff all - if it came with a disc braked rear, then you'd be into something interesting - GS750/GS1000 or GSX...
Click to expand...

Easiest way to tell if it's a Kat (or GSX - same/same) rim is if it's alloy.


The front wires on GT/GSs were, while being the same size rim and using the same hub, chrome steel with magnesium on RE5s.
That's definitely a Kat/GSX rim.

I would baulk at any price above $200 as there's a still a lot of expensive work to restore it.
 
rim.jpg

Ok so back to the rim, i went today and took this pic

I assume this is the correct style, make etc to go on the front of the 1100, if so i can pick it up for $150 and then hunt around for a back.....
 
That's good buying at $150.


The rear will be harder to find as the hub, especially, was only available on early GSs, some GSXs (dealer fitted I believe) and Kats (again either dealer fitted or SXZ models).

Be aware that the rear rim, if genuine, does not have a square profile like the front does.

Dunno why this is - perhaps the rim being wider prevents the square profile...
 
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Actually, looking at pics of my rims I'm not too sure about the shape of them now, don't take my observations as gospel!


I remember noticing a difference between the front and the rear when I was setting mine up, but I can't remember which was which.

Anyway, if you get a hold of a rear hub and want to stash the OEM rims and go wider, you can go about half as wide again on both rims/tyres and get everything to fit without any other modifications.

A 110 on the front will fit nicely on a 2.15" rim, and a 140 on the rear fits quite well on a 4.25" rim (I think that's what's on my bike from memory).

Tyres of this size are not prohibitively expensive, will fill out the guards nicely and not affect the handling in any way, and most importantly will not require offset sprockets or bent rear brake torque arms etc:



Suzuki should have utilised these sizes right from the get-go.

Of course, you can go shitloads wider than that too, but be prepared to muck about with other bits of the bike.
 
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