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KLR 650 17" front wheel prject

kneedragon2000

kneedragon2000

wait...wut?
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Location
Livermore
Moto(s)
02 custom R1 streetfight// 08 Ninja 650
Name
Robin
I ave a KLR that I want to fit F3 wheels on. I have the wheels already and have seen it done before but the problem I am having is finding a place to either have a bracket and spacers made for the fitment or one that someone already sells. Same with the rear i suppose too. I am not going to race this as a SM but i just like the idea of having legit road tires and better brakes on the pig and when I do want to take it off road I will just swap out kits. I plan on 95% of the bike's life as a commuter. Any help is appreciated.
 
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Find a reputable machine shop and ask them. I don't know the exact requirements. If/when I do it I think spokes will be the way I go. Not sure though. Other options would be really nice though.
 
I've done this before on a DRZ (KTM wheels to DRZ).

You've got a couple of things to address. First of all, axle sizes. Are they the same? Are they different?
Second of all, you need to establish the appropriate offset for the wheel, to make sure it's in line with the rear.
Third of all, you need to properly line up the rotor.

If the F3 wheels have accept a larger axle than the KLR front axle, you'll want to get some sleeve spacers. Other option is to try and find bearings with a smaller ID, any bearing house (or the internet) should be able to tell you if that's a possibility or not. Then it's a matter of measuring things out and going from there. The other option is a custom axle with the appropriate sizes, although that has it's own pitfalls.

Depending on the front rotor design, you might be able to space it out, you might have to compromise slightly in some way or another.

Honestly, if I were doing this, I'd find a set of KLR hubs and get a set of 17 inch rims laced to them. They'll handle abuse (curbs, jumps, etc) much better, and you won't have to worry about offset, rotor fit, etc. If you want to upgrade the brakes, you can pick up an EBC 320mm kit that comes with the appropriate adapter to space out the stock caliper to accept the 320mm disk. Cheaper, easier, keeps stock parts, more salable in the future, just a better solution for a dozen and one reasons.

When I did it, the KTM rear was a straight bolt on, the front just required a custom axle and spacers, which made it moderately ok, although there were some things I really didn't like about that setup either. And I had a devil of a time getting the axle made right, I ended up having to go to a machine shop and cut it down and rethread it myself. Sigh.

Feel free to ask any questions.
 
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I was assuming all the issues as far as alignment, spacing etc. The wheels I got were a lot cheaper than finding another set of KLR hubs, getting them laced to rims etc. I figure that I SHOULD be able to get them to bolt on relatively well and easily once the measurements are taken and the offsets are known. Im honestly not wanting to jump it or thrash the crap out of it (on these wheels) as they will be specifically for commuting.

I am in the process of finding the ID and OD of the two hubs (stock KLR and stock F3) and seeing if its feasable to solve that issue with just bearings instead of some sort of kept spacer that makes up the difference. The spacer for the wheel alignment in the front and rear with the brackets for the caliper is where I need do my homework and find someone that can do that right...
 
kneedragon2000 said:
I was assuming all the issues as far as alignment, spacing etc. The wheels I got were a lot cheaper than finding another set of KLR hubs, getting them laced to rims etc. I figure that I SHOULD be able to get them to bolt on relatively well and easily once the measurements are taken and the offsets are known. Im honestly not wanting to jump it or thrash the crap out of it (on these wheels) as they will be specifically for commuting.

I am in the process of finding the ID and OD of the two hubs (stock KLR and stock F3) and seeing if its feasable to solve that issue with just bearings instead of some sort of kept spacer that makes up the difference. The spacer for the wheel alignment in the front and rear with the brackets for the caliper is where I need do my homework and find someone that can do that right...
Click to expand...

F3, not GS. :laughing. Right.

Anyways. I wasn't able to find different size bearings (17mm ID to 20mm ID), but you might have better luck. I had to use a custom axle, as the stock DRZ axle was 20mm, the KTM axle was 17mm, so I used the custom made 17mm axle with 3mm sleeve to fit the pinch bolt on the nut size, (the other size matched the stock DRZ 25mm shoulder size as it was made custom), and then custom spacers to center the wheel so the rotor fit correctly. I spaced the wheel according to the rotor fitment, which was a mistake (as it didn't make sure the wheel was properly centered), and if I were do to do it again, I would do it right, either spacing out the rotor or making an appropriate caliper adapter.

For the caliper adapter, I'd probably rig up something in some easily modifiable material (a thick piece of lexan or some other form of marginally stiff plastic), make a relocator plate out of that, and then use that as a template that I'd machine up/plans to submit to a machine shop.

The other issue with using F3 hubs is that you need to know the size of the total axle stack (hub + spacers) in order to know where the center of the wheel actually is. Then you can use that center value against the KLR fork spacing to know what size spacers you need.

God, it's hard to type this up without any pictures. :laughing
 
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