Radian Arm, rear shock question

baniels

According to bikez.net, the RD400 has 3.50x18 stock rear and the XS400 has a 3.75 stock rear. I'm guessing there's a slight rim size difference.

Do you have that wheel on a 650?

sschering wrote:

I think my 77 XS-400 rims are wider than that.. I'll check when I get home.

baniels

How difficult was it to get the SR500 wheel working on your XS?

Was the sprocket an issue? See below.

5twins wrote:

The SR500 wheel is not a good choice. It has a larger hub and runs something like a 44T sprocket stock. About the smallest you can go with is a 39 or 40 and that's still way too big for these bikes...

--source

sschering

No it's right where the factory put it.. On the back of my XS-400.

There is a good thread here on doing the swap from RD400 to XS-650
xs650temp.proboards29....thread=965

another

xs650temp.proboards29....086&page=1

SR 500 ran the same 17mm axle as the RD so the same bearing swap issues should apply.

XS-400 runs a different rear axle bearing than the RD so it might have a smaller axle..

One site also said the XS500 ran a 18" rear wheel.

sschering

OK I missed what 5 twins said about SR-500 sprockets..

Just to be clear..

I have a XS-400 with stock 18" rims

I haven't done any swapping.. I'm just rounding up info and trying to help out.

jayel

don't know f this will help or not, the stock 18" rim bead width is only 2.15 and it carries a 4" tire here's a pic from mikesXS of a 18" rim if you're still going with the spoked wheels, if you're going with a 18" mag be prepared to have sprocket mounting/spacing, disc mounts/spacing, wheel spacers and bearings changed or modified (axle size)

baniels

I'd be willing to put up with the all the spacing issues, granted it is possible, if I could find an 18" mag that had a 2.15 bead width. My recent ebay sprees are going to leave me with plenty of options.

xsjohn

The newer wheels are mostly all wider rims........not sure of the 18 size though.....allthose 16's look kinda goofey to me.....but Iam living in the past.....always rode a wider rim on my previous spoked bikes and liked the way they tracked.......could snoop through ebay........disk alignment and calipers may be an issue but since you are willing to do some work might as well get what you want....maybe someone that has already changed and doccumented it....I would be interested in some of the mag widths myself........

xsjohn

jayel

wider tires aren't bad for handling by themselves IF they're matched front and back, take a look at some of the super motard bikes, a narrow front and a wide rear wallows like a hog in mud,

and here's how to use a 19" front on the rear

omarsdtr.com/stwheel.html

xsjohn

Who ever decided on a 1.85 front rim for these should have had their ass cained until they begged......what 4 or 5 more beer cans.........xsjohn

jayel

XS 500E 1978 mag, it's wider than a SR 500 or RD 400 good luck finding one tho' nothing on e-bay, might try PM to royfisk see if he's got one

jayel

"Who ever decided on a 1.85 front rim for these should have had their ass cained until they begged......what 4 or 5 more beer cans.........xsjohn

actually I don't mind the 3.25x19 on the front, but I might try a 4.5x18 on the rear next time these old pigs are heavy and a 4.00 is just barely enough

sschering

jayel wrote:

"Who ever decided on a 1.85 front rim for these should have had their ass cained until they begged......what 4 or 5 more beer cans.........xsjohn

actually I don't mind the 3.25x19 on the front, but I might try a 4.5x18 on the rear next time these old pigs are heavy and a 4.00 is just barely enough

there was a XS500 rear wheel for sale here last month.. do a search, it'll turn up..

OK I did some bearing searching and found what you will need to use on a XS-400 rim with a XS650 axle..

you will need

Bore OD Thickness
6204-2RS 20mm 47mm 14mm
6205-2RS 25mm 52mm 15mm

these work by shifting form the medium series 6300 bearings to the light 6200.. I can't say what this will do to durability.
I don't think I'd stress that to much.. I looked and the 6204 is used on Goldwings and the XS-750.. the 6205 is used on the Hayabusa

www.oldbikebarn.com/Mo...g-6205-2RS

www.oldbikebarn.com/Mo...g-6204-2RS

baniels

What would be the difference between fitting an XS500 rear cast wheel or a XS400 cast wheel? They are both 2.15x18.

There are a few xs400 rears on ebay now, but none from an xs500.

Ah - the stock tire on the XS400 is 3.50x18 and the XS500 stock tire is 4.00x18. Is this difference in stock size a function of some other element of the rim?

jayel

xs500 uses same disc as a 650 and I think axle is the same also, would be easier to refit, sprockets are different but that's a function of the engine sizes don't know about sprocket bolt pattern but sprockets are easier to do than wheel bearings and such

1J3-25381-00 xs500 axle xs650 axle 341-25381-00

baniels

Okay. Thanks, Jayel.

Finn51 · Full Member Joined: Apr 25, 2007 Posts: 59

I put an xs500 rear on mine some years back. At the time I did not know what it was off, found it in a junk yard, but a little research on the number of teeth on the sprocket gave it away. I used the 20mm axle, changed the brgs and seals to suit. Had to have the spacers on either side machined down, as well as a new spacer in the hub to fit the 20mm axle. The sprocket is the problem, 4 studs as opposed to 6 bolts on the 650, and 1/4'' offset, front and rear sprockets won't align correctly. You can have an adaptor made as can be found on the proboards site, or you can cheat, as I did. I moved the rear wheel 1/8" over from centre leaving 1/8" chain offset. Has been like that for 6 years, I notice no ill effects on handling or chain wear, but it may not be your cup of tea as they say. Unless you have a buddy who can do the machine work, or you can, then it may turn out to be an expensive mod, is it worth it, hell yeah, it looks right on a cafe or tracker. Hope this helps you make that decision. John

baniels

Ok. Well I found a guy on here with an XS500 rear mag he's willing to sell me for a reasonable price. So I'm going to go for it.

jayel

cool, offset is no problem just a spacer and either a custom sprocket (JT sprockets) or a TSC with some machine work done on it, if you need to find a local guy who can do your work turning any spacers or anything I know a couple guys

baniels

Thanks. I'm new to teeth count and all. I know I've got a few things to accomplish to make this work.

The first being either a modification of my current sprocket so that it can attach properly to the new wheel (different mounting holes) or get a new sprocket that has the correct mounting holes.

The second thing to do is create spacers of some sort that align the front and rear sprockets while keeping the rear wheel properly centered (not for me, Finn51).

Can the sprocket outfits create something that accomplishes both of these tasks?

Anyone want to suggest what I need to consider when determining sprocket teeth? I've read of some using other than stock tooth count.

jayel

the first thing is to find the difference between the old wheel width and the new wheel width this will determine your spacers between wheel and swing arm sides to center the wheel in the swingarm, then you can find the sprocket offset and make a spacer for that, you make need longer mounting studs for the sprocket, the easiest way to do the sprocket is find a blank sprocket of (what ever tooth count you want) turn out the center to fit the hub and drill the mounting holes, the sprocket tooth count depends on what you what, drag racer or highway cruiser? stock is 17/34 kind of bad because every second revolution the same links of the chain matches up with the same sprocket teeth, 17/36 or 38 you'll have good acceleration but rap out on top end, 17/31 good on the highway

Finn51 · Full Member Joined: Apr 25, 2007 Posts: 59

baniels, you may find it easier to find a 4 hole sprocket, than to adapt the 6 hole 650 one. The xs500 hub studs are mounted in rubber, cushdrive, and are a pain to remove and replace. I found a new 33 tooth sprocket at a recycler, so they are out there, some where, and you need to get something around that number. The rd400 and sr500 also used a similar style that will fit but they are 38 or 41 tooth, too high and not good unless you want to do wheel stands. When I did mine, all this was not available to me, these boards did not exist, so I was on my own. Cheating the way I did was a tempory way to go riding until I could figure something out. Other projects come along and it is still the same set up, I keep meaning to have an adaptor made but time and money come into play. There was an adaptor posted on the garage some time back, see if I can find it.

jayel

hi Finn we're right in the middle of farm country here in Iowa the local farm supply stores carry all sizes of sprockets for tractors and combines he won't have to much trouble finding a blank sprocket, then having it turned out for the bearing boss and drilled to the four bolt pattern, putting a spacer under it to get it in-line sounds like the hot set-up to me

baniels

I don't plan on doing very much freeway driving with this. Some Iowa highways maybe, but no long road trips.

I weight about 175. Could probably stand to have a few more RPMs to work with on the highway, but the truth is it was only a couple days ago that I got a new speedo cable installed and since then I haven't been on the highway. I can't even say what I'm doing at 60.

I like the zippiness of the bike in town as it is. I wouldn't want to lose very much of that. Would a 17/32 or 17/33 be a good way to go? I like the idea of not having the chain and sprockets mate up the same way all the time, but I also don't know which way to go to change it.

jayel wrote:

the first thing is to find the difference between the old wheel width and the new wheel width this will determine your spacers between wheel and swing arm sides to center the wheel in the swingarm, then you can find the sprocket offset and make a spacer for that, you make need longer mounting studs for the sprocket, the easiest way to do the sprocket is find a blank sprocket of (what ever tooth count you want) turn out the center to fit the hub and drill the mounting holes, the sprocket tooth count depends on what you what, drag racer or highway cruiser? stock is 17/34 kind of bad because every second revolution the same links of the chain matches up with the same sprocket teeth, 17/36 or 38 you'll have good acceleration but rap out on top end, 17/31 good on the highway

Finn51 · Full Member Joined: Apr 25, 2007 Posts: 59

Jayel, thats one of the advantages of living in the country isn't it. The cost of having all the machine work done by someone else makes most of these things too expensive to the average 650 rider unless he has deep pockets. The spacer pic I posted above is from Slide on the garage, he did the same mod a while back too, and has more info on how to go about it there.
baniels, gear ratio is a personal thing, some like 17/30 for low rpm on the hiway, others prefer like 17/38 for around town. Stock ratio is just a comprimise, and most guys prefer it, except xsjohn who would run an 18/18 if he could. I like your idea of 17/32, go for it and keep us up to date on the project.

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