Ok I know A lot of guys will not go for this but I had to post it. I bought a wrecked 2003 VFR 800 and have been fixing it up. I must say it has worked out better than I expected. I noticed a guy from the UK put a car wheel on a 750 VFR swingarm. His plan involved drilling out the hub and adding longer studds. I did the math and found that with the right adapter and a 42mm offset wheel it should come out dead on center. I got a special adapter that has the studs and nuts. I got a wheel that was 17x7 and[image: 02142011030.jpg]
4x100 bolt patten.[image: 2bike.jpg]
[image: 02142011029.jpg]
The adapter bolted strait to the hub and the wheel strait to the adapter. The tire I used was a Dunlop roadsmart 200x50x17. The wheel cleared the swing arm by 3.2mm on the top[image: wheel clearance.jpg]
and 4.5mm on the bottom of the swing arm.[image: wheel clearance 1.jpg]
Even with full travel (swing arm lifted all the way with shock unhooked) no issues. To each his own, just wanted to share. I have put some miles on this tire and wheel now and I wanted to give and update. It rides great! I find that it drops into the corners fine. NO pulling or pushing and the center of balance is same as stock. I have sold my other spacer but I plan to get more and help others do the same. Ride Safe Carl.[image: vfr.jpg]
I've often wondered if this could be done. Nice job. The only downside may be the weight. The stock wheel is a surprisingly light unit whereas the car wheel you chose may have a bit more heft. But it looks damn good.
Not my thing but good on you for making it work. I'd be concerned about the offset on a 7" wide wheel. Does the center line of the tire move out to the right a bit?
I don't know about the car wheel, but FYI Honda SSSA rear wheels seem to have the same offset--at least based on a rather unscientific sampling of the two wheels I had in the garage at the time--exactly the same. I measured from the centre of the wheel to the face of the mounting flange. The two wheels were off a 1987 NC24 (VFR400R) and a 1992 NR(750), which are 4" and 5.5" wide, respectively. If Honda used the same offset on such different bikes, I would have to guess that the other VFR and RVF rear wheels also have the same offset (but I really should check some day!)
(The NR wheel does NOT have the same PCD, however.)
So what width wheel would keep the stock dimensions I wonder?
17" x 5.5". Not too easy to find in an automotive wheel!
WORK wheels make a 17x5.5 with the appropriate bolt circle. I do not know if it would clear the brake caliper or not, nor how the backspacing would pan out.
I DO know it will be expensive. About on par with a brand new OEM rear wheel.
I actually recognize that car wheel; it's a Motegi tuner wheel...weighs about 18 lbs. if I remember correctly. I'm sure you could find out on tirerack.com Good find and good luck!
If you need to search other wheel options in order to run bike tires (don't do the car tire thing those Goldwing guys recommend...corners are just too much fun on a VFR) check www.myboltpattern.com I just discovered this site and found it really helpful.
I want to note that I just typed in 4x100 x 4x100 1.25" adapter in ebay and found several. The ones I bought were from tireshopsupplies. I also should say you can use any wheel that is a 17x7 and has a 42mm offset The adapter can change the bolt pattern as well like 4x100 to 5x100 or any wheel you want. Also the center of the Adapter may need to be filed or ground to clear the center of the hub. I used a cut off wheel and a die grinder and took out a little to let it fit without hitting. That was the only mod needed and was not hard.
Cant wait to see how it rides. If you look at buying a used VFR rear wheel its $350 to $400 and will must likely have to have it painted or powder coated easy $500 for all. I f you go your route your looking at $175(lug,wheel,adapter) plus tire. You run this set up and then when you go "DRAGON" riding you put the VFR rear wheel back on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to thank everyone for the intrest in this thread. I would like to say that I love the VFR ride and power. Holy V-TEC I rode for 10 miles before getting to 7000 RPMs. That made me smile. :bliss: Well I am happy with my tire and wheel, I was worried about the fit and ride but it worked out great. I am going to purchase more spacers and do the clearance work for the hub. If others want to try this option just P.M. me. Thanks and RIDE SAFE. Carl
I know its been a while since this thread has been touched, but im new and im about to do this conversion but wanted to just conferm some stuff. Seems like all i need is a 17x7 rim with a 4x100 pattern and a 42mm offset, then a 1.25" spacer and thats it. I have a 99 vfr800. Thank u guy
Also a 7000 mile update, works great the only issue is that the speedo is 4 MPH off. ( showing faster than actual speed) I am going to change gears so that should help. I show even wear on the Dunlop roadsmart and it's almost to the wear indicator at 7000 miles. I corner hard and ride hard no issues. Have drug the pegs a few times along with my boots. I feel this was a gamble that worked out. I pulled the exhaust off just behind the cat and bought a tip at the local parts store for $10 I love the sound. My wife however did not like the melted shoe. I hope this update helps.
Mercy... what in hell is an over weight car wheel doing on a VFR??? I'm going to have to report you to Honda for adding what amounts to a brick to their bike...
I have been contacted by several riders who are putting the VFR swingarm on other Hondas but not other brands. That is cool and I hope you pull it off.
Ive put about 500 miles on mine and i think it rides just fine. I love it, every time im stopped some were i have people staring at my bike and have had alot of people come up to me and tell me how bad a&& it looks.
Also I was a bit concerned about the bead profile as most car rims are asymmetrical but it seems that any standard JJ style rim (has a safety bead on both sides instead of just one) would be safe enough.
Now just the problem of finding a wheel like this that doesn't involve buying 4 of them :rolleyes:
It doesn't fit right away, the center was to small, and i had ti modify i to fit over the disk mounting nuts
next was the wheel what do I like and will it fit I tried a lot of dessigns with diffrent ET - and found out depending of the manufacturer the ET measurement varies +/- 2mm - please take a note of that I ended up with a 7x17 ET-40 Wolf Shark - of two reasons It has a very low weight and in mine opinion a good dessign for a RC36-1 It's a "wanna be split"
It's also regular aluminium - not chromed not stainless front.
It took a while to polish since my paint remover didn't make the paint wrinkle - I had to use sandpaper all the way starting with grid 100 then 180 - 280 - 400 - 600 - 1000 - 1500 - 2000 and of course a lot of water after this some alu polish "autosol" thank good for inventing that stuff, and a drill with a cotton buffer on
with a 190 mic pilot road I have 10mm clearance to the chain and a wheel offset to the right app. 10mm but adjusting the numberplate a little to the right, hides the offset - I'll try to take a pic from the rear and upload it
I'd have to agree. Why would you want more weight and a wider base of contact for the rear tire? That makes the tire flatter which would make it more difficult to turn in.
I'm not slamming your idea, I'm just not sure I see any advantage to this. Is it just to have a different wheel on the back?
BusyLittleShop
Mercy... what in hell is an over weight car wheel doing on a VFR??? I'm going to have to report you to Honda for adding what amounts to a brick to their bike...
I'd have to agree. Why would you want more weight and a wider base of contact for the rear tire? That makes the tire flatter which would make it more difficult to turn in.
I'm not slamming your idea, I'm just not sure I see any advantage to this. Is it just to have a different wheel on the back?
BusyLittleShop, on 14 February 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:
Mercy... what in hell is an over weight car wheel doing on a VFR??? I'm going to have to report you to Honda for adding what amounts to a brick to their bike...
As mentioned earlier the bike is still able to corner at ridiculous speeds so the effect isn't detrimental.
Turn in would probably be more difficult, I'll agree there but also as a street bike used for commuting it would probably make slow speed stability just that little bit easier.
Can you comment on that at all Helweg?
I had some pretty bad offset on my old bike, like 20-30mm since the frame was bent (should not have been registerable..) and I didn't notice any adverse affects to the steering as long as the back wheel was lined up to the front wheel and not to the markings. I imagine 10mm doesn't do much on a VFR either?
I put wider rims on all my vehicles...except for the bikes. I love railing in the twisties too much to take away from that. That said I see no problem with people making the bike more suited to their riding styles.
Keep thinking out side the box and take plenty of pics along the way. :fing02:
haha yeah, I've done that before with car tyres on steelies a few times.
Consider it a last resort to try at home since there's no way a legitimate business will try that for me in their workshop.
Another problem being if that fails too I can no longer sell the tyre as brand new (or at least I wouldn't feel right about it).
haha yeah, I've done that before with car tyres on steelies a few times.
Consider it a last resort to try at home since there's no way a legitimate business will try that for me in their workshop.
Another problem being if that fails too I can no longer sell the tyre as brand new (or at least I wouldn't feel right about it).
They certainly did.. which made carrying it back to the car both difficult and messy.
I didn't get a good look when they were attempting to fit the 200 tyre, but I watched them today on the 240 and the problem was getting it to sit over the bead at the front of the rim. About 90% of the circumference was sitting fine with a few spots folded in which let air out and prevented the rest from blowing into place from the compressor.
It's the first time I've ever seen a tyre not seat on the front bead.
Car and motorcycle bead sizing are not the same. Even though they may both be called 17 inch there is enough difference that it can not safely be done. If you did somehow get the bead to sit it would be stressed way beyond design. If you really want the wider tire you will have to widen the VFR wheel.
Ok so I've run into a problem that nobody here has mentioned.. tyres just won't fit.
The guys at Teammoto tried 3 different brands of 200 width tyres and none of them would seat onto the bead, not even with a bead blaster.
Conclusion was that I needed something larger, which they didn't have in stock.. so I got a 240/45/17 Diablo Rosso II shipped over from America
It is currently sitting on the rim, but again, beads won't seat.. Bike shop failed and a car tyre shop failed.
So now it's at another place who has that bead blaster I mentioned earlier so they can give it another go with the wider tyre.
Tis getting a little frustrating by this point and if I turn up tomorrow to see another failure then I'm out of options and will probably just sell off what I had and use the money elsewhere.
try a ***/55/17 tire, the 45 is way too small even for the stock rim
try a ***/55/17 tire, the 45 is way too small even for the stock rim
We tried 3 x 200/55/17 tyres before the current 240/45/17
The 45 in the middle is only the ratio of height to width, eg for a tyre 240mm wide, 45% of 240 (108mm) is how tall it is from sidewall to centre contact patch.. Since the rubber is molded in a complex shape and flexes easily these numbers are rarely exact, but rather a rough guide.
Similarly the 200/55 would be 200mm wide and 110mm high, making only a 2mm difference between them, which is negligible.
Just checked the ratio of a stock VFR tyre and it's only 99mm high being a 180/55, ever so slight difference in gearing going to a larger tyre it seems, giving lower rpm for any given speed.
Anyways, back to the current situation.. I've left it with the guys at Tyrepower who generally work with trucks and 4wds, so they have a more powerful compressor to use. They have it seated on the rear bead fine, and on the front for about 95% of the circumference. It holds air fine, doesn't leak and has a good shape to it, but there is still a small section of sidewall that stayed folded under.
I'll go back tomorrow when I'm not stuffing around at uni to see how its going, but with how close it is they seemed rather hopeful.
@Tamworth: I'm aware of the reasons why it's hard to fit, just annoyed because nobody else had this issue before, only me. After comparing the bike rim to car rim and measuring the bead sizes I feel very confident in driving around on it for several years once it has seated properly. The only thing that was worrying me is getting it onto that bead in the first place, and if it isn't seated 100% perfectly I won't even consider using it.
one thing that ive been wondering is how do you balance it? :huh: would you balance it like a car tire or like a motorcycle tire, cause there two different methods and use different types of weights too.
other thing that ive been wondering is will a 40 offset rim work too? im thinking thats going to be seriously close because with a 42 off it was 3-4.5mm away from the swigarm
Seems like this particular rim is a no-go.. still not sure why it's a different outcome to the other attempts in this thread though.
I really didn't want to be the first one to fail and give up but I'm not sure what other options there are apart from widening a VFR rim (expensive and not the style I wanted) or just blind luck with another rim..
Option B - anyone in Australia want a cheap/new 240/45/17 or 4.25" bolt on spacer?
Mine is ET-40 - fits fine
didn't have any problems fitting tyre
Been riding 3 months now and can't feel any bad steering or balance , but have had a lot of questions about fitment - and a lot of positiv feedback where i go
took a pic from rear view - almost not visible the 5mm offset
next project is to get my front wheel done and fork polished
I just did a search through ASF - aus streetfighter forum and found about 8 different people who have successfully done this conversion with different width wheels and tyres up to 18x9 rims (though most threads are out of date and pics are dead)
Have not found a single failure yet apart from mine. I've pm'd CBRRRT on that forum who was one of the first to do a write up on it and even made a .pdf how-to which shows removing the honda studs, pressing in longer studs and a home made spacer instead of the bolt-on option.
[image: View Post]reaper7767, on 13 August 2012 - 03:53 PM, said:
one thing that ive been wondering is how do you balance it? :huh: would you balance it like a car tire or like a motorcycle tire, cause there two different methods and use different types of weights too.
other thing that ive been wondering is will a 40 offset rim work too? im thinking thats going to be seriously close because with a 42 off it was 3-4.5mm away from the swigarm
how is balancing a car tire and a motorcycle tire any different? I balance my car and motorcycle tires myself the same and they never vibrate.
hey dragon your not the only one thats fail now, i tried mounting mine on a Konig lace (17x7) and it wont seat. im going to try a few more shops before i i give up.
I did have some trouble with mine, but i found this crazy ass kid at a used tire shop that put a crazy amount of psi in it at it finaly beaded up. Now doing this could go both ways 50/50, the tire could explode or it could bead just fine. I have been riding on mine for about 6 months now with no problems. The only thing i dont like with the 200 tire is it leave kind of a flat spot in the center of the tire, but it still all seams to wear the same so i guess thats all that counts.
[image: View Post]reaper7767, on 18 August 2012 - 06:33 PM, said:
hey dragon your not the only one thats fail now, i tried mounting mine on a Konig lace (17x7) and it wont seat. im going to try a few more shops before i i give up.
Use dish soap...and a lot of it. It should seat with 80 psi or so. Getting the tire warm also helps.
got the tire beaded :woohoo: i did 4:1 dish soap mix, took the tire off, lathered the rim and tire up (kinda hard getting the tire back on w/ the soap :pissed: ) when it hit 30 psi it was starting to fold back in, at about 70-75 BANG top bead seated and scared the shit out of me, few sec later a second bang and done.
about a block away from my house i almost low sided because i forgot to remove the tag :goofy:
I would be having a go at this almost daily if I had my own compressor... but alas I don't, nor my own car and I feel bad asking my housemate to drive me across town repeatedly for what has so far provided no results.
I can say that the last place I was at let it soak in all different kinds of lubricant for hours in the sun and put 130psi (compressor maxxed out and wouldn't go any higher).
What I need though... is someone dodgy, willing to go a little further than the normal safety limits allow, but without being personally referred I don't know where to go. Everywhere I've been so far, the guys have been more than willing to try and rather hopeful while their boss always got shitty and tried to push me out the door saying I'm stupid for even trying.
after putting on the tire and running it for a day ive found some good and bad things from my experience.
Good: looks really nice on the bike, speedo runs a little faster (cause i put on a 190/55), turns sharper cause of the tire, and better front end feel
Bad: cant get the rear tire in the air on the center stand (going to get a pit bull stand, was thinking about getting one anyway), rubbing on the center stand when its up (can see from the pic), shorter bearing life (cause of the add rim weigh and offset)
then there are some things that im planning on do:
do an under tail exhaust like the cbr 600 (or if anyone on the forums can make a high mount pipe for an erion exhaust ill buy it)
take about 3-4mm off the spacer for the wheel
maybe put a 200 or 210/50 or 45 on next cause of how the tire is sitting on the rim
Yeah, you gotta do something about that center stand.
Either take it off and leave it off, or remove it, and heat the leg, and bend it slightly outboard, then paint it and reinstall.
As far as gearing is concerned, a 200/50 would be practically identical. 0.3% higher. And it would fit on the wider rim better than the current 190 you have.
[image: View Post]reaper7767, on 21 August 2012 - 08:06 AM, said:
then there are some things that im planning on do:
do an under tail exhaust like the cbr 600 (or if anyone on the forums can make a high mount pipe for an erion exhaust ill buy it)
Not cheap, but Dan Dreisbach made me an underseat exhaust using an Erion full system. Unlike the TBR, though, he did have to cut about 50mm off the output to get a better angle for the link-pipe, so this is a one-way mod. See my build thread for pics.
[image: View Post]Duc2V4, on 21 August 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:
Did I miss something? These all appear to be 5 lug wheels.
Yep, you did miss something. They are available in a 4x100 bolt pattern in those diameters and widths stated above, the pictures are just generic examples of what those wheels look like.
They just "happened" to photograph the 5 bolt version.
Clicken sie linken and read the .pdf, it has all the 411
[image: View Post]ericlw, on 21 August 2012 - 06:04 PM, said:
that tire isnt even seated on the rim dont you consider that dangerous?
it's truly an insane bodge. As a long time and die hard VFR lover it's pretty hard to look at. it may be seated on the rim but the tire bead is completely incomparable with the rim. This bike would be far safer running a square car tire, and that would solve your center stand issue.
The current tire sidewall is stretched to within millimeter of it's life, it's virtually parallel with the rim. The tire tread is actually starting to get a reverse curve to it at the edge.
This configuration can not possibly be roadworthy or road legal
work does make those in a 4x100 lug, BUT the reason that nobody have fitted these yet is they cost $550+ per rim where as the rims that we have been using are $100-$160. plus you would still need a spacer for the work rims too cause the closes offset is 26mm where as the stock vfr rim is 19mm and you would still have the same issue with mounting the tire cause its a car rim and not a motorcycle rim
work vs other vs stock
cost 550 vs 150 (avg) vs 0
offset(mm) 26-32 vs 40-46 vs 19
spacer(mm) 7-13 vs 21-27 vs 0
rim width 5.5 vs 7 vs 5.5
lug all 4x100
like other ppl have said its NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to find a 17x5.5 car rim (very limited on what you can get) and if you do (like the work rims) you'll be putting out 500-600 for one rim (which ppl really cringe at) where as if you get a 17x7 rim you have a MASS variety on what you can get, and get what style you want too
[image: View Post]Tamworth, on 21 August 2012 - 06:35 PM, said:
[image: View Post]ericlw, on 21 August 2012 - 06:04 PM, said:
that tire isnt even seated on the rim dont you consider that dangerous?
it's truly an insane bodge. As a long time and die hard VFR lover it's pretty hard to look at. it may be seated on the rim but the tire bead is completely incomparable with the rim. This bike would be far safer running a square car tire, and that would solve your center stand issue.
The current tire sidewall is stretched to within millimeter of it's life, it's virtually parallel with the rim. The tire tread is actually starting to get a reverse curve to it at the edge.
This configuration can not possibly be roadworthy or road legal
the reason that mounting a motorcycle tire on a car rim is hard is because the motorcycle rims are a true 17" where as car rims are 17 1/16"- 17 1/8"
as for the seating of the bead, that also differs too, car rims are mostly seated/ sealed from the outside of the bead (thats why you hear of tires de-beading themself at high spped turns) where as motorcycle tires seal from bottom of the bead, if you look at a car tire/ rim vs a motorcycle tire/ rim there 2 different designs but there close enuff that you and inter change them like a goldwing/ cruiser using a car tire on a motorcycle rim or vice versa w/ SSSA bikes using car rims w/ motorcycle tires
[image: View Post]Veefer800Canuck, on 21 August 2012 - 06:30 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Duc2V4, on 21 August 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:
Did I miss something? These all appear to be 5 lug wheels.
Yep, you did miss something. They are available in a 4x100 bolt pattern in those diameters and widths stated above, the pictures are just generic examples of what those wheels look like.
They just "happened" to photograph the 5 bolt version.
Clicken sie linken and read the .pdf, it has all the 411
Yep, page 2 of the PDF. I opened it earlier but didn't see the second page.
Lee 2002, on 22 August 2012 - 03:19 AM, said:
Dutchy, on 22 August 2012 - 02:52 AM, said:
Sergeant Phil Esterhaus: "Hey, let's be careful out there." (Hill Street Blues)
I'm just gonna go ahead and one-up that....
Got to admit, that does look kind of scary to me too. I, for one, would have to give a tire/wheel combination like that a pass, even on my car. :smile:
the tire is seated, its just too skinny, aka putting a 150 on the stock rim.
Yeah, it is quite common on those fast and furious wanabee racers :biggrin: I think it looks funny.
if you look at a car tire/ rim vs a motorcycle tire/ rim there 2 different designs
:+1: There are actually quite a few bead en hump designs. Here is a page that has some more in depth information.
What I need though... is someone dodgy, willing to go a little further than the normal safety limits allow,
Heated tires can blow out at less than double the max rated pressure. Granted, you do not heat them before installation, but tripling the pressure is recipe for disaster. http://www.kentool.c...s/cage_demo.mpg
thanks Kel for comparing me to a squid :angry: .... o wait why don't you nominate yourself and every other motorcycle rider while your at it
I never said squid and when I, and every other motorcycle rider leaves the driveway with a tire looking like that...I will.
The Darwin reference comes when glaring red flags are waving for all to see yet they are ignored. Call me crazy but I just don't see how that remotely seemed alright with you. Whether you like the car rim thing or not, it's clear that some people have done it and ALL the pics I've seen show the tire at least looking like it's on there.
When things look wrong...they usually are. I've lived long and prospered by that rule. My 2 cents.
Uhmmmm...why go so uber wide with the tire/wheel anyway? Couldn't you find a narrower car rim with simialr nicer styling than stock instead and avoid all the possibly dangerous, out of bounds wheel/tire dark side engineering you guys are doing?? I thought only Hardley guys did that with the gumball tire/uber wide wheel stuff they do their their choppers anyway....
I'd bet that despite the awesome looks you are getting with those super wide tires and wheels, they will never handle as well or as safe as VFRs with stock width tires/wheels.......Then it's just a "poseur's" mod at best...
Uhmmmm...why go so uber wide with the tire/wheel anyway? Couldn't you find a narrower car rim with simialr nicer styling than stock instead and avoid all the possibly dangerous, out of bounds wheel/tire dark side engineering you guys are doing?? I thought only Hardley guys did that with the gumball tire/uber wide wheel stuff they do their their choppers anyway.... I'd bet that despite the awesome looks you are getting with those super wide tires and wheels, they will never handle as well or as safe as VFRs with stock width tires/wheels.......Then it's just a "poseur's" mod at best...
Beck 95 VFR
reason that i i did go with a thinner rim is because like ive said before the only other rim manufacturer that makes that thin of rims is Work, and they cost 500+ per rim (and atm i can not do that) soo i had to go w/ a 17x7 and not a 17x5 (17x6/ 6.5 they dont make them for aftermarket cars, only trucks and stock car rims).
yes i did make a mistake by going with a 190 on my rim BUT pirelli doesnt make a 200+ in the angel st and i thought i could get away with it (unless you want to buy the tire off me then STFU), my next tire will be a 210/220 to make it look better on the bead
Is this all purely for asthetics or is there a performace/handling/economy reason for this?
this mod is mostly for aesthetics, there is no performance gain for this mod EXCEPT if you get a lighter rim (which there are but not one that i liked), handling wise it does help with in town traffic (low speed maneuvers) which i do most of the time, and economy: not really unless you go with the light rim
Several folks have mentioned it already but the beads and contours are different on a car rim. I just recently waded through pages of threads on car tires on goldwing rims and the legality of it (let alone the merit). The Darksiders persist.
Here is a very recent release from the RMA on the subject.....mostly about car tires on MC rims but the point is the same.....wrong type tire on rim.
RMA REVISES ITS BULLETIN ON MOTORCYCLE RIMS
TISB Vol. 28 WASHINGTON, D.C., July 6, 2012 - The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) recently revised its Tire Information Service Bulletin (TISB) Volume 28, “Never Mount Passenger Car Tires on Motorcycle Rims Fitted to Motorcycles or Sidecars.”
The recently revised bulletin cautions against installing passenger tires on motorcycle rims. It explains that motorcycle tires and corresponding motorcycle rims are designed with a bead seat diameter and flange contour that are different than passenger car tires/rims, therefore any attempt to mount a passenger car tire on a motorcycle rim may cause inflation pressure loss or the beads to break with explosive force. The result could be serious injury or death.
“Not every tire is meant for any rim,” said Charles Cannon, RMA president and CEO. “Caution needs to be taken to ensure motorcycle tires are mounted on motorcycle rims only,” he continued.
For a copy of the newly revised TISB Volume 28, Number 3, and other service bulletins, visit RMA’s website at www.rma.org.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association is the national trade association for tire manufacturers that make tires in the U.S.
As somebody else relayed "Be careful out there"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, there are a couple of pics of third gen with the car wheel conversion in this topic, so the answer is yes.
Yours (1997) is a 4th gen and as the 4th gen is very similar to the third gen it will work as well.
That is music to my ears! Thank you! I will be proceeding with this very soon. I need to post up my entire build again, as I hadn't posted it here in a while. As soon as I'm done with my handmade fiberglass tail I'll be starting the rear wheel conversion.
Uhmmmm...why go so uber wide with the tire/wheel anyway? Couldn't you find a narrower car rim with simialr nicer styling than stock instead and avoid all the possibly dangerous, out of bounds wheel/tire dark side engineering you guys are doing?? I thought only Hardley guys did that with the gumball tire/uber wide wheel stuff they do their their choppers anyway.... I'd bet that despite the awesome looks you are getting with those super wide tires and wheels, they will never handle as well or as safe as VFRs with stock width tires/wheels.......Then it's just a "poseur's" mod at best...
Beck 95 VFR
I love how people that have never done this conversion to there bike or ridden on one always say "that's not going to handle well at all" I've been riding for about 5 years now and have ridden sport bikes, cruisers, and sport touring, I've had this conversion done for almost 3 months now and i dd the bike 5 days a week and i can still scrape pegs and do every thing i normally did with the stock rim. I do admit that my tire looks nothing like the one on reapers, mine sits all the way flush with the rim, but i also went with the 200 series.
Uhmmmm...why go so uber wide with the tire/wheel anyway? Couldn't you find a narrower car rim with simialr nicer styling than stock instead and avoid all the possibly dangerous, out of bounds wheel/tire dark side engineering you guys are doing?? I thought only Hardley guys did that with the gumball tire/uber wide wheel stuff they do their their choppers anyway.... I'd bet that despite the awesome looks you are getting with those super wide tires and wheels, they will never handle as well or as safe as VFRs with stock width tires/wheels.......Then it's just a "poseur's" mod at best...
Beck 95 VFR
I love how people that have never done this conversion to there bike or ridden on one always say "that's not going to handle well at all" I've been riding for about 5 years now and have ridden sport bikes, cruisers, and sport touring, I've had this conversion done for almost 3 months now and i dd the bike 5 days a week and i can still scrape pegs and do every thing i normally did with the stock rim. I do admit that my tire looks nothing like the one on reapers, mine sits all the way flush with the rim, but i also went with the 200 series.
Uhuh....I've been riding motorcycles since I was in gradeschool and have experienced crap handling that resulted in too wide a tire on my bikes. Even the slightly overwide Dunlops 207s (they manufactured them a bit too wide in error) I had crap handling from the moment I put them on that made the bike a handful in the twisties because of the misshapen (too steep) sidewalls that resulted in with my 5.0" rims. It's a pinched tire profile that caused the problems in my case, An overstretched tire with sidewalls going horizontal will surely have its own issues not to mention the safety issues that crop up. It does not take rocket science to know that putting those stretched out tires (which the tire manufacturers never meant them to be) on those over-wide and heavy rims will never be as good in handling as the original design that Honda put in for the bike.....I still say this is just and aesthetic mod at best and the handling will be crap. At the least, those super wide and heavy rims and tires will most likely have your bike understeering like nuts........It's "Chopper science" you are doing at best..... I always say that if these gumballs give the best handling on bikes, then why don't the GP teams do the same on their bikes.
Wimps, all a ye. What you need, clearly, is a rear tire on the front to match the "phat" rear tire on the...er, rear. Surely the forks could be widened with some 6061 sheet and steel strapping tape from Home Depot? :happy:
To each his own beck. I think people are allowed to do what they want with their money per specific taste. Your idea of good handling and another riders idea of good handling are in most scenarios, not the same. I am sure the wide wheel and tire does not handle as well as a gp setup....but then again, the vfr is not a gp bike is it.... If you feel the need to warn people due to safety, then I'm all behind you. But seeing the amount of successful car wheel conversions leads me to believe that there is a correct and somewhat acceptable way of doing the modification. I understand where you're coming from broha, but you're tone is not the most inviting.
Uhmmmm...why go so uber wide with the tire/wheel anyway?
I've had this conversion done for almost 3 months now and i dd the bike 5 days a week and i can still scrape pegs and do every thing i normally did with the stock rim.
@Beck - To me it would have to be for the looks of the new wheel. I've been riding since the mid-70's and much of that was on modded Yamaha RDs that were FANTASTIC handling bikes with the right tires. I always went wider with both front and rear wheels and tires and it worked out great (with other mods). One key for good handling to have a balance between the front and rear, and I think that going wider like this on the VFR rear is not balanced (of course there are MANY other factors to good handling). Anyone who modifies their bikes learns that there is often compromise involved, and it becomes a question of what you want to live with. If you know your bike and are comfortable with the compromises you've made... I have no problem with that unless it is unsafe... An unsafe mod can hurt or kill others, not just the rider.
@emanonsc2 - I'm all for modding bikes and making it the way you want it (safely). You seem to be comfortable with your setup, but I must say that in my opinion scraping your pegs is not the measure of good handling. I've been able to grind pegs on almost every streetbike I've had, and some of those handled like crap.
I have yet to lose grip with the stock wheel/tire size on my 6th gen, even in the most agressive riding (ok, yes pegs and knee pucks dragging lol). I'm pretty impressed with the setup of my VFR considering how heavy it is. What hurts my speeds the most is the lack of power and excessive weight, not grip. I can easily ride my VFR upto about 8 to 9/10ths of it's capabilities whereas the BMW S1000rr that I rode scared the crap out of me until I was comfortable with it. Even then I was probably using 5 or 6/10ths of it.
To each his own beck. I think people are allowed to do what they want with their money per specific taste. Your idea of good handling and another riders idea of good handling are in most scenarios, not the same.
I have to agree. Beck used the 170 D207 as an example of a wider tyre upsetting his handling, well I ran exactly the same tyre/rim combo and loved it to bits. No problems with 9/10ths cornering (on a private track under controlled conditions etc. etc. etc.) and the only downside for me was that both front and rear were toast after barely 5,000km. I did run a 160 D207 as well and it did handle better, but I certainly had no problem with handling with the oversize rubber.
So to state that wider rubber will ruin your handling is categorically impossible, giving the variations in set-up and rider preference out there. Also need to consider that the VFR is a very forgiving bike and you can really screw things up a lot and still be able to ride it with a high degree of comfort and confidence.
I agree with the comments regarding the way the bead is seated and the importance of it being correct, but I won't comment on the pics shown because how can you make a judgement based on pictures? It could be that the bead is seated perfectly safely in the example(s) shown.
Also note that in the history of world super bike racing, some teammates on identical bikes would run a wider resr tire or a wider rear rim than they'd teammate, due to preference.
6.0 rim, 6.25 rim, 180 tire, 190 tire, dependent on the track, conditions, and rider preference.
Having said that, nobody in Wsbk ever ran a 7" rim with a 240 tire. Ever!!!
ZX-12R came with a 200 series rear tire, and only a 6" wide rim.
You could probably stretch the tire onto the rim, but the profile would be horribly flattened, and the handling would definetly suffer.
The stock "rubber to rim" ratio on a VFR is about 1.29:1, meaning the tire is about 1.29 times wider than the rated rim width. (180mm tire/5.5" rim)
So to keep close with that, you'd need about a 230 width rear tire to fit on a 7" rim. Don't know how you'd get that much meat to sit inside the swingarm without rubbing, or offsetting the whole tire/rim to the right using a spacer, off the centerline of the bike.
hmmm yeah I got you. I just got lucky and found 2 17x7 civic rims for 25$ in good enough condition I was thinking about buying purely for looks though. I guess I could have the rim shortened down though huh. If I can stay under 100$ to have the rim made into a 17x6 Id be happy
Worth at least getting some prices on it. Narrowing an alloy rim is most certainly do-able, just make sure that whoever does it has a good track record with these things.
A three-piece rim would make such a project much easier, and they look good too. Here's an Australian-made wheel (Simmons) which would look great on a Viffer - this rim is a 15" but you get the idea:
I'm running 190 on a 7 inch rim - I dont se any " flattened" shape
I'm not an expert driver but have been to trackdays a couple of times - and yes it's easier to use the thread all to the edge - but when running in the traffic I don't feel any change
I'm running 190 on a 7 inch rim - I dont se any " flattened" shape
I'm not an expert driver but have been to trackdays a couple of times - and yes it's easier to use the thread all to the edge - but when running in the traffic I don't feel any change
My rim is a look a like split
[image: attachicon.gif]2013-06-21 16.58.22.jpg
That looks great!!! The final product really came together with the gold.
Makes me want to play around with my 6th gen now...
Hi i`m new to this forum so hello everybody.I love all the hate in this thread so i`m probably goin to create some more.......i am about to embark on a custom build on a vtr 1000 firestorm and i wanna go down this wide rear wheel route.I have sourced a vfr single sided swing arm from an 800 fi model and know how to make it fit my storm what i want is a clear guide as to what i need to fit the car rim and wide tyre i.e the spacer i need and the correct size rim including off set etc can somebody break it down for me in plain english please.
End of thread · 125 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 17 Sep 2021
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