WHEEL CHANGE

I have a DL1000 V-Strom and would like to fit a 17" wheel to the front.

Can anyone advise if an SV1000 or other Suzuki wheel would fit.

Thanks.

push chair wheels normally do the job.

ring up a suzuki dealer and ask them which will fit. as long as they think your gonna buy the wheel from them, they'll help you out.
GSXR wheels might fit alright (front anyway)

TRICK

I think it's also a question of whether the discs and calipers fit too and probably there are other factors. I can understand why you'd want to do this and you might be lucky if someone on here knows the answer but I doubt it. What have the V-Strom forums got to say?


.

[Richie]

Originally Posted by legin

I have a DL1000 V-Strom and would like to fit a 17" wheel to the front.

Can anyone advise if an SV1000 or other Suzuki wheel would fit.

Thanks.

Yes you can.
V-Strom Site

Woo Hoo! I finally mounted a 2005 SV650 17" front wheel to my 2005 DL650, and man does it handle better! I had posted about my plans here.

How's it better?



To start, I can now go around a corner much harder without fearing that the front will wash out -- that's also because of the Pilot Power, not just the 17" front wheel.

The front wheel no longer slides on a quick stop -- previously I had to use both brakes to ensure it didn't slide, something that I'd prefer not to have to do in case I can't get my foot on the rear brake in time for a panic stop.

I can now do a stoppie! But I only tried it in interest of science, mind you.

It lowers the seat height by an inch or so -- actually for me that's a negative, but for some it's a positive.

It increases speed by approx. 12% across the entire range!!! (actually, it really just causes approximately 12% speedo error, as I'll mention below.)

But not all is roses:


As mentioned, the speedo is now off by about 12%. Says I'm doing 90 when I'm only doing 80. While this isn't that big of a deal, it would cause the odo to record 11,200 miles when the bike only had 10,000. Maybe an SV650 speedo pickup would correct it?

The front fender swallows the front tire now; makes it look kinda like a kids bike with tiny wheels. Maybe an SV650 front fender will fit?

The pegs now scrape even if you think about leaning. Finding and/or making rearsets has just now become a must.

I can really tell how poorly setup my suspension is now. First will be to set the sag and next will be to replace the shock and fork springs and have emulators added to the forks.

What else?


The tire sizes I used were 120/70-17 for front and 150/60-17 for rear. Stock were 110/80-19 and 150/70–17, respectively. The lower profile rear helped mimize the difference in rake & trail when going with the smaller front wheel. A DL1000 rider could use a 180/55-17 on the rear for similar.

The front wheel that worked was an 2005 SV650 front wheel. I had a wheel from a 1999-2002 SV650 on the shelf but sadly I forgot to try it when the front wheel was off. I was working in 90+ degree weather in a non-air conditioned warehouse and I guess I was just too tired to think remember to do it.

I didn't upgrade my brake lines and pads as planned because I was just too tired. That project will be for a future day.

I added a Pyramid Rear Hugger that I got from Adventure MotoStuff. It was reasonably nice but it was fiberglass and I fear it might crack. I would have preferred plastic. It also had an ugly bracket painted silver/grey that attaches to the right-side swingarm which I spraypainted flat-black making it less noticable. It would be nicer if it used a black-annodized aluminum bracket that would bolt on the inside of the swingarm, but that would of course require drilling and tapping bolt holes on the inside of the swingarm. Whatever the case, I'll now have a cleaner rear end (Yuck. Get your mind out of the gutter; I meant on the Zook!)

VENT ON. Taking the front wheel off is a real pita. You have to take off the front fender unless you've got the bike suspended several feet off the ground, and Zook's stupid design doesn't allow you to get your hands in place to hold the nut/washer for the bolts holding the fender and the brake lines. Taking the back wheel off is just as bad because Zook's chain adjusters keep falling out and it takes seven hands to get everything to line up to get the rear wheel on. It's obvious the VStrom wasn't designed to go racing where easy wheel changes are a must. My Aprilia is *much* easier. VENT OFF.

What next?


Looks like I need to shop for an SV650 speedo pickup and front fender.

Need to find some rearsets I can have adapted to the DL650.

Need to set the sag on my suspension, then upgrade to Wilburs probably.

Need to upgrade my brake lines and pads with the Galfer lines and green pads I bought while at MotoGP in Laguna Seca.

Because of the lowering, I can now get Sargents to redo my seat and create a flat seat for me. Those lips on seats are never in the right position for my long ole' legs.

I'll try to upload pics soon.

In summary, this is a great mod, but not cheap given all that's required. Ultimately I'll have all the upgrades the Ducati Multistrada has over the Zook, but I'll have paid a lot more for it with less resale value (yes, I do care about resale; it helps my buy the next bike.)

What would be really cool is if Zook came out with this as an option for future bikes, or at least an optional retrofit kit. They've already got most of what they need (except the rearsets), they'd just need to package it.


__________________
-Mike Schinkel
2005 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom
2003 Aprilia Tuono RSV 1000

Post last edited by MikeSchinkel on 22.08.2005 04:38.
V-Strom Site