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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Alloy/Chrome wheels
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Message started by flcruzr on 08/13/08 at 19:32:53

Title: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by flcruzr on 08/13/08 at 19:32:53

I'm wondering why I have not noticed any custom wheels on savages or s40's? Are there any wheels besides our wire wheels that will fit our bikes? :-/

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Kirk on 08/14/08 at 05:57:23

I have seen a thread on here where a guy had swapped the front wheel of another bike model and placed it on his savage. That is the extent of wheel changing I have seen thus far. It would be nice to be able to switch out the spokes for something different if we so chose. I wouldn't mind having the front wheel of a M109R. Good luck in your search efforts.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by verslagen1 on 08/14/08 at 07:31:57

Yes, but none of them are a direct swap. You'll have to inventive in some cases.

If you are looking for alloy wheels, the GS450 is a good donor.

Look for the thread 'whale'

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by skrapiron on 08/14/08 at 07:50:49

Most of what we do to the Savage is not a direct swap. It takes a bit of fabrication to make other parts fit and look good.

I don't like alloy wheels, especially on a motorcycle. Too much maintenance, too soft of a material.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Demin on 08/14/08 at 13:46:15

Laced wheels are just a classic look on a cruiser.I would bet if it came with mags,we'd be switching to laced.Most Harley guys can't wait to pull their mags off.Billets for Hd start at about 500 bucks a wheel.Then if you get into a wider front wheel,you will have to widen the forks.Hence Harley's Narrow glide,and Wideglide frontends.But they were smart,they made everything interchangable.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by flcruzr on 08/14/08 at 21:07:21

Thanks guys! Maybe I will keep the spokes and get wild and maybe paint the spokes :o that would be different!

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by prsavage on 08/14/08 at 21:57:59

My spokes were painted black when I got my Savage.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by klx650sm2002 on 08/15/08 at 07:52:34

I had wide 17" alloy rims laced onto KLX's std. hubs with stainless spokes. The stainless wipes clean but the rims take a bit of work.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o147/klx650sm2002/KLX26508.jpg
Clive W :)

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by SavageDanny on 08/15/08 at 09:21:45

262C2332353A32400 wrote:

Thanks guys! Maybe I will keep the spokes and get wild and maybe paint the spokes :o that would be different!

Go Wild! I was thinking of doing the same thing. Please post pictures if you do it.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by flcruzr on 08/15/08 at 19:06:01

6A584F585E5C7D58575740390 wrote:

[quote author=262C2332353A32400 link=1218681173/0#5 date=1218773241]Thanks guys! Maybe I will keep the spokes and get wild and maybe paint the spokes :o that would be different!

Go Wild! I was thinking of doing the same thing. Please post pictures if you do it.[/quote]

I'm thinking of tackling this project next weekend, if I do, I will definitely post pics afterwards, so i'll keep everyone posted. Dare to be different! :-X

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by LANCER on 08/16/08 at 04:44:11

Search through the old Suzuki GS series (550, 650, 750 & 850) of bikes, many of the mid to late 70's and early 80's wheels are interchangable with the Savage; both spoke and mag style; single and dual disc very possible. I have a set of '83 GS550 forks and an '82 dual disc mag wheel.
The rear wheels come in 15", 16" and 18", depending on the year and model. There are quite a few variations among the assorted years, size and models.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Oldfeller on 08/16/08 at 06:19:42

Hey Lancer, I figured out what was wrong with my bike. She was all moody and upset the week before the mountain trip and she acted kinda sluggish when we were high up in the mountains. I couldn't figure it out at all but it became obvious this morning when I went out to the garage.

http://www.hunt101.com/watermark.php?file=568516&size=1

She was preggers -- I should have known better than to garage her in the same space with a peppy little v-twin. Now I got me a small light low-seated mongrel to take care of. Its got alloy wheels and its feet are kinda big like its momma's - dunno how big its going to get if it grows into those big feet.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Onederer on 08/16/08 at 07:56:53

http://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2008/03/11/bikepics-1213437-full.jpg
http://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2008/03/11/bikepics-1213434-full.jpg
http://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2008/02/21/bikepics-1191742-full.jpg

As it's already been pointed out, many of the GS wheels fit without a lot of moding. The front was'nt much, and the rear is'nt bad if you convert to chain, may just need an offset sprocket and a little spacer work. Since most who want to change something on thier Savage have to build it themselves, since aftermarket is virtually non existant, does that make the Savage one of the most real customized bikes?

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by flcruzr on 08/16/08 at 08:38:42

onederer: cool mod with your mags...yes, i'm starting to realize that once we start wanting to add things to our bikes, they really are being customized to the fullest. 8-)

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/16/08 at 10:52:54

Onederer, you running tubeless?

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Onederer on 08/16/08 at 21:23:18

Yes, there're tubeless. It makes flat repair on the road easier.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Jay on 08/16/08 at 22:42:25

I thought alloy on the Savage would look awkward, but those wheels are cool. I like the flat repair aspect as well. I hate to think about having a flat on the road.
What kind of bike did those come off of, and how much work was it to get them to fit the Savage?

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/16/08 at 23:33:53

As far as I am concerned, a wheel can look awkward, & Ill still like it, IF its wearing a tubeless tire. Ive had 2 flats on the back in 3 years..not funny.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by Onederer on 08/17/08 at 09:00:38

Here's the shakedown on what I've done.

The fron wheel is a 19" like the stocker. It came from a GS450 or 500 something. Most the front wheels I've seen of this style have provisions for dual disc, but use a plastic cover on the unused side for single disc use.The front tire I was useing was allready tubeless so I just swaped it over. I sandblasted the wheel and hit i with some primer then gloss black paint( powdercoat will still chip if a rock hits it hard enough, so paint is much easier to touch up). They take paint well, someone color keying them would look sweet. The bearings were the rite size for the axle so I left them in. I took what I needed off the factory spacers unitll the wheel was centered between the forks(the hub is wider than the factory spoke wheel) I used a solid style rotor form another GS which is about the rite thickness(could be turned down a little if wanted, though not needed). The GS rotor diameter is to big, so I took the stock Savage rotor and the GS rotor to a machine shop and had the GS's diameter machined to that of the stock Savage rotor. I used washers and longer bolts(grade 8) to shim the caliper to center the rotor(after fining the rite thickness of shim, have a machine shop make some shims, it'll look better). Thats it, not much to the front wheel. Get yer parts from E-bay, or what I like to do is wonder around the salvage yard looking at the goodies and measureing things and picture what will fit the easiest.

The rear wheel is more involved. There are a couple of ways you can go here, but niether will be a whole lot different in amount of time to modify, or thought needed. I chose to go with a 16" drum brake wheel. When useing the drum brake, the stock Savage brake plate/shoes works perfect, no need to fab a new brake system. The spacing is gona take some time. If useing the drum brake mags the brake plate(when the wheel is space properly) is too far away from the holding tab on the swingarm, so something needs to be done there. The pulley will not bolt up, without a custom adapter which is $$ because there are none in production. Converting to a chain is the easiest way to go here, but you'll need a offset sprocket. The other option is the disc brake mag GS wheels. I belive the pulley will bolt up, because the disc wheels have a larger sprocket bolt pattern, but spacers may still be needed. Welding a caliper bracket to the swingarm is not difficult but fabing the master cylinder to work with the pedal is a tight fit, and you'll want it up high enough it does'nt drag in turns. Basically, the drum brake wheels require a change to the final drive, and the disc brake wheels require a change of the braking system. Its a matter of level of mechanical aptitude on this one.

I've mentioned it before, but to my knowledge no one has done it yet. How about lacing some black aluminum rims to the stock hubs painted black, useing chrome spokes. Not any moding to do to the factory parts, and youd have lighter custom wheels.

Title: Re: Alloy/Chrome wheels
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/17/08 at 09:06:16

thanks..Now, if ONLY I knew how to grab stuff outta these posts & stick them in a folder for looking at later.