18 inch RD400 front wheel into front of XS?

[Cornish Pixie]

Hi

I have just acquired an 18 inch front mag off of an RD400 as part of a deal for the RD's 18 inch rear wheel for my Cafe build. My question is, has anyone put an 18 inch front RD wheel into the front of an XS and if so what was it like on the road?

My cafe project is loosley themed on the early 70's TZ racers, so an 18 inch front wheel would be kind of in keeping with the theme, but only if it will work. Don't mind a bit of engineering work to make it fit if it's going to be beneficial.

What effect do you guys think fitting an 18 inch in place of the stock 19 inch rim have on steering and handling.

Any input gratefully received.

Pixie

 

[5twins]

It's supposed to be a nice mod and improve handling a bit. Don't know if it will swap right in.

 

[Cornish Pixie]

It's supposed to be a nice mod and improve handling a bit. Don't know if it will swap right in.

Thanks for the reply, haven't had a chance to offer it up yet, but I'm guessing at worst it will be a bearing swop out to XS size bearings and some messing around with dic alignment and spacers etc.

Anybody else tried this?

 

[mouser]

I have a similar project I am mocking up at the moment...I was given a dead RD400 and had a 650 frame. I wanted to swap wheels from the 400 over. as an experiment. I found that the front wheel would be an issue to center because of the narrower 400 front end. The speedo drive, axle, and disc. I decided to swap the whole front end over. The only modification I think I will have to do is swap out the steering post from a 650 triple tree to make it work. The RD front end already had stiffer springs installed and air assisted dampening. I have stripped over 60 lbs of excess weight from a stock 650 so far and I am a very light guy and only ride solo so I don't think there will be an issue with the lighter forks.
The rear wheel was going to have centering issues and sprocket alignment problems until I discovered that the RD swing arm is a bolt on and at this point everything lines up. The swing arm from the RD is a little shorter. These conversions have made the bike lower and shorter. Today I am going to bolt in some mock up engine cases to confirm that the sprockets line up...If this all works out for me I will finally have an XS that I will be able to touch the ground! This will be a bonus for me! They call me mouser for good reason....

 

[Cornish Pixie]

I have a similar project I am mocking up at the moment...I was given a dead RD400 and had a 650 frame. I wanted to swap wheels from the 400 over. as an experiment. I found that the front wheel would be an issue to center because of the narrower 400 front end. The speedo drive, axle, and disc. I decided to swap the whole front end over. The only modification I think I will have to do is swap out the steering post from a 650 triple tree to make it work. The RD front end already had stiffer springs installed and air assisted dampening. I have stripped over 60 lbs of excess weight from a stock 650 so far and I am a very light guy and only ride solo so I don't think there will be an issue with the lighter forks.
The rear wheel was going to have centering issues and sprocket alignment problems until I discovered that the RD swing arm is a bolt on and at this point everything lines up. The swing arm from the RD is a little shorter. These conversions have made the bike lower and shorter. Today I am going to bolt in some mock up engine cases to confirm that the sprockets line up...If this all works out for me I will finally have an XS that I will be able to touch the ground! This will be a bonus for me! They call me mouser for good reason....

Hi, thanks for the info, did you look at trying to centre the front wheel with spacers etc? If I get into swapping over to the RD forks I may look at some of the upside down fork conversions some of the RD boys do. I've got a stock 19 inch front wheel here as well, so this shouldn't hold the build up while I figure it out. (come to think about it, I've got two 18 inch front mags, two 18 inch rear mags, one 19 inch front mag and a 16 inch rear mag - so spoilt for choice at the moment )

For the rear wheel I am going to go down the spacing the sprocket and brake dic route as I have a Radian swing arm here to fit into the frame.

Good luck with your build, it will be interesting to see it when it's finished, an RD size XS650.

 

[mouser]

One of the issues I found was in order for the speedo drive to engage on the lower leg and the wheel it put the wheel off center and the brake disc became the issue.....I'm guessing about 1/2 inch offset...I haven't actually tried to install it on my road bike cause I'm busy ridin it.
I'm on a budget so the RD front end is a good option...4 me. So far I have a rolling chassis with brakes and controls, new tires, a lowered seat, lowered and shortened bike and have spent a total of 30 bucks for welding supplies and paint....
A recycle cycle!
I'll post a few pics soon