Wheel questions, please help.

[Square Circle]

What is the easiest way to fit up a 18 inch spoke wheel with disc brake to the oem swingarm? Will the Omars front wheel kit work ? Can you put an 18 inch rim on a stock 650 front hub?vI'm building a cafe, but currently have a 16 rear and 19 front mag.. Is the best handling set up the 18 and 19? I'm wanting to level out the ride..
Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

 

[ReycleBill]

Something to think about. The 18" is only slightly taller than the 16". Most of the handling improvement comes from the narrowness of the 18" tire, not the height. Narrow 16" tires are available and would cost you far less than the conversion.

To answer your question: an 18" rim can be laced to the stock front spoke hub and the Omar's kit will adapt it to the rear.

 

[Square Circle]

Thanks Bill, My79 special has a 130 on the rear mag.. A smaller tire does in fact mount up on my wheel? If so,
Do you have any manufacturer/ tire make(s) recomendations?

 

[ReycleBill]

I like the mags because most of them allow you to go tubeless which is safer. Check the mag, if it will handle tubeless tires it will say so in very tiny letters on one of the spokes.
You could probably go down to a 110 without any problems. Skinnier than that and it might not stay seated on the rim. As for manufacturer/ tire make(s) I tend to go middle of the road price wise. Check the reviews on Amazon and other sites that sell tires. My last set was Shinko and while I really like the way they handle I really haven't put enough miles on them to say if they're good overall. Stay away from the old Dunlop 404s and others that have been around since these bikes were new. They were the best way back when but technology has gotten so much better I'm amazed they still make them.