Wilsons Sandbox

[Original Message] From: Harry Seifert To: Ronald Criswell ; KLR Group DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Date: 11/8/2007 10:20:28 AM Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] 18 inch front wheel Hi Cris, EagleMike, Mark Bakarich and I laced up 18" fronts about a year and a half ago.................. We got our rims and 5mm spokes from Buchanon's in LA and had them laced up in about an hour or so, thanks to the facilities at EagleMike's shop; dial gauges, big vises, proper spoke wrenches and a good spoke torque wrench. Anyway, I put a 120/70x18 Michelin Pilot Activ on my wheel and Mike put a Bridgestone 120/70x18 BT45 on his. I'm not sure what Bakarich put on his. Now, with 18 months and 5,000+ miles on mine, I have absolutely no complaints about my new front end. It tracks like it's on rails and has ZERO twitchiness. My KLR now handles like my '72 Ducati 450 Jupiter, a little slow in response, it takes a little more effort to initiate a turn, but corners like its running on velcro, very planted and secure As I posted somewhere, maybe even here, the trail has decreased by less than 1/4" and the rake is within 2 degrees of stock. Your compadre was riding off road with his new front end, did he lower the pressure in his tires? If so, did he air them up afterwards? What tires was he running? What kind of rim did he use, what diameter of spokes did he use? Are the pinch bolts on his forks properly torqued? Is there any slop in his steering head bearings? Are his front and rear suspension components up to snuff? There's a whole lotta stuff that affects how the front end reacts, so make sure everything else is as correct as it can be. BTW, it was close to $200 with the rim, spokes, tube and tire. Buddy bseifert71@...

> > [Original Message] > > From: Ronald Criswell > > To: KLR Group DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> > > Date: 11/8/2007 6:15:16 AM > > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] 18 inch front wheel > > > > I got together with some local KLR guys the other day and one had a > > 18 inch front rim / tire (fatter tire). He loved it when they all > > went riding in rocky areas in Arkansas recently. I asked how it was > > at high speed and he said a little squirriley due to an increased > > fork angle but overall was happy with it. He said it costs him about > > $50 to do. I wonder if anyone has ever tried a 19 inch or 20 front > > rim with wide tire? > > > > Criswell > > > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >