rear wheel swap

[seminolejoe]

I read in some of the post (and I think it was Bluewing) that swapped out his final drive for the 1500 but reused the 1200 rear wheel. That being said, does that mean the rear wheel from a 1500 will interchange with the 1200 f/d ? If so would it still be neccessary to swap the brake caliper mount and modify to fit or will original 1200 work now? My final drive seems to be fine but I'm getting some ever so slight tire rub when cornering and riding two up. I believe the grommets in the 1200 wheel to be the culprit. A friend of mine gave me a 1500 rear wheel that he had purchased for the rotor, so If this swap will work I'm almost there with the parts. Bes is now down for winter maintainence so I'll be addressing the issue in short order along with some other minor issues. As always I look to the brain trust here for guidence, having never been led astray I once again come here.

[neoracer]

i think that admin pretty much had the same situation last year, and i'm sure that he'll be around shortly with expert knowledge

[bluewing]

I put a 1500 final drive on my 1200, to make it work with a 1200 rear wheel you have to use the 1500 spacer on the rear axle; it is a bit longer than the 1200 spacer and you need that length to properly torque your rear axle nut. If you use the 1200 spacer the rear wheel will bind after you torque it. You can use the 1500 rear wheel, the only change is it will lift the back of your bike about 2 inches.

[bluewing]

Yes Angela, it will be about 2 inches higher with a 1500 rear wheel.

[Tropicalsuns]

We learn something new every day!

[seminolejoe]

If that is the case will that create a rubbing issue with the fender, and if so is there a lower profile tire that can be used to correct that?

[bluewing]

I haven't used a 1500 wheel my self I have just used the 1500 final drive, but I know two people that have used the 1500 wheel and the stock 1500 tire with no problems.

[admin]

From what I've heard the 1500 wheel/tire will rub on the GL1200 but only during extreme compression such as riding 2 up and heavy and fully loaded and hitting a hard bump.

[seminolejoe]

I believe I can live with that, you guys come through again, I'll be needing the rear axel to make all this happen though, correct? Again thanks for everything, Joe

[bluewing]

You need the rear axle spacer from a 1500, the 1200 axle is ok to use..

[seminolejoe]

Cool, thanks again guys.

[racejunky]

Still rubbing, I tried to make the swap with the 1500 rear wheel and all was going well until I tried to actually bolt the 1500 wheel into place. It seems the dust cover on the 1200 f/d has a slightly smaller radius than the flange of the 1500 wheel. I thought ,if the cover for the 1500 would mount to the 1200 f/d I would be in there. But no, The 1500 is just slightly larger and the mounting bolt is configured a little differently. I can not find a new wheel online so I'm in a bit of a spot. I made some modifications to the area in question put it together again and it seemed to be alright, even with the wife on board, but we went out for a spin the other day I gassed it up and gave my bride her first 90+ mile an hour experience(which I paid for with some physical abuse), a little later when we started into some turns it started to rub again. Anyone have any suggestions as to a remedy for the problem. I'm about at the end of my intellectual capabilities, maybe replacing the f/d to accomodate the 1500 wheel. what do ya think? Joe

[bluewing]

How are the bushings in the swing arm, if there is any side movement that may cause a problem.

[robdavspa]

Seminolejoe said he thinks the grommets (I assume he is refering to the rubber bushings in the wheel hub) may be the cause of the rubbing. I thought the bushing wear could only cause free play forward to back in the drive train. Doesn't the torqued axle and proper spacers prevent any side -to-side movement of the wheel and tire? Need to know because my bushings are shot . Just ordered a used wheel off E-Bay with good looking bushings.

All of you mounting rear wheels need to be sure to torque the axle nut before tightening the pinch bolt on the left side of the axle/swingarm.
Bob

[bluewing]

If your swing arm bearings (bushings) are in bad shape it can cause side to side movement in the back wheel. If they are loose you could torque the left swing arm pivot bolt to 14 lbs, that may help. If your wheel hub rubbers are in bad shape that could very likely be the problem.