Woody's 21" vs OEM 19"

[woody's wheel works]

Originally Posted by MMMOTORCYCLE

Woody,
I just want to clarify...

the links you sent were reference the Yamaha Tenere, does Wasp's mod apply to the BMW R1200GS-ADV as well?

I have an '07 GS-Adventure if it makes any difference.

Thanks
Mike

swapping either wheels with OEM or Superlite hubs is essentially the same circa 10-15 minutes if wheels are complete with rotors ,,add anothe 15 minutes to swap out the rotors

some BMW riders will remove the front fender[HINT: reinsert the 4 fender mounting screws,,,,,makes for easier no mud in threads re-install.]

FYI ,,we are getting back on track to get a higher fender in there as promised a long time ago

FYI,,,on early 1100GS we have a 25mm cross-brace raising kit available,,,gives ya a bit more clearance under the fork brace


woody

[Quirky]

Originally Posted by woody's wheel works

swapping either wheels with OEM or Superlite hubs is essentially the same circa 10-15 minutes if wheels are complete with rotors ,,add anothe 15 minutes to swap out the rotors

some BMW riders will remove the front fender[HINT: reinsert the 4 fender mounting screws,,,,,makes for easier no mud in threads re-install.]

FYI ,,we are getting back on track to get a higher fender in there as promised a long time ago

FYI,,,on early 1100GS we have a 25mm cross-brace raising kit available,,,gives ya a bit more clearance under the fork brace


woody

Hi Woody,

How's the development of the higher front fender going. I.... WANT.... ONE....!

My current Touratech fender that I was using cracked and had to cut the front half off. (figure it was mostly the rough trails flexing it to much).

For if some are interested, my learning of TKC80's on the front is that this tyre is very flimsy for the big bikes and was soon looking for more grip on tyre edges. At 30psi (front) on hard surface the front end pushed and moved from sidewall flex, (I geuss) and rocks would often hit rather harshly. At 35psi this tyre was much more stable heaps better on rocks but soon found the edges of the tyre far too quickly.

So from TKC80's now to 908RR's. I really like these in the dirt and like the rear tyre lots everywhere. But the 908 on the front on tarmac can be very interesting and probably doesn't suit my needs, something between a 908rr and a tkc80 is what i need, any ideas? 35psi in the front seemed to high of a pressure very light steering and following lines/grooves on tarmac and no good on dirt. So back to 30psi this feels good on dirt and haven't tried lower pressure's because of the bike at this pressure getting a little headshake reaction from bumps on tarmac at highway speeds. So is a MT21 my next front tyre?

Cheers

Greg

[woody's wheel works]

Originally Posted by Quirky

Hi Woody,

How's the development of the higher front fender going. I.... WANT.... ONE....!

My current Touratech fender that I was using cracked and had to cut the front half off. (figure it was mostly the rough trails flexing it to much).

For if some are interested, my learning of TKC80's on the front is that this tyre is very flimsy for the big bikes and was soon looking for more grip on tyre edges. At 30psi (front) on hard surface the front end pushed and moved from sidewall flex, (I geuss) and rocks would often hit rather harshly. At 35psi this tyre was much more stable heaps better on rocks but soon found the edges of the tyre far too quickly.

So from TKC80's now to 908RR's. I really like these in the dirt and like the rear tyre lots everywhere. But the 908 on the front on tarmac can be very interesting and probably doesn't suit my needs, something between a 908rr and a tkc80 is what i need, any ideas? 35psi in the front seemed to high of a pressure very light steering and following lines/grooves on tarmac and no good on dirt. So back to 30psi this feels good on dirt and haven't tried lower pressure's because of the bike at this pressure getting a little headshake reaction from bumps on tarmac at highway speeds. So is a MT21 my next front tyre?

Cheers

Greg

ok a quick update,,at long last there is movement in that direction on several fronts,,,
1,,at last weekends Rawhyde challenge ,i met up with the fine folk from Black Dog who expressed an interest in collaborating on this project

2,,i just hired on a whipper-snapper design engineer who can take my ideas,,do the Solid Works thing,,,within his first few days here he has already solved some vexing issues modeling a new flip-ski bottom [ i design /build lot's of stuff for the disabled community: www.superlite.org ]
so we'll keep ya posted,,,

3,,,FYI,,talking with Jimmy Lewis,,he asserts 26-28 is his favorite air-ressure for the pigs,,,he rides mostly off road,,i myself ride to most of the off-road areas and have settled on 34-36psi..and the 908RRs suite my style just fine....ya have to realize that most of us mortals do not have Jimmy's skill set ,,he has learned the art of truly RIDING versus riding,,,by that i mean he anticipates obstacles ,chooses better lines etc versus just plowing over and through the terrain...the former technique is much easier on the equipment ....

w

[Quirky]

Originally Posted by woody's wheel works

ok a quick update,,at long last there is movement in that direction on several fronts,,,
1,,at last weekends Rawhyde challenge ,i met up with the fine folk from Black Dog who expressed an interest in collaborating on this project

2,,i just hired on a whipper-snapper design engineer who can take my ideas,,do the Solid Works thing,,,within his first few days here he has already solved some vexing issues modeling a new flip-ski bottom [ i design /build lot's of stuff for the disabled community: www.superlite.org ]
so we'll keep ya posted,,,

3,,,FYI,,talking with Jimmy Lewis,,he asserts 26-28 is his favorite air-ressure for the pigs,,,he rides mostly off road,,i myself ride to most of the off-road areas and have settled on 34-36psi..and the 908RRs suite my style just fine....ya have to realize that most of us mortals do not have Jimmy's skill set ,,he has learned the art of truly RIDING versus riding,,,by that i mean he anticipates obstacles ,chooses better lines etc versus just plowing over and through the terrain...the former technique is much easier on the equipment ....

w

Thanks for the info, keep up the good work.

[scooteraug02]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788213

Originally Posted by wjrudo

So, I wanted to do the 21" wheel conversion but wanted to keep the tubeless rim. I found a front wheel from an R100 and de-spoked it along with the front wheel off of my R1200GSA. Getting the spokes out was quite a chore. The spokes were packed in solid with fine grit or sand. I tapped on them with a brass drift pin, then stuck the butt end in the drill and spun them with some oil until they were free. Anyway, this picture is the wheel fixture I made to hold the 2007GS hub and the whatever year 21" rim hoop. The hub bolts to the fixture using the 5 brake disc bolts.


Started lacing


This shows how the rim hoop is clamped, using some Kant-twist clamps.



I laced up the rim, hand tightening the spokes first. A drop of oil on the threads and the spoke nipples


Well..this is how I tightened the spokes. I made up the procedure, which worked out pretty good. Each side has an outer and an inner ring of nipples. I always went around in the clock-wise direction, tightening the outer row, then the inner row on one side. I flipped the fixture over and tightened the outer row, then the inner row. Each row was tightened like this...Outside row, Pick a nipple, torque to 1 inch/pound, then the opposite nipple in the same row. The adjacent nipple clock-wise, then opposite nipple, and so on until all ten are torqued to the same value. I did the lower row the same, then flipped the wheel over and duplicated the procedure on the other side. I did this at 1,2 and 3 inch/pounds. I jumped to 5 inch/pounds, and bumped it up 5 pounds each cycle until I was done.


After the spokes were tight, and my back was killing me from bending over this contraption for an hour, I popped the wheel out of the fixture. I spun it and was pretty happy. The wheel was straight within .015". Good enough for the girls I run with.


Rubber mounted. Happy camper.


So.. The second half of the problem. The lack of fender clearance. I wanted to move the fender up one inch. I designed a new fork brace that was quite a bit heavier than stock. I tried to get the 1", but could only get the fender about 5/8" higher. After looking at the stock fork brace, I'll never use it again. I know they aren't a part that's prone to failure, but it just looks so weak. BMW even has brake line holes drilled throughout the part. This beefier brace should make the front end a lot more sturdy. No more fork flexing I bet.


I printed the brace on the 3D printer and fitted it to the bike to check the clearance and stuff. looked good.


This shows the fender tucked in really tight against the 3D printed lower brace.


Each block of 6061 aluminum was about $85.00. This picture shows the bottom side being machined


Upper side being machined. This is the thread for the ball joint being made.


Ball joint screwed in just perfect. Notice that I moved the brake lines from the Y configuration to a straight through type.


I actually made two of them. One for a friend. These are sanded a bit and will get powder coated black. These will use all standard hardware.


Both lowers after powder coating.


On the bike now. Can easily insert my palm between the fender and rubber


VOILA!! All I need now is to order up the new lower brake lines. The left line goes up the fork and crosses over the top of the fender to a double banjo bolt on the right rear of the brace. That hole goes through the brace to the stock banjo bolt on the front.

[Quirky]

Originally Posted by scooteraug02

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788213

Wow! Thankyou for posting, brilliant

[bigtodd]

Originally Posted by woody's wheel works

ok a quick update,,at long last there is movement in that direction on several fronts,,,
1,,at last weekends Rawhyde challenge ,i met up with the fine folk from Black Dog who expressed an interest in collaborating on this project

2,,i just hired on a whipper-snapper design engineer who can take my ideas,,do the Solid Works thing,,,within his first few days here he has already solved some vexing issues modeling a new flip-ski bottom [ i design /build lot's of stuff for the disabled community: www.superlite.org ]
so we'll keep ya posted,,,

3,,,FYI,,talking with Jimmy Lewis,,he asserts 26-28 is his favorite air-ressure for the pigs,,,he rides mostly off road,,i myself ride to most of the off-road areas and have settled on 34-36psi..and the 908RRs suite my style just fine....ya have to realize that most of us mortals do not have Jimmy's skill set ,,he has learned the art of truly RIDING versus riding,,,by that i mean he anticipates obstacles ,chooses better lines etc versus just plowing over and through the terrain...the former technique is much easier on the equipment ....

w

any news on the fender? would hate to hear you have this great new doo-hicky after I spend the weekend banging and bending on some aluminium and bolting up some cut up Honda or KTM fender to it.

[J Lewis]

Ya know I teach that fine art as well as use it on a daily basis. And I'm still continually impressed by the 21/18 setup on my BMW.

[woody's wheel works]

Originally Posted by bigtodd

any news on the fender? would hate to hear you have this great new doo-hicky after I spend the weekend banging and bending on some aluminium and bolting up some cut up Honda or KTM fender to it.

Hi todd,,chris forwarded your e-mail to me the other day,,,and yes,I AM working on it,,,don't want to let too much of the cat out of the bag,,,we are finally getting some weather to test out my ideas,,sunny dry weather all the time isn't the ideal testing territory,,,tis the real mud n gumbo I want to check out

Will keep you all posted
Woody

[bigtodd]

Originally Posted by woody's wheel works

Hi todd,,chris forwarded your e-mail to me the other day,,,and yes,I AM working on it,,,don't want to let too much of the cat out of the bag,,,we are finally getting some weather to test out my ideas,,sunny dry weather all the time isn't the ideal testing territory,,,tis the real mud n gumbo I want to check out

Will keep you all posted
Woody

Thanks, looking forward to the update. On another note regarding 21" conversion, came across a GS rider in Alabama talking about the fork spacers he used for his conversion ... what the what?

Here is an image if someone can clue me in.

[woody's wheel works]

Originally Posted by bigtodd

Thanks, looking forward to the update. On another note regarding 21" conversion, came across a GS rider in Alabama talking about the fork spacers he used for his conversion ... what the what?

Here is an image if someone can clue me in.

boy,,ya got me too on this one!!!

w

[kktos]

Originally Posted by woody's wheel works

Hi todd,,chris forwarded your e-mail to me the other day,,,and yes,I AM working on it,,,don't want to let too much of the cat out of the bag,,,we are finally getting some weather to test out my ideas,,sunny dry weather all the time isn't the ideal testing territory,,,tis the real mud n gumbo I want to check out

Will keep you all posted
Woody

Woody.... I love you !

[Clay Spinner]

Hiya Woody.... weight and marque wise I'm in the right thread... otherwise maybe not. I'm contemplating building a bmw special from an G/S ala moorespeed/hpn. I was just wondering what you'r recommend for a front (21 X what) and back 18 X what) rims. Also, as I'll be using a set of wp 2860 forks (from a KTM) would you recommend going with a talon hub on the front or doing some axle mods to use the bmw one. Thanks for the help as I can't decide, particularly, what size front (1.6 or 1.85) to go with... oh.. and would you superlace them? I Typical use will be touring, overlanding and fire/forest roads... no hard core off road like the erzberg guys!

Many thanks,

Dana

ps the bikes are in the uk now but shall be heading stateside once the frames are done.

[woody's wheel works]

Originally Posted by Clay Spinner

Hiya Woody.... weight and marque wise I'm in the right thread... otherwise maybe not. I'm contemplating building a bmw special from an G/S ala moorespeed/hpn. I was just wondering what you'r recommend for a front (21 X what) and back 18 X what) rims. Also, as I'll be using a set of wp 2860 forks (from a KTM) would you recommend going with a talon hub on the front or doing some axle mods to use the bmw one. Thanks for the help as I can't decide, particularly, what size front (1.6 or 1.85) to go with... oh.. and would you superlace them? I Typical use will be touring, overlanding and fire/forest roads... no hard core off road like the erzberg guys!

Many thanks,

Dana

ps the bikes are in the uk now but shall be heading stateside once the frames are done.

Hi,,tried n true 1.85x21" front and 2.5x18 on rear,,ii'm lace em to either an oem ktm/ RAD/Talon hub,,,if I knew what size axle ya have,,it would be easier

Holler,,woody

I think the moderators would be happier if you asked this or I answered in my "Ask woody about your wheels" thread:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145899

W

[bigtodd]

OH MY GOD !!!!!


Did my first ride with the "new to me" Woody's 21" wheel on my GSA yesterday. Riding sand washes like they were fire roads, astonishing difference from the 19" stock wheel.