xt600e rear wheel want ot swap for 18"
 

Hi I'm preping my bike for my travels and realise that my standard 17" rear wheel is not a prefered size,I cannot get bridgestone heavy duty tubes... can I replace it with another Yamaha wheel say a tt600r or should I have the hub rebuilt into an 18" rim...what are the plus and minus of alloy rims???? Thanks ps still looking for company Vladivostok to Moscow spring 2005...
ride safe

Jimmy

For more serious offroad use, an 18" rim is a must - better tyres, HD tubes etc are all made for that size. I've run an 18" rim for over a year on my XT600E - it's a DID alloy (OEM fitment to the big KTM's) and despite loads of abuse in trials & green laning, it's still totally true... much stronger than the 17" steel. The same type of use with the original 17" Yam one totally knackered it - buckled & flatted.

The 2.50 rim width is on the large size, with Excel rims being pretty expensive - I bought mine locally, to me, in Cornwall from Seward Racing [01726 851733] who had some DID rims on the shelf.

Cheers
Bish

Thanks for the info, it seems I have three choices, buy a new pair of rims and lace them onto my old hubs, buy some old yamaha wheels ( anyone know what will fit a 2003 600e? and lace these hubs onto new alloy rims, or are there some O/E wheels that have good alloy rims that will fit straight on?. I dont real;ly want to pay loads of money and loose my original wheels....any advice please?.

ride safe. jimmy

Jimmy

I found it impossible to find either an old set of wheels to steal the hubs from or any decent 18" ones ie TTR's - they seem to be very scarce... using the existing hubs onto new rims/spokes was the only option - cost about GBP130.
Good Luck
Bish