Goodbye old swingarm & front end
 

Okay, I'm revising this thread to make it more concise, and I'll start new threads for the other questions I was asking in this one.


So, for now, I'm wanting to swap the swingarm on my F2 for something with a wider rear wheel. I like the look of the new 600rr swingarms (I dislike the look of the f2 arm quite a bit).

How do I know if a swingarm will fit without measuring it in person? I need to know: A) Will it fit the frame? B) Will the shock hook up to it OK? (I'm probably gonna get a different shock down the line so maybe I can help the fitment by getting a specific shock?) C) This one seems like the hardest part to me: How can I keep the chainline straight if I install a wider rear wheel? Can I space the counter sprocket so it's farther out? I'm thinking a 180 or 190/55 x 17 wheel.

Thanks.

Someone at a shop today who's got 20+ years of experience racing and riding told me that a wider rear tire will equate to less actual pounds per square inch of force applied from the tire to the road, resulting in less total traction. It kind of sounds bogus, since you have the same total weight, just spread out. I mean if it was all about psi applied to the floor you would theoretically get better results riding on a razor, but unless your track was made of something soft, your razor-sharp tire would just slide across the surface of the street...

Do you guys see what I'm getting at?

So like, 100 lbs of weight applied to a 5 inch wide tire is 20 psi on each inch of the tire, given (for simplicity's sake) that the weight is spread evenly. Or 100 lbs on a 1-inch-wide tire would be 100 psi. I would trust the wider tire, without doing any experimentation. Just if I had to look at one tire and then the other and guess which one would handle better in the curves, I would guess the wider one. Would I be mistaken? Is there a major drawback to having a wider tire aside from price and the extra time/effort required to lean a bike over to one side of a wide tire??

And does anyone have advice on maintaining my chainline if I go with something wider?

Bigger wheel = harder to turn

harder to lean. but the actual cornering traction will improve, won't it?

Not really, it's still going to have a small contact point on the edge. However it'll give you more stability in a straight line. I'm using a 180 on the stock f2 rear wheel and my buddy is running a 190 on a 02 r6. It's a lil harder to lean

! I didn't know a 180 would fit a stock wheel. Good news. I still wanna upgrade the swingarm for looks but in the meantime I'll get a new tire. Thanks.

Hey would an f4 wheel fit?

dunno, never had a desire to try

haven't heard of it - either the 97-98 F3 5" wheel, or the 900rr 5.5" wheel are the common upgrade F3 is a direct bolt on, 900 needs some machine work done to the carrier - the spokes on both match the stock front.