17" rear wheel conversion

Quero aqui expressar o meu MUITO OBRIGADO ao Fidelino e a toda a sua equipa da RIQUEXÓ MOTOS - Barreiro, Portugal (+351 21 2141290) pelo excelente trabalho, apoio, dedicação e disponibilidade que sempre foi o "EX LIBRIS" daquela casa. Um trabalho 100% profissional. Uma jante da ZZR 1100 (17"x5.5" com um 180/55 ZR17), toda trabalhada e torneada para caber no braço oscilante de origem (sem modificações) da FZX750, usando o eixo de origem, e o disco e pinça de origem da FZX. Uma verdadeira obra-prima.
Para o que der e vier podem contar sempre comigo.
Outra vez o meu obrigado.

20NOV2000
Ricardo Damázio

Everybody knows that Fazers still use those 16"x2.50 front and 15"x3.00 rear prehistoric wheels. Something that nowadays only cruisers use. The wimpy 15"x3.00" rear wheel severely limits your possible tire choices, being a 150/90 the widest thing you could possibly fit in the stock wheel.
Being the Fazer a KAB (Kick Ass Bike) by nature, it should come with 17 inchers from the factory, as they could improve the Fazer's behaviour and handling a lot (I hope) when riding (hard!).
"Go to the point!" you are thinking...
Ok, ok, take it easy! In this page I'll post the complete report on my 17"x5.5" rear wheel conversion, so you may have some info on how to do it yourself if you like.

Unfortunately I didn't have the tools and enough Know-how to do the job myself I must admit, so my mechanic did it for me and I must say it turned out to be a real masterpiece.
I would like to take the oportunity to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Fidelino and his crew at RIQUEXÓ MOTOS - Barreiro, Portugal (+351 21 2141290).

From the beginning:
In the begining of November (2000) the weather started to get kinda crappy and I decided to make a general clean up and some painting on my Fazer. I started by getting off some panels, the tank, seat, tailpiece, headlights fairing... in the end it seemed like something badly crashed. Just a frame, an engine, two wheels and lots of wiring. I repainted all the plastic stuff gloss black (myself, so you know it's a crap job), I rewired and rerouted some of the wiring harness, fitted a new tail light, and then I started the clean up. Man, you wouldn't believe the amount of shit bikes acumulate during their lifetime. Then I had this idea of removing the swingarm/wheel for better access to other areas and to do a complete clean up and rebuild. I disassembled and cleaned everything, checked all bearings (which after 60.000Km were all in good shape) and then started to look at the bare naked swingarm... "Hey I could fit a 17 incher in here!"
Being the winter season the perfect time to do projects, I decided to grab the whole rear end and take it to my mechanic.
One of the most satisfying tasks for me, would be to have done this job myself, but unfortunately I don't have enough tools/machines and the know-how/experience to do this by myself. Maybe next time...

When I got there, I told him I wanted to fit a new rear end (the bike's, not mine). Swingarm, wheel, everything. He told me it could be complicated (don't they always say this? :-)) but maybe a wheel could fit the stock swingarm.
"Ok. I want the biggest wheel you can fit in there." I thought that would be a 17"x4.50" (160/60), Thundercat wheel or something.
I don't like geting there and saying: "Here it is, call me when it's ready"; it looks like you're not interested in their work. I know he doesn't do this kind of work everyday, so I appreciated very much that he was available enough to do it.
So I told him "Here it is, I know you have a lot of work in the shop, so take your time, I'm not in a hurry, I know things can turn out complicated some times, so... I'll call you (not everyday :-) ) to check how things are going".
I called him a couple of times during this month to check if everything was going ok or if he needed anything.
One fine day I get a call from him saying: "It's ready. I fitted a huge 17"x5.5" ZZR 1100 wheel with a 180/55 ZR17.

ZX11 REAR WHEEL
Looks real bad ass! Super! and I got you two extra sprockets for you to change the gearing."
My chin fell down to the floor. "Don't move, I'll be right there".
He was hanging up the phone when I got there.
Then he told me how it was done, some machine work, but it turned out perfect.

Note: Being portuguese, there are some english technical words I don't know, so please bear with me.

COMPARISON SIDE VIEW
COMPARISON REAR VIEW
First the looks. As you see, the 17" has a visible shorter diameter than the 15", and if you look at it from behind... it looks awesome!

Now the technical part:
When I got home with the swingarm assembly, I had of course to rip it down to pieces to see what was done, how it was done and why.

Wheel right side: uses the Fazer stock rotor and there's a small spacer that goes between the wheel bearing and the caliper mount.

PIC 1
PIC 2
Wheel left side: To use the stock Fazer wheel axle, the bearing and the inside of the wheel had to be... I don't know how to say this... "filled up" to match the Fazer axle diameter.

PIC 1
PIC 2
ZZR 1100 wheel hub. The hub had to be cutted almost in half to fit the swingarm. It was machined, the sprocket bolts were removed and I now use Allen bolts instead of lock nuts.

The hub was machined for chain clearence in case I want to use the stock 38 teeth sprocket.

This collar (PIC 1, PIC 2, PIC 3, PIC 4) goes inside the hub and fits between the hub and the wheel. It was "filled up" too to match the axle diameter.

The center of the wheel is a bit tall, so the caliper had to be slightly rotated upwards for clearence. A screw (to act as a spacer and lift the caliper position) was fitted to the lower bolt mount and a thinner bolt had to be used...

SPROCKETS
The left sprocket is the Fazer stock 38 teeth; the middle one is 42 teeth; the one on the wheel is 45 teeth. Let's see if it wheelies easier now!

I'm waiting for the weather to get a little better for the first test ride. I'll post the results and pics. Stay tuned...
21NOV2000
Ricardo Damazio