I have a 97 VFR750. Though I've been a Honda owner (many times over) for the last 30 years, this one is my first Honda sport bike. I'm not surprised by the bike, I'm impressed. It's proof of Honda's attention to detail. Anyway....I purchased a VFR800 swing arm/wheel donor unit for a project bike that i have. I read some info here, that the 750 wheel is 5" wide and the 800's is 5.5". I decided to upgrade my bike w/the wider wheel and use my old one on the project. It would benefit the narrower wheel anyway. 1st off, the 750 wheel has reliefs cut into it to clear the rotor mount bolts. The 800's brake bolts are recessed....So, I had to mill reliefs into the wheel to make it work. I sandblasted and powder coated the wheel then mounted a new 170 tire. It's amazing.....I can see the difference in the extra width of the wheel as soon as I had it back on the bike. The 170 tire fits perfectly.....I can see where a 180 tire would rub on the chain guard. The wheel looks so good that I'd like to swap in the 800 rotor and low-mount caliper next. Anyone else swap wheels w/good results?
The whole reason to install the wider rim is to be able to run the 180 tire not a 170. In fact using a 170 on the wider rim will decrees your turn in rate as it is flattening the tire out more. I have heard others run the 180 on 800 rim on their Gen 4's with no rubbing.......
For the next tire change I can go to a 180....no big deal. The 170 won't cramp my riding style anyway. I had the 170, so I used it. I wasn't willing to wait a 2 week turnaround to exchange/reship a 180. You 2 almost have the same avitar. I do have pics, I just didn't find the significance to post them. Than again, pictures can be better than words. The bad thing is having a camera that takes crappy low-light pics. The flash is harsh, but at least it's better than no pics. I didn't take pics when I machined the wheel, but I have some of when I modded a wheel for my project. I had to increase rotor-to-fork clearance, so i made the rotor pads shorter. Clearancing the rear wheel to clear the rotor bolts was the same process....shave off what's in the way: My 800 donor parts: and the wheel: The project : You click on the pic for the build process. Initial moc up...I know the wheel is backwards.
