18" rear wheel on XT600E
 

In Africa Overland http://bit.ly/2y9qBBp they suggest an 18" rear wheel (mine is the standard 17"). Why is that recommended, and where can I get one?

Has anyone converted from 17 to 18"? Was it a good move? Did you make any sprocket or chain changes at the same time?

Cheers.

Theres no need, but back in the days it was a mod to get a broader variety of tires, as most aggressive tires back then was only available in 18"

Theres plenty in 17", and has been for a long time.

No need to change the rear wheel...The XT goes everywhere...Be careful in the choice of the tire you are going to fit and where you going to ride!

I have laced an 18"rim on mine. Reason for me was to a) raise the bike that half inch and b) I wanted gold alloys.
No appreciable effect on performance but you could expect a fractional increase in tyre life as less wheel turns per metre travelled.
Currently using a 130,80,18 Mitas E07

Where You Headed?
 

Certain places in the world you may have trouble getting hold of an 18" tire. Like Latin America. In Europe I'm sure 18's are more common. But just no need to make this mod.

You can get 18's... but in certain areas, MUCH easier to find 17's with more choices too. 18's are also typically MORE expensive as some of the real RACE tires are 18" size. Like Dakar spec Michelin, Dunlop and Pirelli. $$$$$.

With 17's you're more likely to find some of the Korean tires like Shinko, Kenda and IRC. Most are less money than the Euro 18" tires.

If traveling I would FOR SURE upgrade your chain to a DID X ring, vs. typical O ring chain. At least 20% to 30% more life with the X Ring chain in my experience over 200,000 miles riding these chains. Carry TWO spare front sprockets and change them out every 6K to 8K miles. This should extend your chain life on that bike to near 25,000 miles. (I just changed chain & sprockets on my DR650 ... got 25K miles on DID's top of the line ZVM X ring chain)

Dr650 has 525 chain, which is a bit more rigid than our 520.

But otherwise i totally agree, i also use a couple front sprockets on a chainkit.

Some guys really enjoy advantages of 18" tire, like more choice or just more rubber for the way..

I'm curious about possible drawback, which came in mind in these rainy days - when riding in "clayish" mud, especially in the forests, sometimes I had to manually remove compressed mixture of the mud, stems and leaves from the space between "inner apex" of the rear fork and tire. otherwise rear wheel was tending to lock.
Not often, but time after time this thing happens with me, I think it's caused by some particular kind
of mud.
And here's my point, which I never asked earlier - 18" tire means less space between the tire and fork on the same fork/chain setup. So, how big is difference in easiness of jamming there?

With the different tread to sidewall ratio options available it's easy to have the same size measured diameter whether 18" or 17" so rim size isn't a way to judge swingarm clearances. You can have 17" tires that are bigger than many 18" tires . it's the aspect ratio sizes you need to look at aka-130/80, 120/90, 110/100 ,ect.....


It your running a bigger width tire a person can use the longest chain that will put the axle near the end of adjustment , adds a little to the wheelbase , which these bikes need, plus gives another 8-12mm swingarm width where the tread will run . I have my '86 like that to fit a 150/70-18 Shinko 705 tire in there . A good quality DID VMX chain and you don't need to adjust slack fo most of it's life so the lack of adjustment room is a non issue.



.

When I destroyed my 18" tyre in Ethiopia I couldn't find anything but 17" tyres. Even in Kenya I had to find the only KTM dealer and buy a horrendously expensive Sahara 3. Ride with what you have...

Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

This same scenario has also played out to riders in S. America running 18" rear tires. Most on KTM's. They had to go to a KTM dealer and pay about $200 USD for a rear tire. Where 17" ones were for sale from $60 USD up to $100 USD.

Hardly ANY of the hard wearing dual sport tires (like the German ones) are any good at all in nasty mud. But if you run a FULL motocross knobby you're going to hate life once back riding on wet pavement! doh

So, it's always a trade off. Sometimes that sticky mud cannot be avoided. I struggled to get across parts of Colorado on my Vstrom when mud jammed up under front fender (had to remove it) and then trapped rear wheel between hugger and swingarm. WHAT A MESS! We barely made it out of there before dark and the start of even HARDER freezing rain. Vstrom suck in MUD with street tires! :thumbdown:

XT600E 2000's 17" Steel to 18" Aluminium rear wheel
 

Hi. I have a 2001 (registered year) XT600E I did the mod this week.

I managed to find a set of wheel from a 88 XTZ600 (aluminium 21"front with Aluminium 18" rear) from offroadcentrum.nl in the Netherlands for a good price.

The 18"wheel fits straight in with no need for additional spacers or cush drive modifications.

The 21" front requires the M6 threads to be drilled and re-tapped (with Heli-Coil) to M8 to accept the original brake disc, if you want to use the original brake disc that is.

Hope that helps

:thumbup1:

Dave BB

see the attached photos

Before....
Attachment 20754

After.....
Attachment 20755

Attachment 20756

Wasnt the xt600z goldcolored and had drumbrakes rear? :)

I guess you could buy one and lace it to your stock hub using the 600z's spokes and rim if the hub is otherwise the same. But thats hardly a bolt on solution. :)


Your bike looks great =)

Thanks,

I've done allot of modifications,
Stainless Header Pipes
New Rear Shock,
New Front Springs,
23ltr tanks
LED Indicators and Brake lights
Tail Tidy
Aluminium 21" Front
Aluminium 18" Rear
Renthal Bars.
Rox Risers.

I'm gonna make a separate Mods with Photos

:thumbup1:

Dave BB

:thumbup1::thumbup1:

http://www.motorstown.com/66107-yama...9r%C3%A9.html#