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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 19 Mar 2008
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Changing rear wheel
Hi everybody,
I've got a 2001 xt600e which I will use to go to Nigeria this summer. I wanna fit Michelin Desert tyres, because I will travel through Atar and Nema.
Problem is, the rear tyre comes in 18 inches and my rear wheel is 17 inch. Now I also own an 89 Tenere, which is too unreliable to use for this trip, but it does have an 18 inch rear wheel. Problem solved? No, the Tenere has drum brakes and the other bike has a disc brake system.
Questions: will I get into trouble when I just change the wheels or will I be OK doing so? Will the sprockets be in line? Do I have to swap the entire rear end?
Or, alternatively, does anybody have a better tyre plan?
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  #2  
Old 19 Mar 2008
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Just buy a 17" Desert tyre. They do make them (there's one on the back of my old XR600 now). Look on the Michelin website.
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Old 19 Mar 2008
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Seems to me to be an awful lot of messing about and needless extra cost! I really can't believe you are actually considering fitting a non-standard wheel which will probably ruin the bikes handling and potentially be quite dangerous!

Why not just opt for a good all round tyre like the Trelleborg Army Special -
Trellesport

Or perhaps a set of Metzeler TK80's which apparently perform quite adequetly on most surfaces including sand.

There are plenty of 17" (Rear) and 21" (Front) options out there including specialist sand tyres. If you insist on sand tyres, why not take a set with you and swap em round en route? I presume most of the trip will be on tarmac and dirt tracks therefore I'd opt for a pair of Trellesports or the TK80's (used on the Long Way Round).
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Last edited by kentfallen; 19 Mar 2008 at 20:33.
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Old 19 Mar 2008
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suggestion
Michelin Siracs for rear
Pirelli MT21 for front
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Old 19 Mar 2008
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I think you will find that most overland bikes run 18" rear wheels, 18" tyres are easier to get either from a shop whilst away or from a fellow rider if problems happen, my R80gs also as a 17" rear, so on my trip to The Gambia I took a spare tyre for 'peace of mind' as due to time restraints had no time to get it 'laced' to a 18" rim. I would personally go for a new rim and spokes.
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Old 19 Mar 2008
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Ok...
So there are 17 inch Michelin Desert tyres. I could buy one of those, but then I would have the problem that I cannot change them anymore.
18 inch is more common, and I do have an 18 inch rim, but can i just put it on my bike? Will my sprockets still be in line?
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Old 19 Mar 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoltar14 View Post
So there are 17 inch Michelin Desert tyres. I could buy one of those, but then I would have the problem that I cannot change them anymore.
18 inch is more common, and I do have an 18 inch rim, but can i just put it on my bike? Will my sprockets still be in line?
You'll need to have it re-spoked.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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wheel
it's eazy... get from a wreck both wheels from a newer tenere, or one XT 87-89. You will have both alloy rims, lighter, rear 18" and disk brake, no need of any adaptation, they are plug and play.
Have already done this job on my 1990 XT600e. The other way will be take the front from your tenere, and use the rim and spokes with XT600E rear hub. Ok actually this is what i did, if you can do the work by yourself as i did, this will be the cheapest option.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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Why would my 18 inch wheel need to be respoked?

And why can't I use the 18 inch wheel I already have?

You guys got me confused here.

Maybe I'll just go for the 17 inch Desert tyre.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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coz the easiest to do, instead of adapting drum rear brake to your XT600E, is what follows:

you can:
- buy from a wreck a rear disk wheel 18"
- make yourself a disk rear wheel 18" using pieces from a 17"disk wheel and a 18" drum wheel (hub from the first, rim and spokes from the second).

If you want to keep your wheels without to modify them,you can buy another 17, or 18, or both, to do the job, it's up to you.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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Aren't drum brakes better in the desert because they are a sealed system?
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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I don't think there's anywhere that sand can be kept out of on a long west africa trip.

however, your brake fluid system is sealed. your drum brakes most likely have vents. even so, you won't wear through a set of brakes/calipers/drums (as opposed to pads/shoes) in one trip. the heavier your bike and luggage are, the more likely discs will be better.

I had drum brakes, and had no problem. but obviously you have to plan your stopping distances a little more, which is difficult when a nigerian solder jumps out of a make shift (almost camouflaged) checkpoint.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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Then I think my tyre question has been answered: I'll buy a Michelin Desert for my 17 inch wheel with disc brake system. Saves me a lot of trouble.
Thanks for the advise.
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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Seriously why make the job harder for yourself - keep the 17" rear wheel and then simply fit a 17" tyre. Personally I'd go for an all round tyre as opposed to a specialist sand tyre. Something like a TK80 or a Trelleborg Army Special would do the job well...
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Old 20 Mar 2008
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on those pistes/tracks/roads the Desert is the less likely to puncture than an all-round tyre.
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