AboutBill Silver Expertise Need help with vintage Hondas from the 1960s? I am an expert with 250-305cc bikes in particular and most all of the other pre-91 models, in general. I do NOT claim to have a great deal of experience on Gold Wings, Cruisers, ATC/ATVs and dirt bikes.
Experience I have owned/ridden/maintained Honda motorcycles for 35 years. I have written five books on Honda repairs and collecting. I was a service manager for two Honda shops back in the 1980s.
Organizations VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) of North America
Publications VJMC newsletter, as editor for two years and as contributing editor currently.
Question If u could answer I see u just want a pasifice bike but ... I have a 92 suzuki bandit 400 and I'm in the midle of converting it into a streetfighter ... 1 part of my project is 2 change my stock 17inch rim and 160/60zr17 tire as wheel as the swingarm. I want to go bigger at the rear with a wider rim and a 190 or 200 tire. I'm just concernd with the tranny or gear box going bad . Is it posibale for me 2 change my rear and witch swingarm will best fit my bike ... Thanks for taking the time ..."
Answer Justin, I think I get your intentions from your note. When you start re-engineering a whole chassis, all kinds of things must be considered.
Changing out the swing arm requires that the swing arm locate the rear wheel back in the centerline of the chassis, so both wheels are going down the road in the same alignment... NOT in parallel paths!
Going to a wider wheel will probably get your rear sprocket offset from the centerline of the countershaft sprocket. This is not a good thing. You will either have to make up some kind of spacer or have an offset sprocket created to keep the chain in a straight line from the front to rear sprockets. I have no idea of the dimensions of the Bandit 400 vs any other bikes for this conversion. You are going to have to measure everything up carefully, then spend an afternoon at the motorcycle salvage yard, trying to match something up to suit your needs. Look at other Suzuki bikes first from that era and size. Maybe something from a 600 will be an improvement.
Improper drive chain tension and misalignment will cause problems for the output shaft bearings in the transmission and the extra load on the engine/trans from spinning a large rear wheel assy will potentially reduce the life of the transmission parts, depending on how you ride and maintain the machine.
