Rear wheel swap 84 virago to 82 XJ650

Does anyone know if a rear wheel swap of an 84 Virago will fit an 82 xj650 Maxim? If the splines don't mesh up, would i need to replace the pumpkin or maybe just the gears?

 

this clip explains how to mount an 84 wire-spoked Virago hub to an older 82-83 Virago.
I believe the older Virago hub is same as our XJ's so this should all apply here.

You may have issue squeezing any 15" tire into the XJ swing arm though.

 

Sorry that video is about mounting a Diversion wheel.
I’m also curious to know the answer to your question

 

Are you trying to go to spokes or another mag wheel?

 

The splines are the same. The only issue you might run into is tire width and overall height.
Make sure that you get the brake backing plate and throwout arm along with the wheel.

 

This is a more applicable video.
The pumpkin needs to come off to mount it all.

 

I met someone that can get me a complete 2013 r6 front end for 800 including rim, new front tire, rotors, calipers, mc and hand controls so i am debating the swap. The rear tire change to the 84 virago 5 star rim is just a small part of it. The cost would completely wipe out my bike fund for the year, including a new stem from congnito moto.

My rational is i need a new mc and font caliper (broken and stuck bleeder screw) so thats an 250 easy. Might as well invest in a new system.

I didnt even think about the throwout arm. Thanks!

 

There was at least one other thread around here about this mod and i seem to recall the 84 Virago (perhaps the L model) was used as the donor bike for the spoked wheels. The front was designed for dual brake rotors and the 84 forks were also used to accommodate them. Unfortunately, the photos of the project were no longer viewable, but it also included the rear mod.

 

I looking online i saw that the 1985 xj700 comes with a new 16" 5 spoke rear wheel. Has that wheel ever been used for a swap? The tire size it takes is 130/90 - 16.

It looks like we can bolt on our spline.

 

That's what I'm using. I have another 700 rear wheel waiting to go on my Turbo.

 

what did you do to make it fit? were there any fitment issues?

 

plug & play. I understand you are contemplating this for a 650 Maxim so you're not even changing tire size.
I saw some discussion a little while ago about different size brake drums between Maxim and Seca.
I know for certain that the 650 Seca and the 700 Maxim are interchangeable.

 

Yup, i bought the R6 front end to do the swap and i want to match the 5 spoke r6 rim as close as possible. The 84 virago mag rim is nice but the 140/90-15 makes it difficult to find different tread options. I am trying to weight pros and cons with both options and see what would be the best fit. Also placing my existing rubber on the new rim would be awesome to save money too.

Thanks for the head up on the drum sizes possibly being different. I'll try and get confirmation on that.

Your bike looks badass nice and clean.

 

Your R6 front rim is likely 3.50 wide and takes a radial tire.
The 700 Maxim rear is only 3.00 wide and takes a bias ply tire.

I read long ago when radials 1st appeared that although not recommended, you could mix a radial rear with a bias front but never under any circumstance match a radial front with a bias rear. Depends what you're trying to achieve, if you're starting with a Maxim I don't suppose you're expecting it to handle like an R6 anyway. Just something to be aware of. The drive shaft really limits rear wheel options which is why these shafty XJ's are not well suited to modern front ends. It just looks goofy if the front rim is wider than the rear. As I cautioned, beware of the handling.

My bike in the pic has the YX/FZ600 front end which slips right into the XJ fork crowns. this gives you a 2.50 x 16" front rim which mates great with a maxim 3.00 x 16 rear. These are the same stock dimensions of the Radian.

 

If you're determined to mount the R6 front I suggest you watch the 1st video about converting a 900 Divvy 17" rear.
At least it will give you a rim wider than the front and enable a radial rear tire.
Skylrk did it with his over-the-top Turbo custom. I don't know what the freight would be from UK/EU?

 

I saw that build. If i had my own shop maybe, if i cant do it with a welder and an angle grinder then it aint for me.

 

So i just ordered the new stem and top triple clamp with risers from cognito. This is the easy part. If people are interested i can post photos of the process. Still trying to figure out the rear wheel config

 

After doing a bit of research, talking to Hogfiddles and checking out this posting (https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj650-maxim-rear-wheel-offset.119535/page-2#post-599902) by jayrodoh essentially confirming what K-moe said. I definitely decided to go with the xj700 wheel. The xj700 and xj650 are essentially the same rim. This is the smartest decision for me, as I want ease of use and i dont want to fight fitting a 140/90 - 15mt tire. I saw other postings about how the virago wheel could fit... but if i have to do a simple brake shoe change or whatever i rather just unbolt the tire and be done than unbolt the rear hub as well. Now 6 months from now... i might get curious and try it or attempt a rear end swap.

Doing all this research has peaked my curiosity of trying to figure out a way to do a mono shock and cut the rear subframe in half to have one side open.

Maybe just buy a honda cb750.

 

lost formating

 

Now that the rim is decided on, i have been looking at different tire sizes. I would like to keep the ride height and rake as close to stock as possible, but i might have to lose an inch to gain an inch. The stock tire specs of the xj650 and the r6 are below and what i think might work. let me know your thoughts.

XJ650 Stock Tires

Stock XJ650 Rear: 130/90-16
Diameter inches (mm): 25.21 (640.4)
Width inches (mm): 5.12 (130)

Stock XJ650 Front: 100/90-19
Diameter inches (mm): 26.09 (662.6)
Width inches (mm): 3.94 (100)

XJ650 Stock vs R6 Front Tire Comparison

Stock Xj650 Front: 100/90-19
Diameter inches (mm): 26.09 (662.6)
Width inches (mm): 3.94 (100)
Circum. inches (mm): 81.95 (2081.62)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 3.54 (90)

Stock R6 Front: 120/70-17
Diameter inches (mm): 23.61 (599.8)
Width inches (mm): 4.72 (120)
Circum. inches (mm): 74.19 (1884.33)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 3.31 (84)

New Proposed tire setup

New Xj650 Rear: 130/80-16
Diameter inches (mm): 24.19 (614.4)
Width inches (mm): 5.12 (130)

New R6 Front: 120/80-17
Diameter inches (mm): 24.56 (623.8)
Width inches (mm): 4.72 (120)

R6 Stock vs New Front Tire Comparison

Stock R6 Front: 120/70-17
Diameter inches (mm): 23.61 (599.8)
Width inches (mm): 4.72 (120)
Circum. inches (mm): 74.19 (1884.33)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 3.31 (84)

New R6 Front: 120/80-17
Diameter inches (mm): 24.56 (623.8)
Width inches (mm): 4.72 (120)
Circum. inches (mm): 77.15 (1959.73)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 3.78 (96)

XJ650 Stock vs New Rear Tire Comparison

Stock XJ650 Rear: 130/90-16
Diameter inches (mm): 25.21 (640.4)
Width inches (mm): 5.12 (130)
Circum. inches (mm): 79.21 (2011.88)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 4.61 (117)

New Xj650 Rear: 130/80-16
Diameter inches (mm): 24.19 (614.4)
Width inches (mm): 5.12 (130) 0 (0) 0%
Circum. inches (mm): 75.99 (1930.19)
Sidewall H. inches (mm): 4.09 (104)