New Wheels on my 88 Katana

[Anonymous]

I recently picked up a set of wheels from a later model Katana to put on my 88. Found them on eBay, and the auction listing says they should fit 89-97, but I bought them anyway. So on to the question, any reason these shouldn't fit my 88?

Thanks for any help.

[HS2020]

There is no reason they should not fit. The width of the front and rear rim on the older Katanas are 3.0 front and 3.5 on the rear. You can even put a 98+ rear rim on a pre 98 Kat. As long as you have the rear rotor along with it. So you should be good to go. The next question you may have is tire size. Do not go any bigger than a 160/60 on the rear and you can put a 120/60 on the front but that is pushing it. I have that set up on my bike right now. So just use your judgement when it comes to this.

[Anonymous]

And on that subject....

Is it possible to put a fat back tire on my bike? For example, a rim from a later model Katana, or even a Bandit or GSXR that would hold a wider tire? I love the big back tire look, but I don't know if a bigger rim will fit in that swingarm, or if the sprockets would even line up correctly? I'm happy with the wheels I picked up, but if its possible I'd like to give this a shot too.

Thanks for the help Highsight.....

[BraadaJim]

To the best of my knowledge...which does not make it a fact.....

Rotors:
1988 Katana had a unique spoke style and a rotor that is flat not inset to the hub. 88 front rotors are not compatible with 89-02 but may be compatible with '03-04 since they went back to a flat rotor on the new models, not sure of the bolt pattern though. Either way you are going to need a set of rotors to match the rim.

Wheels:
Front: 89-97 carry a swept design and have an inset front rotor. I believe that you MAY also need to get a set of spacers for a 89-97 front since it is likely that the hub portion is probably not going to be as wide. Rim width is the same as the 88. Axle should be the same. You can probably cross reference the bearing part number at BikeBandit and tell.
Rear: As Highsight said If you want to get wider rubber on the ground you can manipulate tire sizes slightly and you can also swap in other rims. Both front and back of the 98-02 should fit as well as rears from early GSXR's. The 98-02 Kats have a straight spoke design, the early GSXR wheels have a swept spoke that matches 89-97 Kat.
You must use your hub/sprocket and spacers with the "wider rear" wheel swap. I do not know if you are going to need to use your 88 sprocket hub to do your 88 to 89-97 swap or not but I think they both will fit.

If you need any parts for the project like spacers, sprockets, rotors or even the wheels themselves post a request for special K in the parts department and he can probably hook you up with what you need. He is probably also the most qualified here to tell you what is compatable with what.

[Mr. Clean]

Re: And on that subject....

Is it possible to put a fat back tire on my bike? For example, a rim from a later model Katana, or even a Bandit or GSXR that would hold a wider tire?

Did you read his post?

[meanstrk]

I just installed a set of 98 Katana wheels on my 91. The only issue is that depending on what tire you are running on the front, it may contact the front fender. I know mine did, but I just let it rub the plastic out for clearance. The later model rear will bolt right in and you can run a 160 with no problems.