GT250 wheel swap conundrum -spindle sizes etc..

[A100man]

All..

I am piecing together an old GT250A (76) it has very crusty spoked wheels from standing outside so I thought 'hey I'll get some cast ones form the era and give it a kind of X7 look'.
I researched and noted that GSX250 wheels (at least the front shared the same spindle size (15mm front) and speedo drive and the disc can be swapped sides so that looks to be a go-er
(have wheel and will be working on it soon).

The rear though presents a different problem GTs have 17mm spindle but GSX (and X7s) have 15mm.. 'Just change the bearings' I hear you say. But there appear to be more to it than that.
There's also a host of spacers to be remade/drilled sprocket carrier mods etc.. etc.. So.. I was thinking maybe an X7 s/a might fit - the complete rear end if you will. But is it comparable width?
(anyone got one to measure?)

Fitting a 15mm 'system' (wheel/brake/sprocket carrier) to the existing GT s/a I presume is no go due to too much 'play' in the wheel axle slots.

Thoughts and suggestions of a polite nature welcome..
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750, SL1000

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600, Skorpion

[pepperami]

Personally. I think that an old GT 250 will be better with spoked Wheels.
Thief-bay must have some?
Classic Mechanics must have an ad in the back for breakers.

Suzuki GN 250
Suzuki GS 250 might of shared the same running gear? Maybe, possibly, hopefully?

Many moons ago I had a Suzuki gsx 250 and that had cast wheels.


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[A100man]

[A100man]

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GSXR1100 front end drops straight in.
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[A100man]

[cresad]

Hi

Have you thought about the possibility of maybe swapping the swingarm from the gsx into the gt frame ? would solve all the problems at the rear in one go. The main point would be to check the swing arm pivot sizes.

Adam

[stinkwheel]

Learn to re-lace wheels? Service the hubs and fit new rims and spokes.
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[Riejufixing]

[stinkwheel]

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[Robby]

Rebuilding the wheels would be my choice.

Cost considerations are tricky. The cheapest solution is generally to buy a second hand wheel off ebay, but that is a lottery. Could be in excellent condition, could be knackered, and you won't know until you get the tyre off and get it really clean. With my last set of rims I didn't know they were crap until I got them back from the blasters.

New rims can be found for around £50. Of course, that doesn't mean that the right rims for you can be £50, or that they would be any good.

Spokes were the killer for me. I couldn't find anyone doing a pattern set, so I clean up and galvanised the existing ones, and bought a few replacements. £2.50 each from Honda, so I wouldn't want to buy 72 of them.

Re-lacing the wheel wasn't all that difficult. I bought a dial gauge and a spoke spanner on Amazon, they were cheap. Then it was just a case of gradually tightening and loosening spokes until it was within tolerance. The bit where I had to avoid going a bit autistic was getting it perfect. Getting it in tolerance is possible for a beginner. Getting it perfect would have taken days.

It would be cheaper to get a custom rear axle done and use the cast wheels, or to get a selection of rear axles on ebay and see what fits best.

[A100man]

Thanks all for the feedback - I had been thinking about rebuilds (I've done some push-bike wheels before) but it came down to cost. Materials would be about 100 quid per wheel I guess, plus I quite like the idea of it ending up a bit different. As it stands the machine is going to end up with GSX rear mudguard and light and likely GSX clocks. Also front headlight lens is also missing and so once again it's more cost effective to buy a complete 6.5" lamp and shell and brackets than try and find a replacement

[A100man]