OzCrow Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 OK I've searched the forum but come up with nothing. I seem to remember someone had done this mod. Can someone help please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 OK I've searched the forum but come up with nothing. I seem to remember someone had done this mod. Can someone help please? PM KCBird. I believe it required extensive modifications to the swingarm, however. If you aren't changing the front end, as well, then I'd recommend buying aftermarket wheels vs. retro-fitting the RC wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Eddy Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 What is the advantage to doing this change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Other than the RC uses a 6" wheel, and lighter than the factory XX, nothing. Unless, of course, you have swapped out your front suspension with RC components and want the rear to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Other than the RC uses a 6" wheel, and lighter than the factory XX, nothing. Unless, of course, you have swapped out your front suspension with RC components and want the rear to match. Yeah that's what Crow has done - gone for a RC51 front end :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDAZ XX Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 FWIW I have an entire RC51 setup (well almost) Forks, Triples, F/R wheels, sprocket and rear brake disk for sale. All thats needed is the front brake setup. What is the advantage to doing this change? Lighter wheels make it easier to transition left to right (less rotating mass), quicker acceleration (again less rotating mass to spin), ALOT better brakes on the front and 100x better front forks than the stock front end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodantking Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I did know anyone made the parts to change the front anymore. Are they one of a kinds or am I incorrect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimack Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I did know anyone made the parts to change the front anymore. Are they one of a kinds or am I incorrect? eeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr what did you say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Eddy Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 FWIW I have an entire RC51 setup (well almost) Forks, Triples, F/R wheels, sprocket and rear brake disk for sale. All thats needed is the front brake setup. What is the advantage to doing this change? Lighter wheels make it easier to transition left to right (less rotating mass), quicker acceleration (again less rotating mass to spin), ALOT better brakes on the front and 100x better front forks than the stock front end. I understand the rotating mass stuff I just didn't know if the RC wheels were lighter or wider or if there was some other advantage I was not aware of SO that said how much $$$ would you want for the RC stuff you have? Also could anyone tell me how much lighter the RC wheels are than stock XX Wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDAZ XX Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I forget the weight of the xx wheels (heavy) but it is a significant reduction using the RC wheels. Everything goes for $1500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvmod1 Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 If you have the unlimited funds:: http://www.ram.mc/HONDA/cbr1100xx.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Eddy Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 If you have the unlimited funds:: http://www.ram.mc/HONDA/cbr1100xx.html Holy crap that is expensive... no thanks till I win the lotto... I am on a budget cause I got married (DON'T DO IT) and now I am poor... but I will look into the RC stuff and see if the miser(wife) will stop spending $$ on shit for the house we don't need long enough to put some chips down on the RC stuff. :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 OK I've searched the forum but come up with nothing. I seem to remember someone had done this mod. Can someone help please? Not sure whether you have a RC51 rear wheel but there is one here RC51 Rear Wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCBIRD Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Hey Andrew, Sorry for the slow response, been really busy lately. Yes, I've converted my rear wheel to the RC51, as well as the RC51 front end. I actually didn't start off with trying to match the wheels. After converting the front end, I wanted to use the RC rear caliper so I would have a matching brake system on both ends. Well, the RC caliper won't fit the Bird caliper bracket. After experimenting with combinations Bird and RC parts I realized the only way it would possibly work was to adapt the complete RC rear wheel, caliper & bracket to the Bird swingarm. I Ebayed all of the parts I needed, but wasn't completely sure if it would even work until I had bought everything and started measuring. The RC wheel is 6" wide, but the center hub is narrower, also the rear rotor is smaller in diameter, undoubtedly because the RC51 is 75lbs or so lighter than the bird. The complete rear wheel assembly with dampener, sprocket and rotor is 7lbs lighter than the Birds' weighed the same way. The front wheel without rotors was 1lb lighter. The RC axle is approx 50% larger diameter and uses push axle blocks. The the axle slot had to be machined for the larger axle and the outside of the swing arm machined for the push blocks. The swing arm side tubes are an excruded part with a center rib. We drilled into the rib and tapped it for the adjuster bolts to push the blocks. The caliper bracket slot-tab arrangement is just the opposite of the Bird, so we cut off the aluminum locator block on the swingarm, machined a new one for the RC caliper bracket and welded it on. Finally, the wheel offset is different, so we machined new spacers for both sides. The RC conversion on both ends has been a lot of work and at some point I was on a mission just to prove it could be done, but the end result for me has been worth it.The bike makes directional changes MUCH more quickly and the RC51 brakes could launch you over the bars if you aren't careful. I'm still dialing in the front end height, etc, but the bike feels much more planted and there is no torsional flex in the front end. I've got some pics of the swingarm mods I can post for you, but I need to look for them. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madcow Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 KCBIRD, instead of modifying the Birds swingarm did you check to see if the RC swingarm would fit in the Birds frame? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF1000RS Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Digging out a 3 year old thread but, what size rear tire did you use with the RC51 rear wheel? 190/50? 190/55? 180/55? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCBIRD Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 Man, this is an old thread. I put a 190/50 on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF1000RS Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Man, this is an old thread. I put a 190/50 on it. Old but good info. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincer Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 That is an awesome job converting the RC parts! It looks like the center stand almost kisses the rear tire. Was adapting the front components as difficult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCBIRD Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Thanks for the compliments. The center stand clears by about 3/8", not much, but enough. The front end mod is pretty well documented in past threads, both mine and others. I decided to use the RC51 lower tripple which is a lot beefier, but required more machine work as you have to press the stem out and machine it to accept the Bird lower bearing. The 929/954 is simpler to modify as it already uses the same lower bearing. Both have to have the steering stops machined off and new ones relocated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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