18" rear rim on 01 DS

[Antique 1]

Rusty spokes, dinged up rim, and lack of any tire selection have me thinking about mounting an 18" rear rim on my model 01 DS. Has anyone had any issues running a stock 18" SR or Wombat rim and hub on a DS ?

[olddogs]

18 inch rims came stock on the later 02 Road Toads which is basically the same bike. Any Hodaka 18 inch rim will work but you must retain your 01 sprocket carrier and spacers The sprocket offset on Wombats and Rats is slightly different from the oil injected engine models.

[Bullfrog]

Switching to the 18" rear will also change your steering geometry. It will change rake and trail. The machine will steer somewhat more like a trials bike and exhibit somewhat less self-centering tendency at speed through the bumpies than it has right now. You can off-set those effects a little bit by sliding the fork tubes down in the triple clamps until the top of the steel tubes are flush with the upper triple clamp.

The project is quite "do-able", but I thought you should be aware of the small (but noticeable) steering characteristic change.

Ed

[Antique 1]

Great, thank you for the info. I had no idea the later RT's had a larger rear wheel. I'll have to think about what to do. I saw that spokes are about a hundred bucks a set, so if I went that route, I'd want to put a nice set of aluminum rims on it to. Then we're talking big money. In the meantime, I'll spend some time making the originals at least presentable. Bike is a total re-do.
Thanks,
Doug

[matt glascock]

For a taste of first hand experience in full endorsement of the Captain's comments, I was in the process of switching my fave DS to a 19"/21" set-up for a little more primitive trailing capability. I had the 19" rear in the stash but had yet to source a 21" front. I went ahead and changed out the rear. It took about 50' of travel to realize that at speed, the bike offered two options: high-side or endo - take your pick. Mind you, this is on dirt. I can't imagine the sensation on pavement would be any more confidence inspiring. Remarkably noticeable change for an inch-ish of rear axle lift.

[olddogs]

Model 97 and 98s came with the the more desirable 18 21 combo with aluminum rims. Not a tough swap but you lose the improved conical brake hub of the 01. A coffin tank 02 roller would supply all the parts you need for a quick and easy update. Quite a few around as they are not as popular to restore as the chrome tank models. This would also supply a load of spare parts that would fit your squirt.

[Antique 1]

That's a good idea, but other than a good set of fork tubes, and a better seat/seat pan than the one I have, that's all I need for this one. Everything else is done, except I'm just getting started on the motor freshen up now, so we'll see how that goes. Did as Super Combat ish paint job on it. I'll post a pic or 2 if I can figure out how to do it.

[Antique 1]

[Dale]

Very nice. That is going to be a good looking ride.