800 Classic front wheel

[Nyghtfall]

I want to change out the front wheel on my '01 800 Classic. I want something taller and narrower. I want to be able to use the stock front disc brake. I have considered adapting a Harley 18 or 21 inch, but not sure what is involved.
What about other Kawasaki wheels? Will a wheel from a '95 800A fit my '01 800B?

Suggestions?

[Nyghtfall]

Has anyone ever done this?

[Thullan]

It shouldn't be a problem to lace up a 21' rim onto the 800Classic hub, or even bolt on a complete -95 800A wheel. But to actually make it work is the main concern.

The 800A frame has a 34 degree rake whereas the Classic has 32. Don't know if the forks are different lenght to. Could be an issue to get the geometry right? I have seen people put 19' rims on the A-model though, and maybe even 17' or 18'.

[Bob Myers1]

I put a cast Harley wheel on my 800A, I had two free tires and wanted to use them up. I machined an adapter to put my 800A disc on the Harley wheel, and two axle spacer/adapters to bring the much larger bore bearings down to Vulcan size. Whole project took me about 2 hours to complete. Going the other way should be a piece of cake, but i guarantee you won't like the ride. Especially if you like to corner hard. That 21" wheel/tire just don't like the high speed tight corners that the 18" would take. Oh, and it fit under the stock 800A fender just fine too.

[fivepointink]

if you have the tubes and wheel assembly from an a model, they will slide right into b model triple trees. that would be your easiest hit if you could get an a model front end. the hubs on the 21" and 16" wheel are the same, they just have different bearings because the a model axle is smaller in diameter than b model. the brake calipers for the bikes are different and so are the mounting tabs on the front end for the calipers. so you really couldn't put the 21" wheel in a b model front end unless you built some sort of adapter to reposition the a model brake caliper in the b model lower end. if you decided to use a harley wheel, scootworks.com has an adapter for a harley wheel to fit in vulcan front ends and retain the stock brake system. they sell that for about 100 bucks or so. it would probably be easier to find a harley wheel cheap than a vulcan 21" wheel. theres just more harley stuff out there. thullan said something about the fork length difference b/w a and b models. the a model front end is one inch longer. get on ebay or something and start lookin. i got an a model front end for $150. which is cheap!!!!!!! if you where to buy it new from a shop it would probably be close to $1000, if not more. just the hub on the wheel, no spokes, no rim, is $400. good luck man.

[CELTICCB]

If you still have the desire for a 21" I have one but I would trade straight up for a 16 or 18" I have a VN800A

[Nyghtfall]

I found a Scootworks adapter kit and have decided to go with a Harley wheel. I may sell the 16 inch stock wheel when I get the swap done. If you're interested, let me know.

[CELTICCB]

YES YES YES INTERESTED WHEN WHEN WHEN and WHERE do you reside if you want to do this privately I can be reached at daniel.r.mckee@navy.mil

[fivepointink]

i think theres a 16" front wheel on ebay right now. celticcb, if you do the swap you need to keep your axle. you'll have to switch out bearings to fit our b model axle. should be easy. the hubs are the same so your b model spacers and rotor will fit. just change the spacers to fit you b axle.