Topic: 18 vs. 19 inch Front Wheel

[Terry in Australia]

Geez, you could buy a complete FZR1000 for that much money mate! Of course, if you had a nice FZR1000 you'd probably just ride it, they're a great bike. But I digress, the front hub is a standard CB750 hub with alloy adapter plates for the FZR1000 discs bolted on. Cheers, Terry.

[Ricky_Racer]

Got it, Terry. Thanks, Mate!  So do you think the forks in the pic look like yours?  They're the closest I've found so far.... RR

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, they're very close, I think Showa made them for a few different bikes. Just to add to your confusion, I almost bought a set of these 41mm Ceriani replicas recently, they're set up for Harleys so the tubes might be on the longish side, but they do look nice, and would suit a 70's era racer? Cheers, Terry.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220871841062&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:AU:1123

[Ricky_Racer]

Very cool, Terry. Pretty forks and a great price!

BTW, in your opinion, are 35mm Ceriani Roadrace forks strong enough for a 500 pound CB750?  I haven't seen heavy replacement springs for these forks. RR

[Terry in Australia]

Well I'm sure that the purists and the techo-nerds here will jump all over me, but I don't reckon that the 35mm forks (any brand) were rigid enough mate. Don't get me wrong, they're adequate, just not great.

I know the Ceriani's are popular, but I don't really know why. I've got a pair here that I pulled apart to find out why they're so good, and they are totally unremarkable. I guess that they made a name for themselves back in the day when most Japanese forks were just two pieces of tube and a spring, but even the stock CB750 forks would be as good as Ceriani's of the era, I reckon. 

Most modern bikes are running 41, 43, 45 mm forks or larger, and most modern bikes handle really well. It might be a coincidence, but I doubt it. Cheers, Terry.

[camelman]

Well I'm sure that the purists and the techo-nerds here will jump all over me, but I don't reckon that the 35mm forks (any brand) were rigid enough mate. Don't get me wrong, they're adequate, just not great.

I know the Ceriani's are popular, but I don't really know why. I've got a pair here that I pulled apart to find out why they're so good, and they are totally unremarkable. I guess that they made a name for themselves back in the day when most Japanese forks were just two pieces of tube and a spring, but even the stock CB750 forks would be as good as Ceriani's of the era, I reckon. 

Most modern bikes are running 41, 43, 45 mm forks or larger, and most modern bikes handle really well. It might be a coincidence, but I doubt it. Cheers, Terry.

Don't forget your trees.  The forks are only as good as the parts that hold them.

Camelman

[754]

You missed the part about Cerianis being a lot lighter... not to mention they are a lot easier to look at than a 70s Japan fork

[754]

RR if the Cerianis can hold the Sorcerer in line up to 199mph, and keep a lot of double engine Harleys on the track, and all the XR750s on the oval, I doubt you will have trouble with them. They are made of pretty tough material, you would be scared if I told you how thin the lower legs are.. I bet if you turned a stock Hondas ones to that thickness, you could snap the lower leg with a well aimed kick..not kidding about that..

[MCRider]

Back to the original question...

I have an 18 on my project with the orignal fork and trees. So we'll get to see by my seat of the pants.

I chose this as an uninformed persons gut reaction that the 18 would handle better. I see that I simply was not considering all that may be affected by the change.

It is a considerably lighter combo, with a 110/80 tire, and aluminum Excel rim, than the 19" with a 110/90-19 i had been running. Man what an anvil that was!  So one may think that will net out to the good.

I realize I shouldn't have had the 110, a 100/90 would have been better.

I did think ahead to buy new tubes from Franks that are 2" over stock. So i can restore or even increase the ride height and its change to trail. So here's hoping I'll find a combo I like. I have a beefy fork brace, and a tweak bar if necessary.

Gotta get it running first.