955 After Market Wheels

[Chris Canning]

If anyone ever buys aftermarket wheels and go to a 17" front wheel,any queries PM me,I'll go through the process it's relatively pain free when you've done it once.

[deepsouthtiger]

So, pardon my ignorance, but can you tell me the benefit to the 17" tire?

 Had not considered the change, but might.  What improvements have you experienced?

[Chris Canning]

I'll digress(as usual!!)

Bought my first tiger in 99 a new 885i,then a second when I had one of the very first 955's,after 3 years of riding on either traillie tyres or what I classed as thin road tyres and always felt that there was so much more to had out of the bike but wheels and tyres restricted that.

I've a Dutch friend who from time to time mails me stuff,in 2002 send me a photo of a 955 converted in Germany to a 17" front wheel and a 51/2" rim on the back to give the option of either touring or sport rubber and the addition of just getting more rubber on the road.

I'll not go into the long winded story of all the bits and bobs needed and how I got them,but did in the end!!!,because the bike was designed for a 19" front wheel head angle etc,going to a 17" front wheel turns the tiger into a mini moto even two up and fully loaded,it'll steer as quick as you can think,in fact the only bike I have ever owned that will changed direction midcorner!! and some.

The down side,there's not a snowballs chance in hell of me ever going back to a 19" front wheel,hence with the new 1200 it's a no from me.

I've run the bike in the current format for 8 years and it's as good as ever,the new Multistrada doesn't steer any quicker,and the old 955 is still my bench mark for any new bike that comes on the market.

It has gone through various R+D situations starting with this.



And then going to this.



Of course this is pre 04 which doesn't have such a steep head ,could it be done on a post 04 955,I don't know.

It's done a 1000 mile day,a couple of 500 milers being ridden in a monsoon,I'd say around 30 trips to and across Europe,and one had two weeks on the road when the coolest it got was 35c and the hottest we've ridden in is 46c,and the R+D still goes on  :roll:

[zombie2]

Funny
I have a set of dymags tucked away and forgot all about them
just picked up another 01 955i and I'm gonna stick them on.
Absolute blast with 17" front and rear
I may p.m. you about setting up the speedo so it's synched correctly.
What are you using for rubber??

[Chris Canning]

In the bad old days!! Bridgestone 014 on the front and an 020 on the back,fast forward to 07 went to Michelin Road 02 and they were great,this year have had Pirelli Road Angels on,half worn not impressed,so I've just bought a pair of Road 03's to put on.

If I were a little braver I'd go Dunlop RoadSmarts,but they turn probably 50% quicker than the Michs and could be a little crazy  :D

Re the speedo,nightmare trying to find a solution even Jack Lilley said change the speedo!!,got an e-mail out of the blue when on the Yahoo site from a guy in Arkansas who told me he knew of a guy in Wollongong Australia(starting to read like a joke e'hhh) who had the solution and sure enough he did,it's been on 8 years and you can alter it 25% either way and been perfect(famous last words!!.

http://yellr.com/yb_home.htm

[Cos]

I'd give a kidney for those Beringer calipers...sadly, they cost more than that  :lol:

[Chris Canning]

Although they work as well as you'd expect,they have over 25,000 miles on e'm and there's not a mark on the discs.

[Cos]

Although they work as well as you'd expect,they have over 25,000 miles on e'm and there's not a mark on the discs.

Since i'm already buying Tim's Wilbers i might regret asking this...how much did the Beringer set-up cost?

And who would i talk to in regards to getting those, for the Tiger or the Daytona?

[Chris Canning]

Cost?? hmmm  :oops: ,I was in the right place at the right time,but!! they are relatively old hat with the advent of radials,so I'd contact a Beringer importer and ask about old stock,in their heyday the retail was just over £1000,but we live in hard times,and as they say 'You don't ask you don't get'

They are a straight fit onto the Tiger forks although they may fit other Triumphs,I'm not sure.

But almost certainly with Tims shock you will need to do some work on the forks,I should have had mine revalved instead went the easy route and put 15wt in,but there's still time for me to get off my backside  :oops:  :oops:

[Cos]

But almost certainly with Tims shock you will need to do some work on the forks,I should have had mine revalved instead went the easy route and put 15wt in,but there's still time for me to get off my backside  :oops:  :oops:

Did the same before. I'll probably get new springs sooner than later but something more advanced will have to wait. I wasn't quite planning to buy a shock yet but Tim's was such a good deal that i just had to jump on it.

[Timbox2]

[Chris Canning]

As the 955 passes down the food chain,most folk who buy e'm can't afford to buy new aftermarket shocks,so the supply of this kind of thing is zero,your a lucky lad,I can't remember the last time I saw a quality secondhand shock forsale.

It would be fun to see the look on your face first time you ride the bike with it on  :D .

PS I do have Ohlins front springs in as well but even with the 15wt oil doesn't disguise the cheapo front forks.

[Cos]

 

Off to the bank after class to make sure everything's ok and we should be good to go.

[Cos]

As the 955 passes down the food chain,most folk who buy e'm can't afford to buy new aftermarket shocks,so the supply of this kind of thing is zero,your a lucky lad,I can't remember the last time I saw a quality secondhand shock forsale.

It would be fun to see the look on your face first time you ride the bike with it on  :D .

PS I do have Ohlins front springs in as well but even with the 15wt oil doesn't disguise the cheapo front forks.

Tell me about it. I've been lurking on Ebay for a while but it's Hagons at best and i'm not touching those.

I hear you about the forks, but completely redoing them'll have to wait a bit.