Front Wheel

[Travis Lowe]

have '81 SOHC with wire spokes and drum brakes
looking to run a 21" upfront.
I've read you can swap out a xt500 front wheel easily
but does anyone know if you can swap out a '77 dt400 front wheel easily enough?
axle size seems to be the same at 15mm but is that all there is to it?

thanks

 

[Maxim-umm]

You'll probably want to double-check the width of the rim and figure out if you need spacers or not.

 

[Travis Lowe]

You'll probably want to double-check the width of the rim and figure out if you need spacers or not.

thanks I'll look into that...
I am running a 1.85 x18 upfront now (stock)
i'll see what the dt400 rim width is
but wouldn't it be the hub width that's important
as I am trying to take the entire dt400 front wheel and run the whole thing on the xs400m
hub, brake plate and all since the axle is the same size (15mm)
sorry I am kinda of ignorant on the whole thing
just want to undo current front wheel take it off and put the dt400 complete wheel on bolt the axle back up attach brake cable and not die
maybe this wishful thinking ?

 

[xschris]

Stock rim should be 1.60 for the spoke drum xs400 front. I would worry about that tall of the wheel on one of these bikes and also overall width of the tire hitting forks and other parts of the bike.

 

[Travis Lowe]

Stock rim should be 1.60 for the spoke drum xs400 front. I would worry about that tall of the wheel on one of these bikes and also overall width of the tire hitting forks and other parts of the bike.

I stand corrected.
the rim is like you said 1.60x18....... it's alloys that are 1.85x18
width of tire will be the same as i am running now ....a 3.00 so it won't rub on the forks
it won't hit anything else i don't run a front fender or fork brace
why would you worry about running a 21" wheel on a XS400

 

[xschris]

Bottoming out front wheel into triple tree or hitting exhaust could be an issue. The bike will handle much different also. I think others have done it but not sure what other mods has to be done to do it.

These look to be 21" wheels but not sure how road worthy these bikes are. Look more show than go.

 

[Travis Lowe]

Bottoming out front wheel into triple tree or hitting exhaust could be an issue. The bike will handle much different also. I think others have done it but not sure what other mods has to be done to do it.

These look to be 21" wheels but not sure how road worthy these bikes are. Look more show than go.
View attachment 31207 View attachment 31208

they do look to be 21" and more show than go as you say
gives a nice stance though imho
seems there are a few threads around the webs
talking about 21" on xs400
i ended up getting an XT500 wheel so my swap out should go smoothly
but then again this shit rarely ever does
also scored a buchanan 21" rim drilled out for an xs650 I could have spoked and laced to the xs400 hub
but thought the straight swap was much easier and cheaper
you probably wouldn't like the handling on my bike with Shinko 270's on it front and back
never mind a 21 upfront and a 16 in the back
hopefully should clear exhaust with standard rake i think
and i don't think bottoming out on triple tree likely for my riding unless i jump the fountains at caesar's again ?
got a mint '71 rapido tank to throw it and it should look outstanding
thanks for the food for thought
hopefully I'm not wrong about this cause it costing me LOL
T>

 

[patentgeek]

Resurrecting this thread. I have a '76 Yamaha XT500 and want to build up a 19 inch front wheel for street riding with a better brake. Would an XS400 drum brake front hub be a relative plug-and-play fit onto the XT500 fork? Travis indicates the XT500 hub fit onto his XS400 so it seems like the verse should be the same?