'85 250SX front wheel width and offset?

[pistonhead72]

Anyone know the front wheel width and offset for an '85 250SX? I want to put a 200X/350X type wheel and tire on the front. I know I should just swap on a front end from one of those machines, but I don't want to get involved with that, or spend the money right now. I will probably do that somewhere down the road later on. I'm told that wheel/tire setup helps turning alot, right now it doesn't like to turn, it just pushes the front end. Someone said that the 200X/350X setup will make it less stable and more tippy. Is that true? If I keep the stock front wheel, is there a better tire than the stock type knobby tire?


I'm still trying to get some more suggestions for the rear wheels and tires. I know I'm gonna use Douglas aluminum wheels, just not sure if I'm going with 9" or 10" diameter and the .125" blue label or the .190" red label wheels. I'll probably go with the red labels, a few extra ounces isn't going to kill me. As far as tires go, I know I'm going with 22's, just haven't decided which ones yet. I'm leaning towards ITP Mudlites; alot of people seem to like them and ITP says they're lightweight, which is what I want for quick acceleration. Though there was one guy on the forum who said that they wear fast and that once they're worn, they're pretty much useless. Anyone agree or disagree with that? Some other suggestions I've gotten are:

Kenda Bear Claws - Goat said that you'll rarely get stuck and that they last a long time, but they're heavy.:(

Wooly Booger style tires- chris200x likes these (and Mudlites). I'll have to see if I can find out how much these weigh.

Maxxis Sur Traks - gotta find out how much those weigh also.

Are there any knobby type tires that work good in the snow?

I should also mention that I don't want a tread design that's going to make sliding the back end difficult.

Sorry for so many posts asking about wheels and tires for my SX, I'm a newbie and I just want to get suggestions from as many different people as possible before I make a decision. Money's tight and I want my purchase to be money well spent. I appreciate any suggestions, the sooner I know what I want, the sooner I can order the stuff. Which leads me to my FINAL question: Who should I order from? Someone said Motosport had the best prices on wheels and tires. THANKS!

[pudge]

bump this. i also want to change out my front wheel and tire but not the whole front end. i dont like the wide front tire, can this be changed easily?

[smvorndran]

Do the conversion. Do it right, and be done with it. You can't bolt a 200X or 350X wheel on a 250SX hub. Mine has an 86 200X front end on it, and I love it, especially the disc brake.

smvorndran

[Name Brand]

Stock SX rims are 8x8 with a 'large bell'. I can't remember the offset, but the front is the same as the rears.

Profile and tread of the front tire makes a big difference. I run a Goodyear ATT912 on the front of my SX. It has a fairly round profile, so on a hard surface the contact patch with the ground is smaller; this helps the same way a narrower tire does. I like the wide tire in the front; it helps in soft mud, muskeg, snow... but that's the kind of terrain I see alot. The tread is also way better than the stock knobby.

I have Kenda Bear Claws; 25's. The SX turns them no problem (I am running a torquier rear diff from the TRX though), and I'm sure the 25's weigh more than the 22's. :rolleyes: They work very good in all sorts of terrain. If you look around you can find pics of my machine in all sorts of places.

Maxxis Sur-Traks were originally my first choice for my SX but they were backordered. I have them in 22-11-8 on one of my 125m's. They work very well too, I recommend them also. The 125m had no trouble spinning them; the SX will be even easier.

I've only ordered tires from my local Honda dealer. I like giving them the business, showing off the 24+ year old SX and getting the order without having to pay shipping. (I pay a little more to get stuff to Alaska...)

[pudge]

i have to think that this can be done without spending a fortune on a full new front end set up, not to mention brakes, fender, and the stock rack wont fit....can a skinnier rim and tire be run in the stock forks and axle using some spacers or something?

[smvorndran]

I used an 86 200X front end. I reused my SX triple trees, headlight, front fender, and axle. I used the 200X wheel, hub, brake setup, and made 4 spacers. Take a couple of weeks to round the parts up, spend a few hours putting it together, and it will be done.

smvorndran

[mapyang]

The front offset is 3.5x5 meaning 3.5 on the drum side 5 on the valve side.
the rears should be 3x5.
Drew

[pudge]

I used an 86 200X front end. I reused my SX triple trees, headlight, front fender, and axle. I used the 200X wheel, hub, brake setup, and made 4 spacers. Take a couple of weeks to round the parts up, spend a few hours putting it together, and it will be done.

smvorndran


i lie what you did there, i am with you on wanting to use my original forks so i can keep my light, fender, rack, axle....

do you have any more details and pics of what you did with yours?

you said you made up some spacers? what did you use and would you make some up for me ?

thanks

[smvorndran]

Here's the process I wrote up last year about my changeover.

"I used the 250SX triples, 200X forks, 250SX fender, 250SX headlight, 250SX front axle, 200X front wheel & brake system. To do the conversion, like Dirtcrasher said, you need to add spacers on the outside of the current 200X spacers on the 250SX axle, and add spacers between the forks and caliper mount plate. My axle spacers were .790" Outside diameter, 19/32" Inside diameter, and .790" long. You need 2, one for each side. The brake plate that bolts to the forks needs spaced as well. Those spacers were 5/8" Outside diameter, 21/64" Inside Diameter, and .790" long. You need two of those as well.

You'll also need 2 new M8x1.25 x 65mm flange head bolts to bolt the plate back on. My hardware store only had 70mm long bolts for $1.80 a piece. I ground the length down a little, so the bolts just stick thru the plate about a 1/16th of an inch. It's going to be an awesome setup!!! Just a note, I also added 1.25" long aluminum spacers on top of the springs to take out the sag of the forks on the heavier 250SX."

If you've got a spare set of spacers sitting around I can turn down on a lathe, I'll hook you up. It took more time to measure things up correctly than it did to bolt it together. Now that I have the measurements, it's an easy conversion. You have to use the 200X stock spacers towards the inside of each side, then add modified SX spacers to make up the difference.

Let me know,
smvorndran