step 1: 19" wheel, new tires and some pretty-fication

so i saw a post on the DR forum on thumpertalk.com about a 19" front wheel. it got me thinking aobut the dangers of having a super moto bike here in NYC. the first thumper that i was looking at was a XR650L that had already been motarded and the day that i was going to pick it up it got stolen. this got the gears in my head turning and i have been thinking that maybe having a motard here isnt the best idea. anyone can see that they are rocking a $1000+ set of wheels and tires from a distance thus they are great to steal and easy to take.

the thumpertalk post sealed it. i decided to do the 19" front conversion since it would look close enough to stock that maybe no one would notice that it wasnt stock and i could still run more modern street rubber on the bike.

i posted on the thumper forum asking about places to get my front relaced/ tire choices and got a few good responses, most importantly from a guy named Jeff at Procycle.com. he told me that the prices that i was gettign here in town were very inflated and said that he could do it for much cheaper. the other good thing about procycle is that they also have a bunch of other goodies that i am wanting for the Suzi. he told me it would be $500 for a new front wheel but it would only be $350 if i sent him my old one to get relaced. this seemed like a good idea till i realized that i could get at least $200 for the old wheel (without the brake disc on it) and as much as $250 on ebay. this makes shipping the old one out there kind of a waste of time and money (plus i couldnt play with the new toy for the 3 weeks it would take to get the wheel back). this is for a new OEM hub, excel rim, buchannon SS spokes, lacing, trueing the wheel and a tube and all the other shit that i need to make it right. i will have to throw my old brake disc onto the new wheel but other than that it will be ready to roll when i get it.

i emailed with him all weekend and finally today i pulled the trigger and ordered a full new front wheel and front and rear tires. i also ordered a new SM front fender because the stock one looks like shit. here is the fender :




The tires i got are Avon Distanzias :



i have read both good and kinda bad about them but for the price i think they are a good compromise for the kind of riding i am planning on doing. i expect to be a 90% street and 10% dirt rider. i have a buddy who is a big SM and dirt rider who will take me out for my first dirt riding. i am waiting on the new tires and wheel for that forst dirt outing as i dont trust the trailwings that are on the bike now. the front is fine but the rear is completely flat in the middle and it kinda makes me scared to ride too fast or agressively on it until i can change it out.

this whole operation will take 2 weeks to complete and is costing me $749. less the $200 (at least) that i will get for the stock front wheel on ebay and that makes it $549. not too bad for 2 tires a custom wheel and a new fender.

so the plan is in motion, a little faster than i thought but that isnt exactly a bad thing. i'll report on the procycle experience as it plays out. so far Jeff has been really helpful and very prompt in his responses and hasn't seemed to be frustrated by all my questions. i am sure that he sees me as an unimformed money pit but right now that is kinda true. i am hoping to change that as the project progresses but i also hope that that learning doesnt involve a bunch of mistakes too. i am not sure that it's possible to learn without all the mistakes but we'll see. next stuff for the bike will probably be stainless steel brake line for the front or a DR350 rear brake light conversion. do i go form or function? either way it'll be a few weeks before i can justify any more money for the bike, rather make that 'afford' to spend any more money on the bike. i can always justify blowing more money on the bike.