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Ye olde swing arm rub 03 Ktm 450 exc

2K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  firstgearwfo 
#1 ·
As you can guess from the title, I'm having fitment issues. My use of the search function bore no results.
Here's my setup:

2003 Ktm 450 EXC
Warp 9 5 inch rear rim 160/60-17 Bridgestone s21
44 tooth sprocket

I was, after some time and profanity, able to get the wheel mounted with the caliper on, but now the fitment issue is at the swingarm, the chain, and lower chain guide. It rubs with the chain adjustment all but maxed out. I realize now I should have gone with the 4.25 inch rim and 150 width tire but no going back now!

What are my options to make this work? I'm open to swapping a wider Ktm swingarm in if necessary. I've also thought of grinding down some of the excess slag on the swingarm where the tire rubs but that's asking for more trouble.m
 
#4 ·
If it was a 5.5 and a 180 slick, it probably has a similar if not smaller profile than a Dot 160 Bridgestone. I've got a 160 slick on my racebike(sv650) and I slid it in there and it has close to 2/3 inch more clearance than this dot tire.
I guess some people are more comfortable with their chain lubing up the crucial part of the tire than I am:thumbup: I did just pick up a standard 520 chain and expect it to give me more clearance , but the swingarm will likely still be close. At least as the tire wears it should have more room :D I'll post pics later on today.
 
#5 ·
if you're desperate for room you could even trim the sides of the tyre. not talking about much, like a couple mil's of rubber where the sidewall and contact patch meet. cutter knife blade and a little wiggling should do it, and it's nothing that will compromise safety. did that back when I running pilot powers on my streeted exc, those were some wide ass tyres...
 
#6 ·
I thought about going that route. Something about taking a knife to my fresh bridgestones made me cringe!

What I ended up doing was changing the offset on the spokes to pull the rim closer to the side with the larger gap. The problem with that was the chain side had a larger gap, and pulling it towards the chain caused it to rub even worse. This was after using a smaller, non o-ring roller chain. I've given up on trying to make this work. Luckily, though, the shop I got the wheels from is being very cool about everything and agreed to swap my 5inch rim/tire for a 4.25 rim with a Cush drive hub. So I've missed some ride time, but It will be a better setup overall when it's done.

For reference, this is what I was working with as far as clearance. Bridgestone s21 tires are the widest DOT tires ive ever owned.



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