NX250 wheel swap
Verfasst: Mi Jul 26, 2017 6:50 am
The 16/19’’ wheels are fine for low seat height but the tire selection, especially for off road use is very limited. For that reason larger wheels are a common tune-up. But one should consider that the NX has a very short wheel base and only 87mm front wheel trail (something no other bike except maybe scooters got). That's why the NX is extremely handy, but if you lower the front or heighten the rear, the NX will become unstable at higher speed. No fun, really - the handlebar sometimes shakes so badly that it’s hard to control. That’s why I always try to maintain the original balance.
Front wheel alternatives
The 240mm brake disc of the NX250 is Honda’s offroad standard, so potentially, many Honda 21'' wheels may be adapted. The front wheels of the XL350R / XL600R will fit plug and play. The XR250/400/600 hubs (not XR650L which got an NX650 hub) are identical, but the axle diameter is larger. So with NX250 bearings, seals and collar a XR wheel should also fit.
The front wheels of XL600LM, XL600RM and NX650 will not fit plug and play because they got a different hub für 256mm brake rotors.
With an 21'' front wheel the speedo will read a bit too less (about 5%), but since with an 19'' wheel it reads too much (also around 5%) it is no necessary to swap the speedo drive too.
Rear wheel alternatives
There is only one rear 17‘‘wheel that will fit plug and play: the 84-87 XL250R and XL350R wheel http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/h ... 0-000.html , but you should use the NX250 cushdrive and brake panel http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...a ... st-8142712 . Earlier XL250, XL600R or XR600 have different hubs and won't fit. XL600R rear wheels fit with modifications with XL600R cush drive and brake panel viewtopic.php?t=2024.
And something else: make sure that the brake drum is ok - most got little cracks http://forum.nx250.de/download/file.php ... &mode=view which lead to deceleration near nil (same applies to the NX drums).
Since the XL250R rim is somewhat too narrow anyway (2.15-17) for a 120/90-17 the wider XL600r (or other DID rims with 36 spokes) rim (2.50-17) can be laced to the NX250 hub. The spokes are custom made (stainless steel), because there are no OEM spokes that will fit. But any wheel builder can do the job and usually the custom spokes are cheaper than OEM.
The XL250 degree however has an even better solution with 18/21’’ wheels.
There are lots of KTM or XL (the old xl250/500s) 18'' DID rims on Ebay, which may be fitted with new spokes (36) to the NX hub. I actually like the 18” with a 110/80 - 18 better than a 120/90-17 or 130/80-17 (somewhat smaller diameter and better in terms of weight and handling). The bike to the right got a 110/80-18, to the left a 120/90-17.
On my 2016 project “KTN(-ixie)II I used a XL600R front wheel and a KTM DID 2.50-18 rim on a NX250 Hub.
With a larger rear wheel the already a bit too long secondary transmission should be shortened. The easeit way is to use a 12th front sprocket - just make sure to get the ones from the CRF250L (JTF1321-12 http://forum.nx250.de/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=377
. A rear sprocket with 45 teeth would also work, but then you need a chain with two more links.
Since the Bridgestone AX41 has been around, this is my favorite combination - 16'' at the back and 21'' at the front
Front wheel alternatives
The 240mm brake disc of the NX250 is Honda’s offroad standard, so potentially, many Honda 21'' wheels may be adapted. The front wheels of the XL350R / XL600R will fit plug and play. The XR250/400/600 hubs (not XR650L which got an NX650 hub) are identical, but the axle diameter is larger. So with NX250 bearings, seals and collar a XR wheel should also fit.
The front wheels of XL600LM, XL600RM and NX650 will not fit plug and play because they got a different hub für 256mm brake rotors.
With an 21'' front wheel the speedo will read a bit too less (about 5%), but since with an 19'' wheel it reads too much (also around 5%) it is no necessary to swap the speedo drive too.
Rear wheel alternatives
There is only one rear 17‘‘wheel that will fit plug and play: the 84-87 XL250R and XL350R wheel http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/h ... 0-000.html , but you should use the NX250 cushdrive and brake panel http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...a ... st-8142712 . Earlier XL250, XL600R or XR600 have different hubs and won't fit. XL600R rear wheels fit with modifications with XL600R cush drive and brake panel viewtopic.php?t=2024.
And something else: make sure that the brake drum is ok - most got little cracks http://forum.nx250.de/download/file.php ... &mode=view which lead to deceleration near nil (same applies to the NX drums).
Since the XL250R rim is somewhat too narrow anyway (2.15-17) for a 120/90-17 the wider XL600r (or other DID rims with 36 spokes) rim (2.50-17) can be laced to the NX250 hub. The spokes are custom made (stainless steel), because there are no OEM spokes that will fit. But any wheel builder can do the job and usually the custom spokes are cheaper than OEM.
The XL250 degree however has an even better solution with 18/21’’ wheels.
There are lots of KTM or XL (the old xl250/500s) 18'' DID rims on Ebay, which may be fitted with new spokes (36) to the NX hub. I actually like the 18” with a 110/80 - 18 better than a 120/90-17 or 130/80-17 (somewhat smaller diameter and better in terms of weight and handling). The bike to the right got a 110/80-18, to the left a 120/90-17.
On my 2016 project “KTN(-ixie)II I used a XL600R front wheel and a KTM DID 2.50-18 rim on a NX250 Hub.
With a larger rear wheel the already a bit too long secondary transmission should be shortened. The easeit way is to use a 12th front sprocket - just make sure to get the ones from the CRF250L (JTF1321-12 http://forum.nx250.de/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=377
. A rear sprocket with 45 teeth would also work, but then you need a chain with two more links.
Since the Bridgestone AX41 has been around, this is my favorite combination - 16'' at the back and 21'' at the front