Regular followers will recall that I originally bought a pair of Yamaha Venture XVZ1200 front wheels and tires for The Bride. The hub turned out to be too wide to use on that project, so I decided to repurpose them for the KTM-framed “Retroblaster” cruiser. Along the way, I bought a set of Venture steering clamps and forks from a 1986 ZX1000 Ninja, which match the Venture’s 40mm tubes. I then stumbled on a complete set of Ninja 1000 calipers, lines, and master cylinder for a very good price. All I needed at that point was a brake disk that would bolt to the Yamaha wheel, but in a diameter suitable for the Ninja 1000 calipers (280mm). I won’t keep you in suspense: I found what I needed in the rear brake disk on many of Yamaha’s 1100–1700cc V-star cruisers. The disk is actually has a 1mm greater radius, but there’s still plenty of clearance in the calipers. The particular disk in this photo is an aftermarket unit with symmetrical slots (unlike the original ones from Yamaha), so it will look appropriate mounted on both sides of the wheel. Once I verified that everything would fit, I ordered two more rotors for the other side and rear wheel.
A 38-tooth sprocket for Honda XRs has the same bolt centers as the Venture’s brake disks. I bought one and it does bolt up to the rear wheel opposite the brake rotor. It’s not a bolt-up fit, however. To fit it directly to the wheel, I would have to put it in the lathe and remove a single millimeter from the inside diameter. On the other hand, the sprocket might need to be spaced out a bit to match the offset of the engine’s output sprocket. In that case, the spacer could have different inner and outer diameters to compensate for the slight difference. If I want to get really creative, I have worked out a custom cush drive I could machine to fit the rear hub—if there ends up being enough wiggle room, and I decide I want to go through the effort.
