Wheels

The Monza Jr. came from the factory with 16" wheels. The 125 Sport used 17"wheels. The 125 F3 and 250 used 18" wheels.

I decided to go with 17" wheels because I want the bike to look like it's a smaller scale than a 250. Also, people on the bevelhead list have reported that 18" wheels are a tight fit on a Monza Jr.; the swing arm is shorter than a 250's and the rear tire may hit the fender under some conditions. Now that I have the 17" wheel and tire in place, I'm wondering if an 18 wheel would fit at all with this fender. The 17" barely clears at full compression. I was cautioned by Frank Scurria that using 17" wheels would let the pipe touch down that much easier in turns, but for a hacker like me I don't think it will be a problem. Certainly something to keep in mind though.

I used a pair of NOS San Remo 17" WM2 rims that I got from Cosmopolitan Motors. I think they are Ward's Riverside (Benelli?) parts. Since they're not the stock size I had to order custom length spokes from Buchanan's. The rear wheel laced up fine. The front wheel as shown is a disaster. I decided I couldn't use either of the two front hubs I had for a 160 due to various issues, so just for kicks I tried lacing the front hub from a 250 in there (shown above). Both issues I worried about proved true: the spokes were too long, and the holes in the rims aren't drilled at the right angle for such a (relatively) large hub. So I got a third 160 hub.

The problem is, hub #3 is an earlier hub so I need an external speedo drive. However, with the larger wheels I'll need a different ratio drive anyway. I'm not sure if the integrated drive is available in different ratios, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise to use the external drive. Or, as pointed out by Steve from Bevel Heaven, I could have the speedo recalibrated.

Or... I could put the tach in the headlight shell, ditch the stock speedometer and drive, and see just how inconspicously I could mount the hardware for an electronic bicycle speedometer. The speedo itself would be easily removed when the bike is parked, and the calibration issues would be solved, not to mention I wouldn't have to deal with a tach mount then. Hmm...

Tires

I ordered a 17 x 3.00 rear tire and a 17 x 2.75 front tire. The tubes, rim strips, and rear tire were shipped the next day. The front wasn't expected to ship for another month. I sure wish they had told me that BEFORE I ordered it... One month became two, and then three, and then they (JC Whitney...) cancelled the order. In the meantime I had already a different style tire in the same size, just in case. I've since replaced that tire with the one I originally wanted to use, so tdependingo n when the picture was taken you may see the bike with different front tires..