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[AndyMc]

Hi all, I have a C5 with both wheels being 18". I have found some alloy wheels but the front is 19". Has anyone swapped an 18" for a 19" and if so what do i need to be aware of. My understanding is that they went to 19" front wheels to improve the handling but i don't know what other changes were made. Thanks

[stinkwheel]

I presume you will be swapping both wheels? In which case, geometry-wise, there will be a roughly 1" increase in wheelbase (less than the movement on the chain adjuster) and 1/2" increase front wheel trail (this is the most significant geometry change). Ride height will increase by 1/2". Probably not enough to notice on a relaxed bike like the enfield. Shouldn't be any significant alterations to rake angles etc. You may notice it takes a little more input to make it turn (larger gyroscopic effect) and will tend to run straight a bit more readily. It may feel very slightly like it's flopping into corners but I don't think the increase in trail will be enough to cause that. It will climb over obstacles a little more readily.



In fairness, on a bullet, you probably won't notice much difference at all. It will be geared up slightly higher and your speedo will read incorrectly... but that's nothing new on an enfield either.



Other more practical considerations like mudguard/swingarm clearance I will leave to others.

[stinkwheel]

Ahh. On re-reading I see only the front will be going up in size. This will also increase your rake angle slightly. This will tend to make the bike tend to turn in more slowly and tend to want to go in a straight line more. I don't think the slight difference will be enough to make it feel like it's "flopping" into corners though (which extreme rake angles can).



The standard fix for that on other bikes is to drop the forks through the yokes a little but you can't easily do this on a bullet. If the changes were intrusive (and I doubt they would be), you could raise the rear ride height by fitting slightly longer shocks.

My previous comment on gearing is irrelevant and incorrect. If the speedo still comes off the front wheel on a C5, it will read incorrectly.

[ric]

You’ll take longer to stop with a larger front wheel if using stock brakes.

[Leon Novello]

Beware with the larger wheel, the tyre might rub on the wiring harness.


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