Wider Rear Wheel.

I was thinking about putting on a wider rear wheel on my 1981 KZ550 LTD. Anyone know the widest I could go without having to do other things like widen the swing arm? I already have the fender off and I'm not going to put it back on, so that's out of the way.

Thanks...

looks like youve already got a lot of rubber on that stock rim,how much clearance do you have now?

I looked at it the other night and I've got about an inch and a quarter by each shock, but almost nothing on the swing arm. I guess I should have checked it first. I was at work thinking about it and it just popped into my head that a bigger wheel may fit, but i don't think it will.

Hard to say from that angle, but I don't think the swingarm will take any more rubber.

Why, if i may ask, would you like a wider rear tire?

I'm building a cafe racer out of it and I just thought it might look good. But on second thought I don't think it's worth the trouble. It really don't look bad the way it is.

I can see the cost going up:
New offset sprockets & chain
New swingarm
Relocating the rear shock mounts
New rear torque link for the caliper

MFolks wrote: I can see the cost going up:
New offset sprockets & chain
New swingarm
Relocating the rear shock mounts
New rear torque link for the caliper

Exactly the reason I decided it's not worth the effort. Not that it wouldn't look super cool to have a big fat wheel on the back, but for the look I'm going for, it's not for this bike. Maybe the next one. But it's nice to know it can be done on just about any bike if you want to put out the bucks to change all the things you just listed.