Does anyone know if the 18" rear drum Lester wheels were ever available in a 3" width? Or were they only ever available in 2.15"? What about the 16"? Weren't they available in 3"? I think I saw the 16" X 3.00", but for disc brake.
The standard Kawasaki wheels were 18 x 2.15" and 16 x 3", and most of the Lester Kawasaki wheels I've seen (I watch Ebay a lot) match those OE sizes. I have seen some 18" x 2.5" wheels for sale, so Lester did make wheels that were wider than stock. I don't recall ever seeing a 18 x 3" wheel for sale, but I will say that even if Lester did make that size they must be pretty rare and it would be hard to find one. Also, the drum brake wheels seem to be less common than the disk brake wheels. It seems like sales really picked up for Lester in the late 70s. Most of the wheels I've seen are stamped '77 or later, and by then the current KZ1000 models were using rear disks. So finding a wide drum wheel would be needle & haystack territory.
I believe "DOHC" Jim, might still have a Lester double weld rim welded up by the Infamous "PUPPET" from Buffalo from his Dad's old drag bike. Not sure. We talked about a few years ago.
Yes, my dad had his Lester wheel widened. Puppet did just one side first, and my dad ran it that way for a while. Eventually he and a buddy did the other side. It's about 5.5" wide now. I believe this was done by removing the flange and part of the center section of a donor wheel, and then welding that wide section onto the original Lester center. So I think three wheels total were combined to make this one. If you happen to have three Lester wheels, and don't mine cutting up two of them, and also have a really good welder buddy, you too can have a wide Lester.