Sumo conversion

The Warp 9 wheels are a bit pricey. Is a sumo conversion worth it? How does it ride vs just sticking with my 90/10 Shinko tires? Want to know the real world ride difference and was it worth it to have the sumo wheels, if anyone has that experience? My other bike is a street triple and I use the WR as a second bike mostly on street. I love it and just wondering about this because I’ve run out of things to do with it, lol.

PeteJE wrote:

The Warp 9 wheels are a bit pricey.  Is a sumo conversion worth it?  How does it ride vs just sticking with my 90/10 Shinko tires?  Want to know the real world ride difference and was it worth it to have the sumo wheels, if anyone has that experience? My other bike is a street triple and I use the WR as a second bike mostly on street.  I love it and just wondering about this because I’ve run out of things to do with it, lol.

Well with the 17" tires the bike changes direction scary quick.

A friend of mine has a set of Sumo wheels for his WR250R and I got to ride it once and I now refer to it as the 'Widow maker'. Thing was stupid quick to turn and I got off of it as soon as I could. He rides it around with his steering damper turn all the way up to keep out of tank slapper territory.

I have ran Shinko 705's on my WRR's stock wheels and it is a much more relaxed ride than his Supermoto setup.

While I can see why some guys really like the SM setup it is just not my cup of tea.

Thanks, that is the kind of input that I really needed! I will definitely use a try befor buy outlook on it as I do really like the ride but was wondering what the sumo is really all about. Sometimes I just get bored......

I have both Warp 9 SM wheels and the stock wheels which I have been running Non DOT dirt tires on. I switch the wheels quite regularly. Obviously the non DOT dirt bike tires are rough, loud, and squirrelly on the street. So I don’t think I need to tell you how much more pleasant the SM setup is to ride on the street.

I have not had the same “quick turning” experience as rsteiger. Turning is definitely more responsive but I have never felt it to be too much or unpleasant, quite the opposite in fact. It’s actually quite nice not having all the sloppiness that comes with the dirt setup.

Thanks. Hows the braking with the warp 9s ( assume same size rotor and heard only change is routing the brake line differently)?

Hertz wrote:

I have both Warp 9 SM wheels and the stock wheels which I have been running Non DOT dirt tires on. I switch the wheels quite regularly. Obviously the non DOT dirt bike tires are rough, loud, and squirrelly on the street. So I don’t think I need to tell you how much more pleasant the SM setup is to ride on the street.

I have not had the same “quick turning” experience as rsteiger. Turning is definitely more responsive but I have never felt it to be too much or unpleasant, quite the opposite in fact. It’s actually quite nice not having all the sloppiness that comes with the dirt setup.

You know I was just thinking about my friend's WRR with Sumo wheels and I know he had the suspension rebuilt and revalved and then set the sag for his weight. He also increased the ride height in the rear for more clearance and quicker turning. This likely would change the geometry of the bike especially compared to stock. I suspect once he put the Sumo wheels on the steering became super quick especially with the smaller front wheel.

Given how much adjustment is on the shock clevis you probably could tune the steering response to a large degree in either setup.

I also had a set of Warp 9's, didn't experience any weird turn in or stability issues.

I found that changing the diameter of the wheels made it accelerate and stop quickly due to mechanical advantage but it ran out of top end really quickly and needed a lot of shifting.
If you're staying in the city it shouldn't be an issue if you like shifting.

I eventually got tired of switching to dirt wheels every time I wanted to do anything off road and after a couple times just never put the sumo wheels back on.

Well after digging into the sumo thing a bit more, and because I am how I am.... i went ahead and got some forged alum 17” wheels. I LOVE this bike for my use now. Tons of fun and smiles as an urban bike. It made a nimble bike more nimble and more planted / less vague in the twisties. First time I scraped a foot peg on these things. I plan on taking some local Supermoto track day training (SoCal Supermoto) and then having more cheap fun there.

Where did you purchase those aluminium wheels???

They are Warp 9 forged alum wheels. Many online vendors - I used Dirt Legal who were great.

PeteJE wrote:

They are Warp 9 forged alum wheels.  Many online vendors - I used Dirt Legal who were great.

Thank you!
I was unaware that Warp9 made forged wheels.
I will look into pricing. Was your purchase price less then Warp9 list price on their website?

Just a bit. Dirt Legal . com has the best “sale” on them at the moment. But, yeah, they are pricey. I do love them and tubeless for me is :). I also found toxic moto has a good pricing on a full package with tires installed as well.

PeteJE wrote:

Just a bit. Dirt Legal . com has the best “sale” on them at the moment. But, yeah, they are pricey.  I do love them and tubeless for me is :). I also found toxic moto has a good pricing on a full package with tires installed as well.

Does the rear wheel come with a cush drive?

Yes but not for the WRR, this one ships as a direct drive hub.. ... because the small displacement and clutch type make it really unnecessary and it adds 7lbs to the wheel (this was the info from Warp 9).

The wheels look great. Now, I'm thinking of upgrading mine also.

I love the handling with the 17" wheel set on. The 320mm rotor also makes the brakes much more powerful than the stock rotor. I think the faster handling comes from two factors:

1. The smaller diameter wheel/tire has less gyroscopic effect.

2. By lowering the front end a bit, rake and trail are reduced.

Both of these have the effect of reducing the natural resistance to changing direction.