rear only 18 rim to 17 rim conversion XR650L

[BLSBRKR65]

I am 5' 7" and 160 LBS with a 30 inch inseam and proud to say that i have a '93 XR650L with only 5,000 mi. I have installed a White Bors. lowering link, dropped the front forks an inch, shaved the seat about two inches and have the rear spring unsprung to it's max. I still find the beast quite tall, i can barely tip toe with both feet. Before i get myself some high heels, i was wondering if i can lace up the rear hub to 17 inch rims only on the rear to further lower the bike? It currently has the stock 2.15 x 18 rims on a 4.50 x 18 Kenda tire. I have a gold anodized 2.50 x 17 rims and plan to fit it with 5.10 x 17 tire. My question is, will this significantly lower the bike? i'm thinking an inch or is this a waste of time and money. Is there a lower profile tire for the 18 rim? if so what size tire? Lastly, would there be any clearance issues with the 5.10 x 17 on the Honda XR650L? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Beyond The Pale]

I am 5' 7" and 160 LBS with a 30 inch inseam and proud to say that i have a '93 XR650L with only 5,000 mi. I have installed a White Bors. lowering link, dropped the front forks an inch, shaved the seat about two inches and have the rear spring unsprung to it's max. I still find the beast quite tall, i can barely tip toe with both feet. Before i get myself some high heels, i was wondering if i can lace up the rear hub to 17 inch rims only on the rear to further lower the bike? It currently has the stock 2.15 x 18 rims on a 4.50 x 18 Kenda tire. I have a gold anodized 2.50 x 17 rims and plan to fit it with 5.10 x 17 tire. My question is, will this significantly lower the bike? i'm thinking an inch or is this a waste of time and money. Is there a lower profile tire for the 18 rim? if so what size tire? Lastly, would there be any clearance issues with the 5.10 x 17 on the Honda XR650L? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The 5.10x17 will not be much smaller. A big downside of 17 inch rims is the lack of selection when compared to an 18. I had a 81 XR500 with the 17 inch rim and I hated it. Try a smaller tire on your 18 inch rim. I think you will be able to get something smaller in an 18 that will lower you bike about 1/2 inch. That's about the same drop you could get with a smaller than 5.10 17 inch tire.

I think that suspension mods can be done to further lower the height by reducing the travel.

[-=Jughead=-]

My question is, will this significantly lower the bike? i'm thinking an inch or is this a waste of time and money.

Keep in mind the 17/18" is a _diameter_, not a radius. So, a reduction of one inch nets you 1/2 inch in height. The other half inch is on the top of the rim, doing nothing toward reducing seat height.

Same concept for tires.