[SpartanAir]

So I've been spending hours and hours looking in the wrong places for information about swapping different wheels onto a motorcycle. And I need help.

I have a 94 Honda CB1000, a grey market bike here in Canada. It has an odd wheel size, 18x3.5 and 18x5.5, and there aren't many tire options out there. I'm going in a scrambler/tracker direction with my bike, so I'd like some knobbier tires, and different wheels than my 3 spoke kind. The only way I can see doing this is by going down to 17" wheels, for which there are many tire options.

But I've found ZERO info about how to know if certain wheels can adapt to certain bikes, how to ensure it has the same mounting points, bolt patterns, hub/sprocket adapters etc etc.

For example, I'd like to put on some 17x3.5 and 17x5.5 wheels. I would assume you would need to match the width, or if wanting to go narrower, use some kind of spacer so it sits properly between the forks. Then it would just be matching the bolt pattern of the rear sprocket and front hub where the brake disc attaches in my case.

Like the Buell XB12 has 17x5.5 in the rear but I can't tell how the wheel attaches.

So how do I know what those bolt patterns are? Would it be safe to machine some sort of adapter to line up the rear sprocket and attach it to the wheel?

So many specific questions, but all I need is to be pointed in the right direction by someone who's done this. Thanks