This may be a naive question, but could i take a rear wheel off a ninja ex500 and make mine have disc brakes?

 

?????, yours is an EX500 already correct? They have rear disk brakes already.

 

Its an 89, they have drum rears I'm guessing, cuz its a stock rim and that's what i have on there, and my book shows it to have drums too

 

Odds are the wheels would swap out fairly easily, possibly a bolt in if the swing arm width is right. The thing you would have to do is get the master cylinder and caliper mounts fabricated. It might be just as well to sell off the old bike and get a newer one with the 17s already if it is the 17" wheels you are trying to get.

If it is the disc rear brake, don't waste your time, there isn't enough benefit to make it worth it. Learn to use the front brakes well enough and the drum rear brake is plenty adequate, just not quite as hi-tech as a disc.

 

o ok thanks, i was just goin for disc cuz they look better and i figured theyd work better, but if not then nvm lol

 

Hey 9240, I think the point KLX is making^, is that the majority --probably 90%--of your braking is done with the front brakes. Sure, there are times when the rears come into play, but your drum setup is sufficient for those times.
Can you switch over to a disc setup? Yeah; probably. Will there be an actual benefit to doing so? Mmmmm, minimal, if any. The biggest benefit is that it's easier to change disc brake pads than drum shoes! I've had my zx9 for 15 years. I've MAYBE changed the rear pads once? I agree with klx^.