Published on 12-14-2010 04:57 PM
Number of Views: 293
Did not get much done this weekend, (bitter cold) but I will post up what little bit I did. I have thought about what wheels and brakes to use for a long time. I have decided on late model 17" motorcycle wheels. Why?
Bigger wheels have less rolling resistance
Good sealed bearings
I can put sticky used (cheap $$$) racing tires on them
Good motorcycle disc brakes can be adapted easily
Also, good rolling radial tires
You may think that they are really expensive, but so far I am finding out with a little diligence, they are affordable. I am guessing it is supply and demand. There are more wheels out there than demand for them. Right now I have decided to build 2 karts. One with 2008?-10 Kawasaki ZX14 wheels and another with 1979 era Honda CB wheels. I probably have 20 of the old CB wheels. They have a Halibrand kinda look about them that I like.
I have paid as little as $1.00 and at the most $20.00. The fronts come in 18" and 19" and widths from 1.85" to 2.15". The smaller Honda CB's had only 1 disc brake on the front wheel. These are the ones I am after. I get a nice disc brake and a neat little cover for the outside of the wheel.
Now the ZX14 wheels come 7" wide for the rear and 3.5"(?) for the front. They also have a pretty neat look about them. Sorta like the new Ford Shelby. The front wheels seem to be pretty fragile and bend easily against potholes. I do not need perfect wheels and these slightly tweaked ones are the ones I an looking for. I paid $5.00 for 1, $10.00 for another and $20.00 for a really bent one I should have passed on. I have seen perfect ZX14 wheels selling for $50.00. They come in Red, Clear Aluminum and Black. Now comes the fun part repairing the bends.
There are wheel repair ships that charge $100.00 and way up to repair bent wheels. I could start with new wheels for that amount. I am cheap and went to YouTube for a solution on wheel repair. It is not the exact method as seen on YouTube but similar. I marked the ding, used MAAP gas heat, and a 2 1/2 ton jack. They turned out very good. The severely bent wheel will take more effort and I may scrap it instead of trying to bend it back. Heat is an absolute must, With 1 bend aluminum work hardens and becomes brittle. To return it to a workable state you have to heat it.
Tires This one is easy. Contact your local motorcycle racing track. There are teams of racers that have to pay to scrap their used motorcycle racing tires. They will generally give you used racing tires. I was given used Pirelli Super Corsa Diablo 120 70 soft compound for the fronts and 190 45 medium compounds for the rears. Mounting them yourselves is pretty easy. I first lubericated them with antifreeze to help the tire slide up onto the seat. They take no tubes, but 70 to 80 pounds of QuickTrip free air to seat the beads. There is a loud bang when they seat. Be careful! I also seated them in the bed of the truck and hid down against the side. People die every year seating tires. An exploding tire will take you head off...again respect the tire and be careful. Here they are all seated up:
At this point you may be wondering about spindles/axles? The CB wheels take a sealed 6302 bearing with dimensions 15mm (axle) X 42mm (outer) X 12mm (width). The rear wheels take a 20mm axle. What I am going to do is use the larger mm rear axle and replace the bearings in the front wheel for the stronger axle. A 6004 bearing will get me what I want. They measure 20mm (axle) X 42mm (outer) and 12mm (wide). They are a popular size for lawnmowers and the like, and are inexpensive.
The ZX14 wheels on the other hand take a (hollow, but strong) 25mm axle on the front and rear wheel. Here is what I am going to do. Around the shop I have automobile spindles from old projects. The first pair I happened to pick up are from a Volkswagen and should work fine. It is pretty simple, cut off the old spindle an replace it with the motorcycle axle. The spindle is hardened and would be very tough to cut off with a blade. A 4 1/2 circular grinder does the job in about 5 minutes.
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