I'm in the process of building a Moto Guzzi / Dnepr rig. Needless to say the stock Dnepr wheels must have been built when the Vodka distillery was handing out free samples. I've come across a Ural wheel. What would it take to swap them? Are the hubs the same size?
My Dnepr sidecar has drum brakes.
AJ
I do not have a direct answer to your question, but before I went too far down that road would want to make sure the Ural wheel is welded straight . I had a Ural wheel that I suspect was welded the day before New Years at 4:45
I'm starting to get the idea that it might be best to lace another rim up to the Dnepr hub. I believe some Harley Sportsters used 19" front wheels. Might not be too expensive to find one used. Lacing a wheel would be a new thing for me - not really something I'm all that excited about learning to do.
AJ
Harleys use 40 spoke rims.
Lonnie
Sluggo,
Why not just throw it away and start from scratch?
When I wanted to find a better wheel for my Dnepr sidecar, I went to a salvage yard and found the wheel I wanted, measured the outside diameter of the bearing it had, and measured my axle. I then went to a NAPA Auto Parts store with those two dimensions and they were able to sell me bearings to adapt the chosen wheel to my sidecar axle. The wheel I chose had a disc brake rotor on it so I bought the complete front brake assembly with it. That way I had a caliper and hose if I decided to use the brake. In my case, the motorcycle handled the sidecar fine so I never did mount the brake. The complete setup from the front of an old Suzuki 400 cost me $35. I would guess the same should work for you. You could find a Guzzi wheel to match the bike and just fit the proper bearings to it.
There are photos in my Album here
http://www.sidecar.com/mbbs22/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=7
I replaced my Dneper wheel with a cast Honda wheel to match my GL650. Just change the bearings to match the axle. and shim the axle nut accordingly.
Sluggo-
I just finished mounting a Dnepr car to my '98 V11EV this past summer. I ended up using a 17" cast rear wheel from an early '80's Suzuki GS1000. Same axle diameter as the Dnepr and all clearances worked. Mounted a Dunlop D404 on it and it works great. Removed the disc and have not found a need for a sidecar brake, although some like them.
Good luck with it!
