So the shop tried to replace my wheel bearings and cracked a nice piece off my mag wheel. Does anyone know a good replacement or where I could even source another original wheel?
I think a little more info might help,i have no idea what kind of rim you are talking about, better yet, post a pic and include some specs on the rim.I'm sure with some info there is someone on here who can help.
I wish I had more information. The shop cracked the rim and told me for safety reasons they had to dispose of it. I don't have pictures or measurements. It was the original stock mag wheel on the California companion sidecar. It's the model with the torsion spring suspension before they welded a wire on the end in case one cracked so it couldn't fall out.
Looked like this one
The wheel was more then likely already cracked, they were junk and tended to crack near the either end of the spoke base. I know of no replacement wheel that is safe other then the wire spoke wheel they used on the same sidecar and of course you would have to find this used. If you shorten the swing arm you can run a trailer hub on the stock axle and then change it over to a 12 inch trailer wheel.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
Jay - My machine shop should be able to switch me over to a hub pretty easily then. Do you remember how much it needs to be shortened? How much does it affect the ride?
Another shop recommended I buy a new bushtec wheel and have the opening in the hub milled out another 1/4 inch... but that strikes me as being on the dangerous side. Btw, none of the spokes cracked on mine, it was a large chunk in the hub on the backside of the wheel between spokes. My suspicion is they didn't have a pulled big enough for the bearings and went with something stupid like an air hammer.
The wheels were originally bush tech wheels where were never designed for a side load which is why they failed. The swing arm needs to be shortened if you are going to a trailer hub as the pivot for the swing arm has to fit in side of the rim as the wheel is wider. Of course this means you also have to mount the body of the sidecar differently on the frame so that the wheel stays centered on the fender.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
Ok - so all modifications should be made off the trailer wheel I source. Is this your preferred modification for these sidecars for replacing the wheel?
Pretty much it is your only option unless you are willing to do fiberglass work with your fender. With fender work there are many more options.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
I'm willing to do it right if there's a better method. I have a good shop for both fiberglass and metal working. They need a bit more direction to get things going but once they understand a design narrative they tend to do a spectacular job.
Here's one with a fender change. I also did a Harley fender and wheel mod several years ago on a "leftie" companion bound for OZ but I can't find the old pix.
Lonnie
Lonnie - Love the wheel. I hope you're ready for a bombardment of questions 😉
Where did you source the wheel from? That doesn't look like the trailer wheels I've been eyeing. I could go Harley wheel...
Could you take a picture of how the fender attaches? I'd love to see the area between the fender and the body as well as any pictures you have of the suspension. Do you remember how much you cut the swingarm? Per Jay's notes I'm likely going to go the trailer hub and new wheel route. I'll let my machinist take care of the detail things but the more detail I give him the better he does.
With an axle change you can go with a Motorcycle type wheel, In house we would cut off the axle and replace it with an axle for a Harley type wheel. But then you still will need a different fender and as your fender is boded onto the body you would need to also clean up the body where you cut the fender off.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
Jay- I'm guessing your reference to a "Harley type wheel" is regarding the Harley sidecar wheel. However, if I were to cut off and change the current axle could I fit one that holds a Harley Sportster 16 inch rear wheel... would that more or less let me keep the fender in place as is?
It was a narrow chrome 16" auto wheel with a spoker basket wheel cover. I think you can see the front fender brace.
This was an old pic, scanned to digital. I didn't make many construction pix before I got a digital camera. Too hard to file then so many got lost.
Lonnie
