If you've been following my posts, you know I'm mounting a 1954 LE sidecar onto a 2004 Road King. I believe I have the mounting figured out. I have it mocked up and it is time for me to start thinking about the sidecar wheel.
My goal is to get rid of the spoked wheel and install a cast wheel that matches my stock Road King wheels. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I'm always happy to benefit from someone else's experience. I haven't disassembled this so I don't know what I'm dealing with. I'm making some assumptions, so bear with me. It is a 1954 so my research says that it should be a mechanical brake, but it has a hydraulic drum, so someone has done some updating at some point. But it is a drum so I'm guessing that it is setup for old style wheel bearings.
What would be the recommended approach? Is there an OEM axle available that would let me use a modern wheel? Will a modern Road King wheel bolt up to the drum? Does it make more sense to go with a disc? How much has the chassis wheel forging changed over the years? Would a disc caliper bolt up, or am I going to have to fabricate custom brackets if I go with a disc? Any experiences, suggestions, thoughts, or pictures (especially pictures) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
I'll see if I've got pics of my 69 axle to compare to my later 80's-90's axle (both drum). Your frame probably does not differ from my 69.
What i do know from memory is that the 69 axle used the 2 loose roller and cage setup from early type spoked wheels, whereas my later axle uses 2 timken bearings, 1" inner and 3/4" outer with a cast wheel.
The axle mounts the same on both: a taper fit is pulled tight into the frame casting. I'd be very surprised if it's not the same taper.
Axles and wheels abound on eBay, and their owners think quite highly of them...
I will note that I personally do not use the hack drum brake on either of my two rigs.
I'll see if I've got pics of my 69 axle to compare to my later 80's-90's axle (both drum). Your frame probably does not differ from my 69.
What i do know from memory is that the 69 axle used the 2 loose roller and cage setup from early type spoked wheels, whereas my later axle uses 2 timken bearings, 1" inner and 3/4" outer with a cast wheel.
The axle mounts the same on both: a taper fit is pulled tight into the frame casting. I'd be very surprised if it's not the same taper.
Axles and wheels abound on eBay, and their owners think quite highly of them...
I will note that I personally do not use the hack drum brake on either of my two rigs.
I believe the taper is the same. One source I read said it is a Morse taper which is a standard taper in machine work.
They are not cheap, but woody's wheels in Denver deals with custom cycle requirements and ships world wide.