Swamp Donkey 2.0 Fat Tire Bikes Make the Rockin World Go Round'

[SONICJK]

Hells yes now we are talking

 

[ridesolo]

This is good.

 

[Hurco550]

It's beginning to become "my grandfather's axe, but my father replaced the handle and I replaced the head"

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[ridesolo]

It's beginning to become "my grandfather's axe, but my father replaced the handle and I replaced the head"

Yep, kinna like the old fisherman's knife: I've had this same knife for 35 years; I've replaced the handle three times and the blade twice!

 

[Hurco550]

I won the auction on the tri z front hub and wheel and it was delivered today. Now I can start figuring out axles, spacers and caliper mounts to make it work on the rmz450 forks

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[Hurco550]

I purchased a bw200 front hub, brake and axle. The hub and brake will be modified for use out back and the axle will be used out front. I will have to design and machine a set of triple trees with a wide offset for the tri-z front hub, and it also will utilize the xr400 stem pressed in and holes for the rmz450 forks. You can see in the attached photo the length of the axle vs the stock width of the rmz forks.

Also, a bearing swap for the tri z wheel will be necessary to accommodate the bw axle. Good thing, as i dont think the og bearings had more than 2 or 3k miles left in them

 

[Rider52]

Good decision!

 

[Hurco550]

These wheel bearings gave me a heck of a fight. The spacer didn't want to move over enough to allow a drift to do the job like normal. I broke the jaws on a set of blind bearing pullers as well. I ended up welding a 1/2" nut to the bearing itself which is the same thread as on the slide hammer. Amazingly even with welding to the greasy carbon steel of the wheel bearing, it was enough to coax the old spinner out.

 

[irk miller]

I assume you didn't want to heat it up in an oven? It would've slid right out, which is what the heat from welding essentially did.

 

[Hurco550]

I assume you didn't want to heat it up in an oven? It would've slid right out, which is what the heat from welding essentially did.

After dousing it with PB Blaster I didn't figure my wife would appreciate me putting it in the oven in the house. Also even after the heat of welding it took some heavy persuasion with the puller to get it out anyways.

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[irk miller]

Yeah, the welder mostly heated the bearing. The oven would heat the aluminum wheel (this is me assuming the wheel is aluminum). But the wife and you being at home mutes my point. This is why we all need an oven or kiln in our shops.

 

[Maritime]

A heat gun might have heated the wheel enough to help but who cares, it's out LOL

 

[Hurco550]

Yeah, the welder mostly heated the bearing. The oven would heat the aluminum wheel (this is me assuming the wheel is aluminum). But the wife and you being at home mutes my point. This is why we all need an oven or kiln in our shops.

I had our old house oven in the garage, and was going to use it for that type of stuff and powder coating, but it was nice and someone at work needed it. I think ill likely build a more specific oven in the future anyways.

 

[Hurco550]

but who cares, it's out LOL

This is kinda how I'm lookin at it right now haha Also, i didnt post it last night, but i had this whole hub warmed up with a propane torch, and it still didnt wanna budge...

 

[Maritime]

I hate pulling bearings. even with the right tools it can really suck. I've done the heat the wheel with a torch then drop an ice cube on the bearing and it still won't budge half the time.

 

[irk miller]

My comment is to help others too.


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[Maritime]

My comment is to help others too.


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Yes, that is true. Our comments are venting how shitty pulling bearings can be. I've had sets come out with almost no drama and others that have caused me to re-think if I want to work on bikes ever again.

 

[Hurco550]

I mocked up the front end with the caliper last night. I had to order some oddball wheel bearings to make the tri z hub work with the 17mm bw200 axle. I will also have to turn up some top hat style split bushings to adapt the bw axle to the rmz forks. I had a spare dr650 caliper laying around, which is the same caliper they use on the rmz450 (or so ive read) I think it will play nicely with the triz front wheel. There isn't a bunch of extra space, but as we used to say in the machining world, "clearance is clearance". If, once everything is solid mounted it ends up being to close for comfort, there is plenty of meat on the caliper to grind and shave it down for a bit of extra room. I will also have to make an adapter place to bolt in a 250mm rmz450 front rotor, which should be simple enough since the bolt circle for the tri z rotor is fairly small.

It is always a game of "one step at a time" to reverse engineer this stuff. I don't tend to draw up or design the whole project from start to finish which gives me a bit of freedom on the build. In this case I have to first set up the axle so that i can get an accurate measurement of fork center to center. Then I can draw up and fabricate the triple trees. Only then can I put the front end on the bike, which will allow me to work out the swingarm design and rear suspension to match the front. All part of the fun.

 

[Maritime]

Only thing I can think of why to add more clearance is for mud buildup. looks good though

 

[Maritime]

and for some reason fat bottom girls is now playing in my head